Beryl

   The Kbs wz.1996 Beryl (beryllium) assault rifle was designed in Poland to replace the AK-47 (7.62 x 39 mm) and wz.88 Tantal (5.45 and 39 mm) rifles in service with the Polish Army. It is a further development of the Tantal. First prototypes of this assault rifle were produced in 1995. The Beryl was accepted to service in 1997 as the standard issue infantry rifle and production commenced the same year. This assault rifle is also available for export customers.

   It is a gas operated, selective fire weapon, chambered for the standard NATO 5.56 x 45 mm ammunition. Beryl's system of operation is similar to that of the Tantal (version of the Soviet AK-74). It's range of effective fire is up to 600 m. It is a rugged weapon, which inherited reliability from Kalashnikov designs.

   The Beryl has three firing modes - semi-auto, three round burst and full auto. A fire mode selector is located on the left side of the receiver. An AK-type safety switch is located on the right side of the receiver.

   The Beryl uses unique 30-round magazines, that are not interchangeable with other NATO magazines.

   The Beryl has adjustable opened sights, with a maximum sighting range of 1 000, however this reading is slightly optimistic. Later production models are fitted with a top-mounted Picatinny-type rail for mounting various optics.

   A metal stock of this assault rifle folds to the right side. The Beryl is compatible with the Polish wz.1974 or wz.96 Pallad 40-mm underbarel grenade launcher. It is worth mentioning that early production versions had no such compatibility. A flash hider can be also used to launch rifle grenades. These grenades are launched using standard live ammunition and have a range of 150 and 250 meters. Grenades can be launched against enemy troops or lightly armored vehicles. This assault rifle is also compatible with a knife-bayonet.

Variants

   Beryl Commando, assault rifle, fitted with a shorter barrel;

   Mini Beryl, a carbine variant, fitted with a shorter barrel and a shorter foregrip;

   wz.2004 an upgraded version of Beryl assault rifle and Mini Beryl carbine. Upgraded weapons were fitted with a telescopic buttstock and quad accessory rails.