hbar

The Steyr AUG (Armee-Universal-Gewehr—"universal army rifle") is an Austrian 5.56×45mm NATO bullpup assault rifle, designed in the 1960s by Steyr-Daimler-Puch and now manufactured by Steyr Mannlicher GmbH & Co KG.
It was adopted by the Austrian Army as the StG 77 (Sturmgewehr 77) in 1978, where it replaced the 7.62×51mm NATO StG 58 automatic rifle (a licence-built FN FAL). In production since 1978, it is the standard small arm of the Austrian Bundesheer and various national police units. Its variants have also been adopted by the armed forces of dozens of countries.
Steyr AUG importation into the U.S. began in the 1980s as the AUG/SA (SA denoting semiautomatic). President George H.W. Bush banned the AUG via an executive order under the 1989 Assault Weapon Import ban. Six years into the ban, AUG buyers gained a reprieve as cosmetic changes to the carbine's design allowed importation once again. Changes included the pistol grip being changed into a thumbhole stock, and the barrel left unthreaded to prevent attachment of flash suppressors and silencers. The ban sunsetted in 2004, and in 2008 Steyr Arms worked with Sabre Defense to produce parts legally in the U.S.

View More On Wikipedia.org