Using Australia’s New Austeyr Rifle Could Be Like Playing Xbox

Guns don’t really get a lot of coverage on the Australian Gizmodo (for good reason), but it’s not every day our defence forces decide to trade in their faithful Austeyr for… the Austeyr? Before you get mad, you should probably know it’s an all-new model, featuring reliability tweaks, a 40mm grenade launcher and a control system “not unlike punching button combinations on a PlayStation or Xbox”.

This is how The Firearm Blog describes it, at least. The EF-88 will replace the F-88 and comes with its very own Rifle Input Control system. The RIC, designed to attach to the rifle’s underside, isn’t used to fire the weapon. Instead, soldiers can whack in combinations using the RIC’s five buttons to control devices on their bodies, helmets or in the field. The RIC has an accuracy rating of 98.2 per cent, about 24 per cent better than touch screens, the next best alternative. The RIC also has a screen, but the idea is a soldier won’t need it after proper training, as muscle memory should take over.

Sadly, I don’t think it comes with an aimbot function.

The refit will be taken out by Thales Australia, which handles most of the Australian Defence Force’s contracts. If you’d like to read more about the upgrades, hit up The Firearm Blog below.

[The Firearm Blog]

Image: The Firearm Blog.