Polish Army Purchases 8K Beryl Rifles, Dropping MSBS?
The Polish Army has ordered almost 8,000 Beryl rifles, an improved AK variant. Does this mean the Polish Army no longer has interest in the MSBS, or that they are refilling their stockpiles as MSBS production comes on line? Defense24 has the story:
The Armament Inspectorate of the Polish Ministry of Defence is carrying out negotiations within the scope of acquisition of the Type 96 (wz. 96) rifles – also known as Beryl and Mini-Beryl. Procurement of these weapons is to be completed in 2016.
The negotiated order refers to delivery of 5 498 sets of the Beryl and 2 400 sets of the Mini-Beryl rifles. The final quantity has not yet been determined.
The acquisition is realized as a single-source procurement procedure, due to the fact that the Army is willing to acquire the same weapons it has been using so far, manufactured by the same contractor: the “Łucznik-Radom” arms factory. The delivery is to secure the ongoing needs of the elements of the Polish Army, which also stems from the fact that the post-soviet AK rifles are being replaced with the weapons that are utilizing the NATO standard ammunition.
The Ordering Party stressed the fact that the “Łucznik-Radom” facility is the only manufacturer of the 5.56 mm Beryl rifles. Selection of any other weapon would create a great deal of technical difficulties within the scope of maintenance and operational use of the new rifle.
The Beryl was introduced in the 1990s as a 5.56mm improvement over the 5.45mm Tantal rifle. From 2005 forward it has made up the bulk of service rifles issued to the Polish Armed Forces.
Nathaniel is a history enthusiast and firearms hobbyist whose primary interest lies in military small arms technological developments beginning with the smokeless powder era. He can be reached via email at nathaniel.f@staff.thefirearmblog.com.
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Oh the drama!
1. As others (Mr Kuba) noted: they want to completely ditch AKM/AKMS 7.62x39 rifles. MSBS is not ready yet, so they buy already adopted design - Beryl Mod.96C.
2. Most of the Beryl's in Army are of old variants Mod.96A and Mod.96B. That's why we can expect even more Beryl buys.
3. MSBS is going to be fielded as a part of Tytan future warrior project. Some parts are ready, some are not. But it's all treated as a one. So no MSBS until whole Tytan is ready.
4. Rights to MSBS are reserved by MoD. So no civilian MSBS until FB will do something ("redesign") the rifle to be less mil-spec (same story is with civil Beryls/Radom Sports/Archers).
Contract for future soldier system Tytan was already signed in June 2014, 14.000 pcs should be delivered till 2018. And part of this system is MSBS with Rubin thermal sight (with corner-shot capability).
So, dont worry, MSBS is already contracted in number of 14.000.