The bullpup design of the Steyr AUG (Armee Universal Gewehr - Universal Army Rifle) is one of the best assault rifles in existence today. Its rather fragile appearance masks an unswerving reliability under the hardest conditions, and it is very stable and accurate. Its weight is kept down by extensive use of advanced plastics, even in areas such as the firing mechanisim and its clear plastic magazine.

Used by many of the world armies including New Zealand and Tunisia. The housing of the AUG rifles, integral with the pistol handle and trigger guard, is made from the high impact-resistant polymer, and is usually of green (military) or black (police) colour. The housing has two symmetrical ejection ports, one of which is always covered by the plastic cover. The rubber-coated buttplate is detachable and, when removed, opens the access to the rifle internals, including the hammer unit and the bolt group. The buttplate is held in position by the cross-pin, which also serves as a rear sling swivel attachment point.

The standard sighting equipment of the Steyr AUG rifle is the 1.5X telescope sight, with aiming reticle made as a circle. This circle is so dimensioned so its visible inner diameter is equal to the visible height of the standing man at 300 meters range. The adjustment knobs on the sight are used only for zeroing. The sight housing, which is integral to the receiver on the AUG A1 models, also features an emergency backup iron sights at the top of the telescope sight housing. On the AUG A2 models, the standard scope mount can be quickly removed and replaced by the Picatinny-type mounting rail.