Poland's MSBS-5.56 GROT Completes Initial Adoption Testing

Matthew Moss
by Matthew Moss
Polish Troops with MSBS/Grot rifles

Poland is another step closer to issuing the new MSBS 5.56 (AKA the GROT) as the rifle completes its first round of operational testing ahead of schedule.

Milmag report that samples of the new rifle completed the first part of qualification testing on 11 October, five days earlier than scheduled. The MSBS 5.56 / GROT has been issued for troop trials along with FB Radom’s 40mm underbarrel grenade launcher and the GROT’s bayonet.

The grenade launcher being tested is the redesigned system introduced in 2016. Interestingly, FB Radom’s site still show the rifle with the concept design. With its trigger in the more traditional position to the rear of the grenade launcher’s receiver rather than forward, beneath the tube. The two are compared below:

MSBS 5.56/GROT C16 FB-M1 with 'bullpup' grenade launcher (FB Radom)
Milmag report this is the grenade launcher currently being tested by the Polish military (Milmag)

The Wojskowy Instytut Techniczny Uzbrojenia (WITU) – the Polish Army’s Military Institute of Armament Technology – is due to carry out the next round of acceptance testing by the end of November 2017. The newly formed Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej – WOT (Polish Territorial Defence Force) will receive their second batch of GROTs in December. In total up to 53,000 GROT rifles and carbines have been ordered in a contract worth several hundred million Polish Zloty. A separate contract for just under 500 blank firing ceremonial MSBS/GROTs costing 5,538,400 PLN ($1,540,000). In 2018, both the WOT and the Polish regular army will also begin to receive MSBS-5.56KA1 / C16 FB-M2 carbines.

Edit: Updated to note the redesigned grenade launcher was first seen in 2016 and detail on contract for ceremonial rifles – h/t Chris22lr.

Matthew Moss
Matthew Moss

Managing Editor: TheFirearmBlog.com & Overt Defense.com. Matt is a British historian specialising in small arms development and military history. He has written several books and for a variety of publications in both the US and UK. Matt is also runs The Armourer's Bench, a video series on historically significant small arms. Here on TFB he covers product and current military small arms news. Reach Matt at: matt@thefirearmblog.com

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  • Noob Noob on Oct 26, 2017

    so did they ever make that bullpup stock come to production? or is it conventional format only? https://uploads.disquscdn.c...

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    • Galvars . Galvars . on Oct 26, 2017

      @noob Both will go in to production. But this order was for C16 FB-M1 version (the lower one) the bullpup will be delivered on different order in unspecified future.

  • Chris Bennett Chris Bennett on Oct 29, 2017

    Poland: We really love the Bushmaster Remington ACR and what it brings to the table, but that price tag is ridiculous.

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