This week, Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner handed over the first modified 77 A1 MOD assault rifles to the troops during a ceremony at the Maria Theresa Barracks in Vienna. Over the next two years, between 14,400 and 16,000 rifles will be issued to both the militia and the cadre presence units. The volume for the project, which is being carried out in cooperation with company Steyr Arms for the conversion of existing weapons amounts to around 20 million euros.
During the handover ceremony, Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner recalled the weapon’s long tradition in the Austrian armed forces: “The assault rifle, which was introduced in 1977, has since become a unique identifier for Austrian soldiers, both at home and abroad.”
The 77 assault rifle is considered the standard armament of Austrian soldiers, but it is also in service with numerous foreign armies and police units. The weapon has already impressed with its simplicity, reliability and absolute operational suitability. The modifications now also allow better adaptation to individual requirements and increase its effectiveness in combat thanks to optimized handling safety and an improved aiming device.
“When I started at Steyr Arms (formerly Steyr Mannlicher) 42 years ago, the requirements for the new assault rifle were: as big as a machine pistol, as accurate as a sniper rifle and as reliable as a Kalashnikov. This task seemed impossible to fulfill at the time, but the technicians of the army and the engineers at Steyr,” said Steyr Arms Senior Sales Manager Erwin Derntl at the weapons handover ceremony. “The result was a fantastic weapon, the Assault Rifle 77, which looked so futuristic at the time that many people thought it was a flash in the pan. But far from it, it was also successful internationally with many police and army units. It was extremely innovative, with its integrated optics with 1.5x magnification, a new firing mechanism, the plastic parts, its modularity and the 100% interchangeability of components, and then it was also revolutionarily short.”
Derntl continues: “But requirements change over time, and with the modifications, the weapon is now able to meet them again. The 77 A1 MOD assault rifle, which is being handed over to the Guards and militia soldiers here today, will also enable soldiers to carry out their missions in the future. I appeal to politicians to continue to create the appropriate framework conditions in the future so that such a joint effort may continue to lead to meaningful, domestic equipment.” https://militaeraktuell.at/fuer-ein-heer-mit-zukunft/
Armaments Director Major General Harald Vodosek added: “The assault rifle is the first piece of equipment you get as a soldier in the armed forces. It’s the first thing you shoot with and then use to carry out operational tasks. It is therefore our duty and obligation to provide our soldiers with the best equipment – and we have succeeded in doing so with the A1 MOD. At 4.99 kilograms, the weapon is only slightly heavier than the old 77 assault rifle, it can theoretically fire 700 rounds per minute, it allows 3x magnification, provides a field of view of 80 lines and the soldier is able to see and act at night with this weapon. Thanks to the so-called ‘Picatinny rail’, a toothed rail standardized according to NATO standards for quick and repeatable mounting of attachments, the weapon is now also capable of long-range shooting. We have modified the barrel grip, the case ejector and the sling. The bottom line is that everything we understand by a ‘man-machine interface’ has been implemented.”
Vodosek concludes: “All in all, the weapon is a great co-production between Steyr Arms and the Austrian Armed Forces with its specialist personnel at the ARWT and at Directorate 4 under the head of system introduction Brigadier Georg Kollmann, the Army Logistics Center Klagenfurt and the weapons masters of the units.”
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