The Rwanda Special Operations Forces received Polish GROT assault rifles.
A photo of a soldier of the Rwandan Special Operations Forces with an assault rifle was published on the social network X (formerly Twitter) by RDF Gallery.
The 7.62×39 mm assault rifle, as evidenced by the distinctive magazine, with a 40 mm grenade launcher.
In May 19, 2022, Polish Armaments Group (Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa: PGZ) announced in a press release that an undisclosed East African military has purchased a large batch of the Grot rifles chambered in 7.62×39 mm.
The Grot assault rifles are manufactured by PGZ subsidiary Fabryka Broni (FB) ‘Łucznik’ Radom, and will be delivered with under-barrel grenade launchers (UBGLs) and daylight optical sights manufactured by another PGZ subsidiary, Przemysłowe Centrum Optyki (PCO).
Last month, the Polish small arms manufacturer Łucznik presented a new version of the Grot A3 assault rifle, which has received a number of improvements based on the experience of operation and the war in Ukraine.
During the GROTowisko-24 conference, the Polish company Łucznik presented the updated MSBS-5.56 Grot, which is the basic version and in variations can have a caliber of 7.62×39 mm. This is the version of the assault rifle ordered by Rwanda for its special forces.
According to the slides shown at the presentation, the new rifle is 300 grams lighter than the A2 variant and now weighs 3.4 kilograms with a 16-inch (406-mm) barrel.
This is not the first update of the assault rifle, and the first production rifles had various problems during operation in the Polish army. Ukrainian soldiers, including the Special Forces, have been receiving GROT C16 FB-M1 assault rifles, and based on their feedback, the Grot A3 version was updated.
FB “Łucznik” Radom had earlier exported its firearms to militaries in Africa. In 2014, the Nigerian Army ordered 1,000 Beryl assault rifles in 2014 under a $1 million contract.
Nigerian Army personnel underwent training in Radom, Poland, according to Tomasz Nita, chief executive of Fabryka Broni Lucznik, who added that 2014’s sale was the first export order for the type.