FB MSBS Grot
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FB MSBS Grot | |
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![]() MSBS Grot C 16 FB-M1 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle | |
Type | Assault Rifle |
Place of origin | Poland |
Service history | |
Used by | Ministry of National Defence[1] Representative Honor Guard Battalion of the Polish Armed Forces[2] Prison Service (Poland) |
Production history | |
Manufacturer | FB "Łucznik" Radom |
Variants | See Variants |
Specifications | |
Mass | 3.7 kg (8.2 lb) (MSBS Grot C) 3.4 kg (7.5 lb) (MSBS Grot B) |
Length | 980 mm (39 in) (MSBS Grot C, stock extended) 720 mm (28 in) (MSBS Grot B) |
Cartridge | 5.56×45mm NATO 7.62×39mm |
Action | Short-stroke gas piston, rotating bolt |
Rate of fire | 700–900 rounds/min |
Muzzle velocity | 890 m/s |
Effective firing range | 500 m (547 yd) |
Feed system | 30-round detachable STANAG magazines, 60-round casket magazine (5.56×45mm NATO) 30-round detachable STANAG box magazines (7.62×39mm) |
Sights | Integrated Picatinny rail for various optical sights and Picatinny attachable iron sights |
The FB MSBS Grot (Polish: Modułowy System Broni Strzeleckiej kalibru 5,56 mm, English: Modular Firearm System 5.56 mm calibre) is a modular assault rifle prototype developed and manufactured by FB "Łucznik" Radom.
The Grot name has been added to the MSBS after the official adoption of the rifle by the Polish Armed Forces.[3]
There are two basic configurations of the rifle that is based on a common upper receiver; a conventional layout and a bullpup layout. With its variety of modules, both configurations can be easily configured into an assault rifle, carbine, designated marksman rifle, or squad automatic weapon.[4] The rifle can also be chambered in 7.62×39mm cartridge.
History
The current service rifle of the Polish Armed Forces is the kbs wz. 96 Beryl, developed from the kbk AKM. However, despite various upgrades, the Beryl is now considered both outdated by modern standards and impossible to improve further. Because of that, work on a completely new family of assault rifles was started in Poland.
The rifle has been in development since 2007 by the WAT (Military Academy of Technology) in Warsaw in cooperation with the arms manufacturer FB Radom. The weapon is said to be operating on completely distinct internal mechanics. No further information has been disclosed however. The external design was conceived by a separate team (Adam Gawron, Bartosz Stefaniak, Grzegorz Misiołek, Maciej Sajdak) working alongside mechanical engineers.[5][6]
At SHOT Show 2015, representatives of Łucznik said that in 2015 they planned to open a factory in Texas and make the MSBS available to US customers, possibly as early as December 2015.[7] This, however, never materialised, and the US branch of Łucznik was dissolved in 2017.[8]
One of the major advantages of a modular weapon system is the simplified logistics, because of the interchangeable parts between different weapon types, so fewer different parts need to be stored. If necessary, a soldier can sacrifice, for example, one standard assault rifle to repair a light machine gun. Another benefit may include ease of barrel changeability, as found on the Steyr AUG. This means a soldier may be able to adapt their rifle based on the environment they are in, such as converting a carbine to a designated marksman rifle, to be able to engage targets at a greater range, if the situation requires it. The benefits of this feature allow a squad to have fewer unique weapons.
In February 2018, the 42nd Light Infantry Battalion of the Territorial Defence Force became the first and only unit issued the rifle.[9]. Due to numerous technical and ergonomic issues with MSBS Grot it was decided not to replace currently used wz. 96 Beryl rifles in a foreseeable future.[10][failed verification]
Variants
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e2/Msbskandmsbsb.jpg/220px-Msbskandmsbsb.jpg)
The following variants were designed based on the requests from the Polish Armed Forces to replace currently used firearms such as the AKM, FB Beryl, FB Mini-Beryl, and Pallad grenade launcher.
The MSBS GROT is a selective fire modular assault rifle which is capable of semi-automatic, 3-round burst and fully automatic fire. It has a cyclic rate of fire of around 700–900 rounds per minute.
- MSBS Grot C (Polish: klasyczny, English: classic) is the classic variant of the rifle chambered in either 5.56×45mm NATO or 7.62×39mm cartridge with folding and retractable stock.[11]
- MSBS Grot B (Polish: bezkolbowy, English: bullpup) – is the bullpup variant of the rifle chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge.
- MSBS Grot R – is the representative variant of the rifle designed to be used by honour guards which has been adapted to fire blanks and withstand drills. With the modularity of the rifle, the barrel can easily be swapped to fire live ammunition.
Both the Classic and Bullpup variants are offered in 5 different configurations and have many common interchangeable parts and can be converted from one to the other.[12][13]:
- Assault rifle – a standard assault rifle configuration with 16 in (410 mm) barrel.
- Assault rifle with underbarrel grenade launcher – similar to the assault rifle configuration but with a 40×46mm underbarrel grenade launcher equipped.
- Carbine – a short barrel variant with a 10 in (250 mm) barrel.
- Carbine with underbarrel grenade launcher – similar to the carbine configuration but with a 40×46mm underbarrel grenade launcher equipped.
- Squad automatic weapon – a variant equipped with a heavy, thick profile and a 16 in (410 mm) barrel.
- Designated marksman rifle – is equipped with a 16 in (410 mm) barrel and a two stage trigger group.
Since the Polish Military of Defence ordered 53,000 of the MSBS assault rifles, Fabryka Broni has introduced a military naming designation for the MSBS series.
Grot – After the official adoption of the rifle by the Polish Armed Forces, the Grot name was added.
C, B, R – variants, classic, bullpup, or representative.
10, 16, 20 – barrel lengths, in inches.
G, M, PS – configurations, assault rifle with grenade launcher, light machine gun, marksman rifle
FB – Fabryka Broni, the manufacturer of this weapon system.
M(x) – number of series (x stands for the generation, for examples, M1 means first generation)
In this case, MSBS Grot C 16 FB-M1 means assault rifle in classic variant from first series manufactured by Fabryka Broni. The name Grot means arrowhead in Polish and refers to general Stefan Rowecki's pseudonym.
MSBS-762N derivative
MSBS-7.62N | |
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Type | Designated Marksman Rifle |
Place of origin | Poland |
Production history | |
Manufacturer | FB "Łucznik" Radom |
Specifications | |
Cartridge | 7.62×51mm NATO |
Action | Short-stroke gas piston, rotating bolt |
Feed system | 20-round detachable SR-25 magazines |
Sights | Integrated Picatinny rail for various optical sights and Picatinny attachable iron sights |
The MSBS-7.62N is a semi-automatic sniper rifle/designated marksman rifle chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge.
The MSBS-762N project began in the end of 2015 when Polish Military of Defence announced analytical works for the replacement program of their SVD Dragunov sniper rifle and supplement the bolt-action TRG-22 and Tor sniper rifles currently in service. It was led by the team of Fabryka Broni Łucznik-Radom and Wojskowa Akademia Techniczna (WAT) engineers.[14]
The MSBS-762N has two different configurations; one with a 508 mm (20 in) barrel with a fixed adjustable stock and the other with 406 mm (16 in) barrel with the MSBS Grot C's adjustable side-folding stock. Both configurations are part of the MSBS family and some of the parts of the rifle, such as the stock, handguard, pistol grip, and trigger are interchangeable between 5.56m and 7.62m models.[14][15]
The MSBS-762N is designed as a semi-automatic rifle but project engineers declared that a fully automatic configuration can be developed if required.[14]
In September, 2019 the MSBS-762N was officially announced at MSPO 2019.[15]
Users
Current users
Poland: Limited use. Around 23,000 MSBS Grot R 20 FB-M1 and MSBS Grot R 20 FB-M2 are on order, and around 53,000 MSBS Grot C 16 FB-M1 are on order. Some of them will be equipped with a grenade launcher.[16][17][3]
- Territorial Defence Force: First batch delivered on 30 November 2017.[18]
- Border Guard: First batch delivered on 21 December 2018.[19]
Potential users
Pakistan: In 2017 Pakistan Ordnance Factories discussed potential cooperation with Polish Armaments Group, particularly in the field of small arms. Pakistan Army intends to replace their G3 and Type 56 rifles.[20]
Failed bids
Estonia: FB Radom qualified for the tender of Estonian Defence Forces rifle procurement[21], but was not among the four companies who eventually presented an offer.[22]
France: FB Radom was part in a trial to find a new service rifle for the French Armed Forces, but lost to the Heckler & Koch HK416.
See also
References
- ^ "Altair Agencja Lotnicza". Altair.com.pl. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
- ^ "Altair Agencja Lotnicza". Altair.com.pl. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
- ^ a b "Umowa na 53 tysiące karabinków Grot. W tym roku armia dostanie tysiąc sztuk". Polskieradio.pl. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
- ^ "Radon MSBS-5.56: Poland's New Battle Rifle". Small Arms Defense Journal. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- ^ ""Nowy MSBS-5,56"". Altair.com.pl. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
- ^ "Nowa Technika Wojskowa: "Nowy MSBS-5,56"". Magnum-x.pl. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
- ^ "MSBS "Radon" Rifle: US Launch & Impressions". The Firearm Blog. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ^ Turczyn, Andrzej (26 July 2017). "FB Radom USA LLC, czyli spółka która miała handlować bronią z Radomia w USA, została zlikwidowana" (in Polish). Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- ^ Remigiusz, Wilk (13 February 2018). "Poland introduces Grot rifle". IHS Jane's 360. Warsaw. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- ^ Wilk, Remigiusz (30 November 2018). "Grot w WOT: Wnioski po roku służby". MilMag (in Polish).
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ twobirdsflyingpub (29 June 2018). "PGZ SMALL ARMS–EUROSATORY 2018 (CONTINUED)". FOG HORN. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ "» MSBS". Fabrykabroni.pl. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ "Polish Rifles for the Polish Armed Forces. MSBS Modular Firearms System". Defence24.com. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
- ^ a b c Out! #21, Frag (2 September 2018). "FB Radom MSBS-7,62N .308 Win". Frag Out! Magazine. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b www.armyrecognition.com https://www.armyrecognition.com/mspo_2019_news_official_show_daily/mspo_2019_new_sniper_rifle_based_on_msbs-grot_assault_rifle.html. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ "grot-dla-co-trzeciego-polskiego-zolnierza-podpisano-zamowienia". Defence24.com. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
- ^ "53 Thousand Grot Rifles for the Polish Armed Forces. Contract Concluded - Defence24.com". www.defence24.com. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ http://www.defence24.com/first-batch-of-the-msbs-grot-rifles-symbolically-received-by-the-polish-territorial-defence-forces#top-carousel
- ^ https://www.milmag.pl/news/view?news_id=1761
- ^ https://quwa.org/2017/11/20/pakistani-delegation-visited-poland-discuss-potential-assault-rifle-program/
- ^ Reisenbuk, Karel (22 November 2017). "Kaitseväe automaatrelvade hankele kvalifitseerus üheksa tootjat". www.postimees.ee (in Estonian). Retrieved 6 August 2018.
- ^ Lauri, Vahur (31 January 2018). "Automaatrelvade hankele esitas pakkumuse neli tootjat". www.err.ee (in Estonian). Retrieved 6 August 2018.
Other sources
- (in Polish) Pierwszy pokaz MSBS-5,56 in: Altair, 12 December 2009
- (in Polish) Nowa polska broń – MSBS-5,56 in: Altair, 15 December 2009
- (in Polish) MSBS-5,56 już strzela in: Altair, 16 December 2009
- (in Polish) Rodzina MSBS-5.56 W Czerwcu in: Altair, 22 March 2010
- (in Polish) Nowy MSBS-5,56 in: Altair, 9 August 2010
- (in Polish) MSBS-5,56 w nowej szacie in: Altair, 5 October 2010
- (in Polish) Giwera przyszłości in: Polska zbrojna, 30 December 2008
- (in Polish) MSBS-5,56 w Pułtusku in: Altair, 4 June 2011
- (in Polish) MSBS do amunicji 7,62mm x 39 in: Altair, 21 September 2014
- (in Polish) Prototypy karabinów MSBS-7,62 na MSPO in Altair, 9 January 2016