AUG-A2

History of the AUG-A2

AUG is an anagram for the German name Armee Universal Gewehr, which is Army Universal Rifle when translated to English. The prototype was designed from the 1960s until 1974, finalizing the design in 1977 with either black or green polymer furniture and a two-stage trigger. It went into production at the Austrian company Steyr Arms since 1978. The AUG was adopted as the service rifle of the Austrian Armed Forces the following year under the designation StG 77 replacing the StG 58 which is the designation of an Austrian made FN FAL. The design had improvements made in 1982 this was when the firearm received the designation AUG A1.

In the 1980 they made a variant of the A1 for the US citizens called the AUG SR that was semi-automatic, but that only lasted until 1989 when an executive order from then President George H. W. Bush restricted the import of foreign made semi-automatic rifles that didn't have a legitimate sporting use. Sounds like some gun grabbing bull to me, especially since the firearm was able to get around the ban by simply changing the pistol grip to a trombone hole stock and lacked threading on the barrel for the use of a flash hider or suppressor. This version was born of the AUG A2 and denoted as the AUG USR, it was released in 1995.

Introduced in December 1997, the AUG A2 is an improved model. This version has a redesigned charging handle, and the integrated scope was replaced with a Picatinny rail. There is also an optional section of Picatinny rail that can be installed beneath the barrel in place of the folding grip, allowing for a bipod to be installed. This version is also the famous one that all the bad guys carry in 90s action movies.

The AUG A3 was released in 2004, this model moved the Picatinny rail down to right on top of the receiver and they added an external bolt release button. In 2019 a .300 AAC Blackout variant was released.

Over the years many different countries have adopted the AUG into service. Other than the Austrian Armed forces, The Australian Defense Force, Irish Army, and New Zealand Defense Forces All have unique variations just to fit their requirements. Other countries like Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Pakistan. Even the US Immigration Customs and Border Patrol agency have used the AUG.