IWS 2000

The Steyr IWS 2000 is an Austrian semi-automatic anti-materiel rifle produced by Steyr Mannlicher. IWS stands for Infantry Weapon System. It is actually a smoothbore weapon, like many modern tank guns, and not a true rifle but this can help accelerate projectiles and increase ballistic effectiveness. It fires a 15.2×169mm armor-piercing, fin-stabilized discarding sabot round (207 mm long), and is the first man-portable rifle to use this type of ammunition. The projectile is a 15.2 mm fin-stabilized discarding-sabot type with armor-piercing capability which the IWS 2000 was specifically designed to fire. It contains a dart-shaped penetrator of either tungsten carbide or depleted uranium, capable of piercing 40 mm of rolled homogeneous armor at a range of 1,000 m, and causing secondary fragmentation. The cartridge consists of a plastic case, a steel head, and a plastic sabot shell around the penetrator.