Photo of the F90MBR (Modular Bullpup Rifle) In The Wild [DSEi 17]
The Steyr AUG is not dead! The latest iteration, the Thales F90MBR (Modular Bullpup Rifle) was announced just before DSEi and as expected was on display. Our good friend Lionel took these photos of the modular bullpup.
The F90MBR is claimed to be one of the lightest assault rifles out there at 3.25 kg (or 7.17 lbs). Given the extreme modularity of firearms today, it is hard to know how to compare weight of one with another (equal barrel lengths? same caliber? with muzzle device or without?).
Its upper and lower-style configuration allows it to be easily reconfigured with a new barrel length, optics and other accessories in a manner faster than competing bullpups such as the IWI Tavor.
Thales have focused on the F90MBR’s Over The Beach capabilities. The gun is ready to fire immediately when emerging from water, no draining the barrel required.
New Zealand has abandoned the Steyr AUG, but Australia have doubled down on it and the F90 is the result. I have spoken to a number of people who have handled the F90 and it is by all accounts a good rifle and a worthy successor to the old-school AUG, but it will be interesting to see how it fares in a world dominated by the AR-15 on one side, and the IWI Tavor on the other.
I founded TFB in 2007 and over 10 years worked tirelessly, with the help of my team, to build it up into the largest gun blog online. I retired as Editor in Chief in 2017. During my decade at TFB I was fortunate to work with the most amazing talented writers and genuinely good people!
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I'm not one for bullpups but I appreciate the concept/design of them. Then we have this... the bane of the bullpup world.
http://soldiersystems.net/b...
A lot of folks are down on bullpups, but with the USMC looking at suppressed carbines in a world of mechanized and airborne infantry and door kicking urban warfare, I suspect we'll see the bullpup return in popularity at some point in the future. It's the only way to get a battlefield usable barrel length (say at least 14.5 inches) with at least 6" of suppressor on the end and still be short enough to not be a return to the M16 pole vault.