Back Into The Future or The Return of Steyr AUG

Two members of MAST with their Steyr AUG A1 at the ASEAN Armies Shooting Competition in November 2024. The rifles are equipped witn a non-standard scope, likely an Elcan. Philippine Army picture

SHAH ALAM: Last August, Malaysian Defence wrote about a slew of tenders published by the Procurement Division most of it for the Army. The tenders are for supply and delivery of 81mm mortars, heavy machine guns, reloadable LAW, anti-materiel rifles, Starstreak carriers, and nine-millimeter ball ammo for the Army.

Also published was the tender for the supply and delivery of forty high performance 5.56mm rifle for its shooting team. The indicative price for the 40 rifles is RM1.4 million.

Steyr AUG A3, the latest version of the AUG. Steyr

MEMBEKAL, MENGHANTAR, MENGUJI DAN MENTAULIAH SENJATA HIGH PERFORMANCE CLOSE COMBAT 5.56MM RIFLE UNTUK TENTERA DARAT
There is a requirement to equip MAST (Malaysian Army Shooting Team) with High Performance Match Grade 5.56 mm x 45 mm Rifle. The High Performance Match Grade 5.56 mm x 45 mm Rifle shall be used by MAST for training and competition.

MAST personnel at the 2023 Asean Armies Shooting Competition held in Thailand. Tentera Darat picture.

Checks with Finance Ministry tender page today that the contract for the forty rifles was awarded to Flight Dynamic Resources Sdn Bhd, with a LOA of RM1,399,960.00. Checks with the company website showed that it has been supplying the Armed Forces, mostly Army, with various equipment from water pumps to aircraft tyres.

So what are the forty high performance close combat 5.56mm rifles it is supplying to the Malaysian Army Shooting Team (MAST) then? Checks with industry sources indicated that the rifles are Austrian-made Steyr AUG A3, the latest version of the AUG A1 which used to be the Army main assault rifles.

Two Malaysian soldiers at an Australian shooting competition in 2018, The two are using Glocks and Steyr AUG A1s as their weapons. Commonwealth Australia.

It is interesting to note that MAST are still using the AUG 1 in shooting competitions as most of them prohibited short barrel rifles like the M4A1 carbines. Once delivered, MAST will used the Steyr AUG A3.
Two members of MAST with their Steyr AUG A1 at the ASEAN Armies Shooting Competition in November 2024. Philippine Army picture

It is likely that the AUG A3 rifles are delivered without any scopes as they cost RM35,000 each based on the numbers procured and the LOA. Perhaps MAST will use the current scopes of their AUG A1s or there will be another tender for them soon.

–Malaysian Defence

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5 Comments

  1. Did they used an angle grinder to remove that old scope because I’m pretty sure the optic is fixed in A1 model

  2. you can replace the fixed scope by getting aftermarket upper receiver with either mlok or picatinny rail that you can mount your own optic

    also before anyone went “WhY dOnT wE uPgRaDe oUr aUg” it’s water under the bridge and M4 is perfectly cromulent rifle

  3. Usually for competition a heavier barrel and match grade tuned AR setup is preferred. You would also want to start with a rifle with good base of accuracy ie SIG SG550. Perhaps due to history the shooting team are more comfy with AUG despite its drawbacks.

    A bullpup like AUG is ‘technically’ still within the rules as unlike carbines, it is still a full length barrel if you count the bits up to the mag chamber.

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