Australian Special Forces

Why do Australian Special Forces use the M4?

Why do the Australian Special Forces use the M4 over the Aus Steyr? I need reason besides the M4 being able to have more options for modification. Sounds good. I think I get the picture. Maybe the Aussie Army should replace all over the Aus Steyr's with M4's! ^_^

Public Comments

1. (1) The Steyr has proven reliability issues with respect to the way which ammunition is fed into the chamber (2) The M4 is more compact and lightweight than the Steyr
2. I don't know alot about the Aus Steyr, but I can say that the M4 is awesome. I carried one for two Iraq (i'm US Army)deployments, and love it. I guess what's most important when you have to carry it so long (at least for me) is its compactness and lightness.
3. The M4 is extremely reliable. Repair, and replacement are readily available. And the common soldier can perform many of the repairs.
4. Overall, the M4 Carbine is one of the best weapons on the market, especially with the MWS rail system. I carried one for 8 years and loved it. I'm pretty sure the Aussie SF carry the M4A1, which is the full-auto version of the M4.
5. The answer is reliability and familiarity. There are a lot of very competent firearms out there now including the Steyr. Even the British SA80 A2 has got over the total train wreck which was the mark one and is now rated as one of the best infantry arms in the world. What the M4, and all the other derivients of the M16, offers however is the benefit of having been in combat service around the world for nearly 50 years. This means that all of its problems (even the little ones) have been ironed out, its performance is very well known, it is plentiful in supply and parts easy to come by wherever you are in the world and it has a mature set of add ons and weapons systems. Psycologically an operator cannot afford to have any doubt that his weapon will function when he needs it, and this family of weapon now has that reputation.
6. Aus Styers are a decent weapon. Newer ones like the F88S can have stuff mounted on it, and they are pretty reliable and light. The M4 may be better, but Styers still do the job to a good standard. Also, we can't manufacture our own M4's, but we can the Aus Styer and back in the day, that was a big selling point for the Styer.