Australia's Bullpup Rifles: A Developmental History of the F88 and EF88 Self-loading Rifles

Following the experience of the Vietnam War, and in keeping with NATO military trends of the time, Australia began the search for a rifle chambered for a small- calibre, high-velocity cartridge in the 1980s. In 1988, Australia’s bicentenary year, the Austrian Steyr AUG was adopted as the F88 ‘Austeyr’. Manufactured domestically in Lithgow, New South Wales, the F88 went on receive a series of modifications under three distinct upgrade programmes, before being reconceived as the Enhanced F88 (EF88) from 2009 onwards. Now produced by Thales Australia, this latest iteration of the Austrian bullpup continues to serve the ADF around the world. In tracing the development history of what will soon be Australia’s longest-serving family of domestically produced rifles, the author outlines the challenges of maintaining a robust national manufacturing capability for small arms, and highlights solutions undertaken by Defence, industry, and other stakeholders.