Steyr HS .50 / HS .460
The Steyr HS .50 and the Steyr HS .460 are single-shot anti materiel sniper rifles manufactured by Steyr Mannlicher and chambered in .50 BMG and .460 Steyr, respectively. Unlicensed variants of the HS. 50 include the AM-50 Sayyad produced by Iran and the Golan S-01 produced by Syria.
| Steyr HS .50 | |
|---|---|
Steyr HS .50 | |
| Type | Anti materiel sniper rifle |
| Place of origin | Austria |
| Service history | |
| Used by | See Users |
| Wars | Iraq War Syrian Civil War[1] War in Iraq (2013-2017)[2] Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)[3] |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Steyr Mannlicher |
| Unit cost | $5,299[citation needed] |
| Produced | 2004 |
| Variants | HS .460 HS .50 M1 |
| Specifications (HS .50) | |
| Mass | 12.4 kg (28.5 lbs) |
| Length | 1,370 mm (54 inches) |
| Barrel length | 833 mm (33 inches) |
| Cartridge | |
| Caliber | .50 BMG |
| Action | Bolt action |
| Effective firing range | 1500–2500 m |
| Feed system |
|
Design and features
The Steyr HS .50 is a single-shot bolt-action rifle. It has no built-in magazine, and each round has to be loaded directly into the ejection port and is pushed into the chamber by the bolt. The fluted barrel is cold hammer-forged and has an effective range of up to 1,500 m. It has an adjustable bipod, a muzzle brake that reduces recoil significantly, and a Picatinny rail for the installation of various optics.
The original Steyr HS-50 was designed by Heinrich Fortmeier, on behalf of Steyr Arms.
Variants
HS .460
The HS .460 is chambered for the .460 Steyr round, developed for markets where ownership of the .50 BMG by private citizens is banned, but .46 rounds are not, such as California.
HS-50
The "HS-50" is a single shot bolt action .50 BMG rifle, with 2 barrel length options (29" / 33"), The rifle comes standard with a 0 MOA picatinny rail
HS-50 M1
The HS .50 M1 is an evolution of the HS .50. It is magazine-fed from a five-round magazine feeding horizontally left from the receiver, has a longer top Picatinny rail and more Picatinny rails on the side, an adjustable cheekpiece, a newly designed fixable bipod, and a monopod at the buttstock.
AM-50 Sayyad
Iran produces an unlicensed version under the name AM-50 Sayyad.[4] The AM-50 has been in production since 2008 and has been widely exported.[5] Because of its wide exports, AM-50 rifles have also been supplied to or captured by groups opposed to Iran, such as Syrian rebels.[3] The AM-50 reportedly has much worse fit and finish than the Stehr HS .50.[5]
Golan S-01
In June 2019, media organizations affiliated with the Syrian government[vague] reported that Syria had begun producing an unlicensed variant of the rifle, dubbed the Golan S-01, in reference to the Golan Heights. Unlike the original HS .50, the Golan S-01 fires the Soviet 12.7×108mm anti-materiel rifle cartridge.[citation needed] It is slightly heavier than the HS.50, weighing in at 13.5 kg and has an effective firing range of 1,600 meters, a 100 meter improvement over the previous generation of anti-materiel rifles used by the Syrian Army. It is also 100 mm longer than the HS .50, measuring in at 1,470mm total length.[6]
Users
- Argentina - Used by Argentine Army.[7][8]
- Bolivia - Used by Bolivian Army.[9]
- Iran - 800 rifles were purchased in 2006.[2]
- Russia - Used by police forces and special forces.[10]
- Ukraine - Seen in use of HUR.[11]
AM-50 Sayyad operators
- Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq[12][2]
- Badr Organization[12]
- Hamas[3]
- Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba[12]
- Hezbollah[3]
- Houthis[3]
- Iraq - Iraqi Special Operations Forces, and the Iraqi Armed Forces.[3]
- Islamic State[3]
- Islamic State Sinai Province[3]
- Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada[12]
- Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)[3]
- Liwa al-Zulfiqar[12]
- Liwa Fatemiyoun[13]
- Saraya al-Aqida[12]
- Saraya al-Khorasani[12]
- Saraya al-Salam[12]
- Saraya Ashura[12]
- Syria[3][1]
- Syrian Social Nationalist Party[3]
- Tahrir al-Sham[3]
- Syrian National Army[3]
Gallery
See also
- Barrett M82, an American anti-materiel rifle
- Denel NTW-20, a South African anti-materiel rifle
- KSVK 12.7, a Russian anti-materiel rifle
- PGM Hécate II, a French anti-materiel rifle
- Steyr SSG 69, an Austrian bolt-action sniper rifle
References
- ^ a b "La 104ème brigade de la Garde républicaine syrienne, troupe d'élite et étendard du régime de Damas". France-Soir (in French). 20 March 2017. from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ^ a b c Correspondent, Thomas Harding, Defence (13 February 2007). "Iraqi insurgents using Austrian rifles from Iran". from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2018 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Iranian .50 Cal- The AM-50 Sayyad and Its Use in the Middle East". www.calibreobscura.com. 13 December 2018. from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^ "Iran Army hints at the deployment of Special Forces to Syria and Iraq - FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^ a b Staff writer (September 2021). "TECHNICAL REPORT: IRANIAN AM-50 12.7 × 99 MM ANTI-MATERIEL RIFLE". Conflict Armament Research.
- ^ Desk, News (23 June 2019). "First Syrian-made sniper rifle enters military service: photos". AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز. from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
{{cite web}}:|first=has generic name (help) - ^ "El Ejército Argentino se capacita con los nuevos fusiles Steyr-noticia defensa.com - Noticias Defensa defensa.com Argentina". www.defensa.com. 19 June 2018.
- ^ "Galería - Tiradores especiales de la Compañía de Comandos 603". 9 October 2020.
- ^ "El Ejército de Bolivia dota a sus unidades con rifles de precisión Steyr HS .50 M1".
- ^ "Спецподразделения МВД вооружатся австрийскими пистолетами". lenta.ru. from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
- ^ "Міністерство оборони України". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Iraq: Turning a blind eye: The arming of the Popular Mobilization Units" (PDF). Amnesty International. 5 January 2017. (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- ^ Puxton, Matteo (25 February 2019). Macé, Maxime (ed.). "Pour se battre en Syrie, l'Iran enrôle massivement des Afghans chiites". France Soir (in French). from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
External links
- Media related to Steyr HS .50 at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website