Pixel, Pixel Baby

Photos and information about Austria's elite Jagdkommando unit is not commonly seen outside of the country. Part of that reason might be that this small neutral country in the middle of Europe is still a bit secretive about revealing too much information about their defense forces to the outside world? 

A case in point is this recent photo of a Jagdkommando soldier in which the forward half of his rifle is pixelated to obscure its details. But it begs the question, Why? Not US Tier 1 units are so concerned with security that they pixelate the details of their weapons in publicly released photos. So what's going on?

Certainly, the rifle itself is no secret, its the latest model of the well-known STEYR AUG. Nor is the new rail system for it that's now being introduced for the Austrian special forces units - the photo above shows that clearly in a publicly released photo. We also already presented the details of weapon in 2023 according to our then-current knowledge. 

Now, the variety of AUG models and options on the commercial market can be a bit confusing, STEYR AUG A3 SA M II is the civilian version (SA stands for semi-auto), and its rail features a QD attachment which hasn't made it into the military world in terms of durability. However, the military version of the weapon is called the StG77 A2 KDO MOD, presumably because the existing A2 variants are being revised. The rail is however virtually the same as the commercial version (just without the QD attachment point). And this can also be clearly seen, unpixelated, in publicly released photos (as below).

As you can see, our colleagues at the Austrian military blog DOPPELADLER have zoomed in so you can see lots of details. Including the ejection port brass deflector from STEYR ARMS, which is now standard. The magazine release is still the same as always, but we're sure that the very intuitive solution from KAWATEC was probably discussed but not yet changed. KAWATEC also provides an improvement to the trigger on the Jagdkommando weapon, which retains the standard firing mechanism, but provides a a better trigger feel and lighter pull weight - which improves handling and accuracy for the AUG shooter. 

In addition to these features, you can also see the Sling Keeper from BLACK TRIDENT on the frame of the weapon. This is a small but very practical attachment that helps keep the sling – a BLACK TRIDENT Two Point Sling – in place. On the rail, there are an AIMPOINT T2 and 3X-Mag1 Magnifier on a UNITY TACTICAL red dot mount. This is an extremely pragmatic and improved modern solution over the old fixed 3x optic or the large red dot that was used previously. 

The two-tier rail system also allows for a laser to be mounted forwards and below the sight line. Here we see a RHEINMETALL LM-VAMPIR laser module, and on the right-side rail is a weapon light we would guess is a SUREFIRE - possibly the Mini Scout Light Pro Infrared. The LM-VAMPIR is RHEINMETALL's high-end laser aiming module that also incorporates SWIR capability. The wiring for these connected systems is also interesting, as the weapon light is controlled via the laser box. The control switch is probably on the left side of the weapon where the shooter's thumb would be placed on the rail using a C-Clamp style grip. 

The rifle in the pixelated photo is clearly the same configuration as the one shown and described above - we can even clearly see the unpixellated T2 optic here. Even with the overuse of pixelation, we recognize something that appears to be a LLM-VarioRay from RHEINMETALL. This device has already been seen in use with the Jagdkommando before, so why try to keep that a secret? Is it a new version of the VarioRay and its pixelated because it hasn't yet been officially adopted? 

We note also, humorously, that even the patch from BLACK TRIDENT on the back of the helmet was pixelated. So we have to wonder if this censored photo is the handiwork of an over-zealous military press officer who thinks that OPSEC and PERSEC means that everything must be obscured by pixels? 

Here is another photo of a Jagdkommando team in training that was released together with the previous one. Once again, the enablers attached to the forward rail are obscured by pixels. However, this enabler seems a bit too large to be the same type of weapon light we saw previously. Could this be an MWAL from B.E. MEYERS being tested in the field with the Jagdkommando? It would be a practical choice, as well as a popular one across European Special Forces, because the control buttons are again positioned conveniently at the position where the operator's thumb of their support hand would be. 

Once again, we can only speculate that the pixelation might indicate that different laser aiming modules ae being evaluated and a final decision hasn't yet been made. However, when it comes to weapon lasers, the Jagdkommando have always been pretty faithful users of RHEINMETALL. Do these photos perhaps suggest that they're flirting with another company? 

Even looking at other recent photos we see the pixel pen has once again been deployed. Once more that pesky BLACK TRIDENT patch has been obscured, as well as the Task Group patch on the Soldier's sleeve. That last one actually makes sense. But then the press office has pixelated the MOHOC 2 helmet camera but not the S&S PRECISION Manta Strobe? And did they feel the need to obscure the KAHLES optic mounted on the HK417P? Or even the Casio G-SHOCK GST-B100-1A on the arm of the "human tripod"? And then what about the FCS-TacRay Ballistic, a fire control system from RHEINMETALL mounted on the rifle? 

Oh Austria - the hills are alive with the sound of censors editing photos....

At any rate, it is #AUGust. Time to MAKE AUG GREAT AGAIN. Patch available exclusively from the SPARTANAT online shop.