Kbs wz. 1996 Beryl
Summary
| Country | 🇵🇱 Poland |
| Category | Assault rifle |
| Manufacturer | Fabryka Broni "Łucznik" |
Technical specifications
| Kbs wz. 1996 Beryl | |
|---|---|
| Fire Rate | 700 rounds/min. |
| Caliber | 5.56 x 45 mm OTAN |
| Magazine | 30 rounds |
| Length | 943 mm (37.1 in) |
| Weight | 3.35 kg (7.4 lb) |
| Range | 600 m (1969 ft) |
Description
The karabinek szturmowy wzór 96 "Beryl" (kbs wz. 96) is a 5.56mm assault rifle developed and manufactured by Fabryka Broni Radom in Poland. Development work began in 1995 to adapt a service rifle to the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge. A functioning 5.56mm variant had existed since 1991 as the wz. 1991, a rechambered Tantal wz. 88. The new weapon's specifications were approved in February 1995, and a prototype batch was produced in December of that year. The rifle was successfully evaluated and adopted into service in 1997 as the 5,56 mm karabinek szturmowy wz. 1996, and became the standard Polish service rifle.
The Beryl's design and operational system share similarities with the Tantal rifle. The primary differences are due to the use of the 5.56x45mm cartridge, and include the barrel, receiver housing, buttstock, foregrip, muzzle device, sight system, and magazine. An adapter allows the use of M-16 NATO standard magazines. The 457 mm barrel has six right-hand grooves and a 1:9 inch twist rate, and features a tapered contour towards the muzzle to mount a flash suppressor. This flash hider can be used to mount and launch rifle grenades, and has side ports for stabilization during sustained fire, as well as internal threading for a blank firing attachment. The receiver housing is modified from the wz. 1988, and features a reinforced rear stock trunnion and a top-mounted Picatinny rail. Early versions used a side-folding metal stock, while later models feature a collapsible stock. Handguards vary, with some having angled ribs, some notches for grenade launchers, and others including Picatinny rails and integral vertical foregrips. The sighting system is similar to the Tantal, with provisions for mounting optical sights like the PCS-6, CK-3, LKA-4, and CWL-1 via a bracket. The EOTech 552 and PCS-5M are the most commonly used additional sights. The unique plastic magazine is not interchangeable with Tantal magazines. The safety switch resembles AK series types, but its function is separate from the fire selector switch.
Variants of the kbs wz. 96 include:
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wz. 96A Beryl (1996): The most produced version, often fitted with POPC I or POPC III rails.
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wz. 96B Beryl (2004): Featured a fixed foregrip with rails and new POPC II or POPC III rails, though some B variants retained POPC I.
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wz. 96C Beryl (2009): Incorporated a new fixed and telescopic buttstock, POPC IV rails, new handguard, magazines, and foregrip.
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wz. 96D Beryl: A manufacturer option allowing configurations from elements of A, B, and C versions.
Export variants include the Beryl M545 (2011), proposed in 5.45×39mm, and the Beryl M762 (2013), a "C" variant chambered in 7.62×39mm. A carbine variant, the Mini-Beryl, was also developed from the Beryl.
The Beryl became the standard service rifle of the Polish Armed Forces, replacing older Tantal and AKM rifles. By 2011, over 45,000 units were in service, accounting for approximately half of the assault rifles in the Polish Army inventory. In May 2016, an order for 26,000 Beryls and Mini-Beryls was placed. Outside of Poland, Lithuania received 80 wz. 96A Beryls and 10 wz. 96A Mini Beryls as a donation in May 2000, which were used by the SOJ Aitvaras special forces unit in Afghanistan until 2002/2003. Nigeria acquired 3,200 M762 rifles, with a letter of intent signed in March 2018 for local manufacture.
Users of the Beryl include Poland, where it is the current standard-issue rifle for the Land Forces with around 86,000 units in service; Lithuania, with 90 units including 80 wz. 96A variants (some equipped with grenade launchers or telescopic sights) and 10 wz. 96 Mini-Beryl variants, primarily within special forces and reconnaissance units; and Nigeria, a user of the M762 export variant, with 3,200 units procured.