Steyr
Dr Michael Engesser, Steyr CEO
Steyr Arms is an Austrian manufacturer, specialising in small arms (such as pistols, rifles, submachine guns, and grenade launchers). The company has a long history of producing weapons, going back as far as the 1800s. After the Austrian Anschluss to Nazi Germany in 1938, the Steyr factories were incorporated into the Reichswerke Hermann Göring industrial conglomerate and the outbreak of World War II provided a brief revival in weapons production. Like many other companies, Steyr Daimler Puch relied on forced labour, employing from the Steyr-Münichholz subcamp of KZ Mauthausen. Since the 1970s The company has been heavily associated with the Steyr AUG “bullpup” assault rifle. The Steyr AUG rifle and variations of it can be found in the hands of special forces military and police in West Papua. In Australia, the same weapon is manufactured under license by Thales Australia at its Lithgow facility. It is possible that the Australian variant, known as the F88, has been used in West Papua, after being gifted to Indonesian forces by the Australian Defence Force. This possibility is still being investigated.
Steyr arms is a relatively small player in the global weapons market, recording a 2020 revenue of 'only' $35 million.
Address: STEYR ARMS GmbH, Ramingtal 46, 4442 Kleinraming, Austria
Tel: +43 7252 896 0
Fax: +43 7252 896 53
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.steyr-arms.com
Weapons
Steyr AUG
The Steyr Aug is a “bull-pup” assault rifle manufactured by Steyr Mannlicher GmbH & Co KG. It is in use by dozens of police and military units around the world. Members of the Indonesian security forces are regularly pictured carrying Steyr AUG assault rifles, and the weapon is known to be used by BRIMOB, KOPASKA, KOPASSUS and Detachment 88. An Australian variant. the F88, is manufactured under license by Thales Australia at its Lithgow factory. It is possible that the Australian version is also in use in West Papua.
Members of BRIMOB have regularly been photographed carrying Steyr AUG weapons in Papua, including when policing protests, and when on patrol.
The sight is manufactured by Swarovski Optik.
BriMob in West Papua armed with Steyr AUG weapons.
SSG 08
The SSG 08 is a highly accurate bolt-action sniper rifle, developed in collaboration with Austria's counter-terrorism unit. A source indicates that BRIMOB has trained with the rifle, there are unverified reports of BRIMOB members carrying the weapon in West Papua, and the weapon has been ID'ed by analysts as being carried by security forces at the Grasberg Freeport mine.