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Bullpup
A bullpup firearm is one with its firing grip located in front of the Chamber (firearms), breech of the weapon, instead of behind it. This creates a weapon with a shorter overall length for a given barrel length, and one that is often lighter, more compact, concealable, and more maneuverable than a conventionally configured firearm. Where it is desirable for troops to be issued a more compact weapon, the use of a bullpup configuration allows for barrel length to be retained, thus preserving muzzle velocity, range, and ballistic effectiveness. The bullpup concept was first tested militarily in 1901 with the British Thorneycroft carbine, but it was not until the Cold War that more successful designs and improvements led to wider adoption. In 1977, the Austrian Federal Army, Austrian Army became the first military force in the world to adopt a bullpup rifle, the Steyr AUG, as a service rifle, principal combat weapon. Since then the militaries in many countries have followed suit w ...
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SA80
The SA80 (Small Arms for the 1980s) is a British family of 5.56×45mm NATO service weapons used by the British Army. The L85 Rifle variant has been the standard issue service rifle of the British Armed Forces since 1987, replacing the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle. The prototypes were created in 1976, with production of the A1 variant starting in 1985 and ending in 1994. The A2 variant came to be as the result of a significant upgrade in the early 2000s by Heckler & Koch and remains in service as of 2025. The A3 variant was first issued in 2018 with several new improvements. The remainder of the SA80 family consists of the L86 Light Support Weapon, the short-barrelled L22 Carbine and the L98 Cadet rifle. The SA80 was the last in a long line of British weapons (including the Lee–Enfield family) to come from the Royal Small Arms Factory, the national arms development and production facility at Enfield Lock, before its weapons factory was closed down in 1988. Development Post-war i ...
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Steyr AUG
The Steyr AUG () is an Austrian bullpup assault rifle chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO intermediate cartridge, designed in the 1960s by Steyr-Daimler-Puch, and now manufactured by Steyr Arms GmbH & Co KG. The AUG was adopted by the Austrian Army in 1977 as the StG 77 (''Sturmgewehr 77''), where it replaced the 7.62×51mm NATO StG 58 automatic rifle.Ezell (1993) p. 223 In production since 1977, it is the standard small arm of the '' Bundesheer'' and various Austrian federal police units and its variants have also been adopted by the armed forces of dozens of countries, with some using it as a standard-issue service rifle. The importation of the Steyr AUG into the United States began in the 1980s as the AUG/SA (SA denoting semi-automatic). The AUG was banned from importation in 1989 under President George H. W. Bush's executive order restricting the import of foreign-made semiautomatic rifles deemed not to have "a legitimate sporting use." Six years into the ban, AUG buye ...
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IWI Tavor
The IWI Tavor, previously designated as the Tavor TAR-21 (Tavor Assault Rifle – 21st century), is an Israeli bullpup assault rifle chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO, designed and produced by Israel Weapon Industries (IWI). It is part of the Tavor family of rifles, which have spawned many derivatives of the original design. The Tavor TAR-21 can also be mounted with the M203 grenade launcher, designated as the GTAR-21. A compact variant with a barrel is also available, designated as the CTAR-21. A designated marksman rifle variant with a folding under-barrel bipod and Trijicon ACOG 4× magnification sight was also made but later phased out in favour for the Tavor TAR Flattop. Built around a long-stroke piston system (as found in the M1 Garand and AK-47), the Tavor is designed to maximise reliability, durability, simplicity of design, and ease of maintenance, particularly under adverse battlefield conditions. In 2009, the Tavor X95 (also known as the Micro Tavor or MTAR) was se ...
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QBZ-95
The Type 95 automatic rifle () or QBZ-95 is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured by Norinco, and issued since 1995 as the service rifle for the People's Liberation Army, People's Armed Police, and various law enforcement in China, law enforcement agencies in the People's Republic of China. The rifle's designation "QBZ" stands for "'light weapon' (''Qīng Wǔqì; 轻武器'')—'rifle' (''Bùqiāng; 步枪'')—'automatic' (''Zìdòng; 自动'')", in keeping with the coding standards of the Chinese defense industry. History The QBZ-95 was first exported to Cambodia. Development The Chinese military started to develop small-caliber weapons in 1971. The Type 81 assault rifle#Variants, Type 87, a modification based on the Type 81 assault rifle, was developed in the 1980s and entered limited service in 1987. The Chinese military continued to search for a new small-caliber design after Type 87. Bullpup configurations were also experimented with in the early 1980s, resu ...
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FAMAS
The FAMAS ( French: ''Fusil d'Assaut de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-Étienne'', lit. 'Assault rifle from the Saint-Étienne Weapon Factory') is a bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured in France by MAS in 1978. It is known by French troops as ''Le Clairon'' (The Bugle) due to its distinctive shape. The FAMAS is known for its high rate of fire of around 900–1,100 rounds per minute. Beginning in 2017, the FAMAS was replaced in most frontline units in the French Army by the HK416F, and the FAMAS is expected to remain in limited service until 2028. History The first French bullpup rifles were developed between 1946 and 1950 at the AME (''Atelier Mécanique de Mulhouse'') and MAS, testing rounds such as .30 US Carbine, 7.92×33mm Kurz, 7.65×38mm (Made by ''Cartoucherie de Valence'') and some other intermediate calibres. Since France was engaged in the First Indochina War at the time, and was also the second-largest contributor to NATO, the research budgets ...
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Thorneycroft Carbine
The Thorneycroft carbine was one of the earliest bullpup rifles, developed by an English gunsmith in 1901 as patent No. 14,622 of July 18, 1901. This bolt-action rifle featured a bullpup action in which the retracted bolt slid back through the stock nearly to the shooter's shoulder, maximising the space available in the body of the firearm. The rifle was chambered in the contemporary .303 British (7.7 mm) service cartridge, and held five rounds in an internal magazine. The Thorneycroft was shorter and 10% lighter than the standard Lee–Enfield rifle used by the British military at the time. However, when tested at Hythe the firearm exhibited excessive recoil and poor ergonomics, and was not adopted for military service. See also * List of bullpup firearms The following is a list of firearms designed in a bullpup (i.e., action behind firecontrol/trigger group) configuration. See also *Semi-automatic shotgun *Automatic shotgun *Combat shotgun *List of combat shot ...
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FN P90 PDW
The FN P90 is a personal defense weapon chambered for the FN 5.7×28mm, 5.7×28mm Cartridge (firearms), cartridge, also classified as a submachine gun, designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. Created in response to NATO requests for a replacement for 9×19mm Parabellum firearms, the P90 was designed as a compact but powerful firearm for vehicle crews, operators of crew-served weapons, support personnel, special forces, and counter-terrorist groups. Designed in conjunction with the FN Five-seven pistol and FN 5.7×28mm, FN 5.7×28mm NATO ammunition, development of the weapon began in 1986, and production commenced in 1990, when it was known as the ''Project 9.0'' (from which the "90" in its name is derived), whereupon the 5.7×28mm ammunition was redesigned and shortened. A modified version of the P90 with a Magazine (firearms), magazine adapted to use the new ammunition was introduced in 1993, and the Five-seven pistol was subsequently introduced as a companion weapo ...
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Heckler & Koch G11
The Heckler & Koch G11 is a non-production prototype assault rifle developed from the late 1960s to the 1980s by ''Gesellschaft für Hülsenlose Gewehrsysteme'' (GSHG) (German for "Association for Caseless Rifle Systems"), a conglomeration of companies headed by firearm manufacturer Heckler & Koch (mechanical engineering and weapon design), Dynamit Nobel (propellant composition and projectile design), and Hensoldt Wetzlar (target identification and optic systems). The rifle is noted for its use of caseless ammunition. It was primarily a project of West Germany, though it was of significance to the other NATO countries as well. In particular, versions of the G11 were included in the U.S. Advanced Combat Rifle program. In 1990, H&K finished the development of the G11, intended for the ''Bundeswehr'' and other NATO partners. Although the weapon was a technical success, it never entered full production due to the political changes of German reunification and lack of procurement co ...
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Jonathan Ferguson
Jonathan Steven Ferguson (born 3 January 1979) is a British firearm historian and author who is currently the Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, England. He is also a technical specialist with Armament Research Services, a consultancy firm. Career Ferguson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in archaeology from the University of Exeter in 2000, and a postgraduate diploma in museum studies from the University of Leicester in 2002. He held posts at the Colchester Museum, Imperial War Museum Duxford, and National War Museum of Scotland before joining the Royal Armouries Museum in 2009. He has appeared in two documentaries: ''Sean Bean'' on ''Waterloo'' (2015) and ''Sword, Musket & Machine Gun'' (2017). He was also an interview subject in the mockumentary ''Cunk on Earth'' where he was interviewed as an expert on the Colt Single Action Army revolver. Ferguson is also a Technical Specialist with Armament Research Services, a technical intelligen ...
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FN P90
The FN P90 is a personal defense weapon chambered for the 5.7×28mm cartridge, also classified as a submachine gun, designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. Created in response to NATO requests for a replacement for 9×19mm Parabellum firearms, the P90 was designed as a compact but powerful firearm for vehicle crews, operators of crew-served weapons, support personnel, special forces, and counter-terrorist groups. Designed in conjunction with the FN Five-seven pistol and FN 5.7×28mm NATO ammunition, development of the weapon began in 1986, and production commenced in 1990, when it was known as the ''Project 9.0'' (from which the "90" in its name is derived), whereupon the 5.7×28mm ammunition was redesigned and shortened. A modified version of the P90 with a magazine adapted to use the new ammunition was introduced in 1993, and the Five-seven pistol was subsequently introduced as a companion weapon using the same 5.7×28mm ammunition. Featuring a compact bull ...
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Neostead
The NeoStead 2000 (NS2000) is a bullpup combat shotgun developed by Truvelo Armoury of South Africa. Production of the shotgun began in 2001 and the first models were made available in October of that same year. It is notable due to its unusual forward-and-back pump-action cycling motion. Design and production The NS2000 is a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun weighing just under , designed primarily for security and civil disturbance situations. The firearm includes a barrel despite the overall weapon length of just . The short length makes the weapon easier to handle in close-quarters situations; however it can still remain accurate at relatively long ranges. The long barrel length is achieved by using a bullpup configuration, with a rear-fed tubular magazine. Another aspect of the NS2000 is its dual six-round (6+6) magazine. The selector switch can be set to left, right, or alternating. In riot conditions, for example, less-lethal flexible baton rounds can be used with st ...
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Receiver (firearms)
In firearms terminology and law, the firearm frame or receiver is the part of a firearm which integrates other components by providing housing (engineering), housing for internal action (firearms), action components such as the hammer (firearms), hammer, bolt (firearms), bolt or breechblock, firing pin and extractor (firearms), extractor, and has screw thread, threaded interfaces for externally attaching ("receiving") components such as the gun barrel, barrel, stock (firearms), stock, trigger (firearms), trigger mechanism and iron sights, iron/sight (device)#Optical sights, optical sights. Some firearm designs, such as the AR-15 platform, feature receivers that have 2 separate sub-assemblies called the upper receiver which houses the barrel/trunnion, bolt components etc and the lower receiver (Trigger Mechanism Housing in some cases) that holds the fire control group, pistol grip, selector, stock etc. The receiver is often made of forged, machined, or stamped steel or aluminium. Ap ...
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