SALW Guide

Global distribution and visual

identification

Mauritius
Country report
https://salw-guide.bicc.de
Weapons Distribution SALW Guide

Weapons Distribution
The following list shows the weapons which can be found in Mauritius and whether there is
data on who holds these weapons:

Browning M 2 G HK MP5 G

FN FAL G MAS 49 U

FN P90 G MAS 49/56 U

HK 21 G Panzerfaust 3 (PzF 3) G

HK G3 G SIG SG540 G

HK G36 G Simonov SKS U

Explanation of symbols
Country of origin

Licensed production

Production without a licence

G Government: Sources indicate that this type of weapon is held by Governmental agencies.

N Non-Government: Sources indicate that this type of weapon is held by non-Governmental armed
groups.

U Unspecified: Sources indicate that this type of weapon is found in the country, but do not specify
whether it is held by Governmental agencies or non-Governmental armed groups.

It is entirely possible to have a combination of tags beside each country. For example, if
country X is tagged with a G and a U, it means that at least one source of data identifies
Governmental agencies as holders of weapon type Y, and at least one other source confirms
the presence of the weapon in country X without specifying who holds it.

Note: This application is a living, non-comprehensive database, relying to a great extent on

active contributions (provision and/or validation of data and information) by either SALW
experts from the military and international renowned think tanks or by national and regional
focal points of small arms control entities.

2 salw-guide.bicc.de
SALW Guide

Browning M 2
The Browning .50 caliber machine gun has been used
extensively as a vehicle weapon and for aircraft armament. The
M2 fires from a closed bolt, operated on the short recoil principle.
Nearly 5 million items were produced.

Category Heavy Machine Guns

Operating system Fires from a short bolt, operated on the short recoil principle
Cartridge 12.7 x 99 mm NATO (.50BMG)
Length 1650 mm
Feeding Belt

Type: Browning M2HB-QCB Type: Browning M2HB

right view, Browning M2HB air-cooled machine

left view, Browning M2HB-QCB air-cooled
gun on M3 tripod
machine gun of current manufacture with
quick-change barrel, on M3 tripod

Type: Browning M2E2

weapon specifics, Browning M2E2 new Browing

modification with quick-change barrel

The following ammunition can be used by the Browning M 2:

12.7 x 99 mm NATO (.50BMG)

salw-guide.bicc.de 3
 SALW Guide

Bullet diameter 13 mm
NO IMAGE
Case length 99 mm

Overall length 138 mm

FN FAL
The FN FAL (Fusil Automatique Léger - Light
Automatic Rifle) is one of the most famous
and widespread military rifle. Because of its
prevalence and widespread usage among the
militaries of many NATO and first world countries during the Cold War, it received the title
"The right arm of the Free World". It can be found in both, the 7.62x51mm and, very rarely,
the 5.56x45mm NATO versions. The furniture may be wood, metal or plastic. There are
various barrel lengths. In the UK (L1A1), Canadian, Indian and Netherland versions, there is
no automatic fire mode. The gas system is fitted with gas regulator so it could be easily
adjusted for various environment conditions, or cut off completely so rifle grenades could
be safely launched from the barrel.

Category Assault Rifles

Operating system Gas operated, tilting breechblock, select-fire or semi-automatic only
Cartridge 7.62 x 51mm / .308 Winchester
Length 1100 mm
Feeding Box magazine

Type: ISR FAL "Romat" FN FAL

left view
left view

FN FAL FN FAL

right view right view

4 salw-guide.bicc.de
SALW Guide

FN FAL FN FAL

right view
right view

FN FAL Type: “Gewehr G1”

marking details

Produced for the German armed forces

FN FAL FN FAL

weapon specifics

marking details

The following ammunition can be used by the FN FAL:

7.62 x 51mm / .308 Winchester

salw-guide.bicc.de 5
 SALW Guide

Bullet diameter 7.82 mm

Case length 51.18 mm

Overall length 69.85 mm

FN P90
A personal defense weapon (often abbreviated PDW) is a
compact semi-automatic or fully-automatic firearm similar in
most respects to a submachine gun, but firing an (often
proprietary) armor-piercing round, giving a PDW better
range, accuracy and armor-penetrating capability than
submachine guns, which fire pistol-caliber cartridges.The
P90 was designed to have a length no greater than a man's
shoulder width, in order to be easily carried and maneuvered in tight spaces, such as the
inside of an armored vehicle. To achieve this, the weapon's design utilizes the
unconventional bullpup configuration, in which the action and magazine are located behind
the trigger and alongside the shooter's face, so that there is no wasted space in the stock.
The P90's dimensions are also minimized by its unique horizontally mounted feeding
system, wherein the box magazine sits parallel to the barrel on top of the weapon's frame.
Overall, the weapon has an extremely compact profile.

Category Submachine Guns

Operating system Straight blowback, closed bolt
Cartridge FN 5.7 x 28mm
Length 500 mm
Feeding n/a

FN P90 FN P90

left view
right view

6 salw-guide.bicc.de
SALW Guide

FN P90 FN P90
044/md-01-300w.png 044/md-02-300w.png
marking details marking details

The following ammunition can be used by the FN P90:

FN 5.7 x 28mm
Bullet diameter 5.7 mm
NO IMAGE
Case length 28.83 mm

Overall length 40.5 mm

The FN 5.7×28mm is a small-caliber, high-velocity cartridge designed and manufactured by

FN Herstal in Belgium. It is a bottlenecked centerfire cartridge that is somewhat similar to
the .22 Hornet or .22 K-Hornet. The 5.7×28mm was developed in conjunction with the FN
P90 personal defense weapon (PDW) and FN Five-seven pistol, in response to NATO
requests for a replacement for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. By 2006, FN's
5.7×28mm firearms—the P90 personal defense weapon and Five-seven pistol—were in
service with military and police forces in over 40 nations throughout the world. In the United
States, 5.7×28mm firearms are currently used by numerous law enforcement agencies,
including the U.S. Secret Service.

HK 21
The basic action of the machine gun, which
received the company designation HK 21, was
similar to that of the G3 rifle. The HK 21 fired
from a closed bolt (not that big issue since its
heavy barrel was really quick-detachable) and,
unlike most machine guns, its belt feeding module was located below the receiver. Variants:
HK11E automatic rifle (magazine fed, 7.62 mm) HK13E automatic rifle (magazine fed, 5.56
mm) HK21E general purpose machine gun (belt feed, 7.62 mm) HK23E light machine gun
(belt-fed, 5.56 mm). The "E" stands for "Export" model.

Category Light Machine Guns

Operating system Selective fire roller-back blowback
Cartridge 7.62 x 51mm / .308 Winchester
Length 1140 mm

salw-guide.bicc.de 7
 SALW Guide

Feeding Box magazine

HK 21E HK 21E

left view right view

HK 21E HK 21E

right view right view

8 salw-guide.bicc.de
SALW Guide

HK 21E HK 21E

top view bottom view

HK 21E HK 21E
028/md-01-300w.jpg 028/md-02-300w.jpg
marking details marking details

HK 21E HK 21E
028/md-03-300w.jpg 028/ws-01-300w.jpg
marking details weapon specifics

The following ammunition can be used by the HK 21:

7.62 x 51mm / .308 Winchester

Bullet diameter 7.82 mm

Case length 51.18 mm

Overall length 69.85 mm

salw-guide.bicc.de 9
 SALW Guide

HK G3
The G3 constructed from Heckler & Koch (H&K) in
cooperation with a Spanish agency Centro de Estudios
Técnicos de Materiales Especiale (CETME) in the beginning
Model A & B, after further development, West German Army
(Bundeswehr) implemented this rifle. The furniture can be
wood or plastic. The plastic stock may be green, sand or
black. There is also a collapsing stock. The rifle is hammer
fired and has a trigger mechanism with a 3-position fire selector switch that is also the
manual safety toggle that secures the weapon from accidentally discharging.

Category Assault Rifles

Operating system Roller-delayed blowback
Cartridge 7.62 x 51mm / .308 Winchester
Length 1023 mm
Feeding Box magazine

Type: G3 A1 Type: G3 A3

left view left view

Type: G3 A3ZF Type: G3 A4

left view
left view

Type: G3 A3 Type: South African G3

right view The butt is very similar to the FN FAL

10 salw-guide.bicc.de
SALW Guide

Type: CETEME rifles (Spain) Type: CETEME rifles (Spain)

right view

right view,CETEME model B, the "father of the

G3 rifle

HK G3 HK G3

right view

marking details

HK G3 HK G3

marking details marking details

The following ammunition can be used by the HK G3:

salw-guide.bicc.de 11
 SALW Guide

7.62 x 51mm / .308 Winchester

Bullet diameter 7.82 mm

Case length 51.18 mm

Overall length 69.85 mm

HK G36
The G36 was developed in the 1990s and adopted by several
armed forces, e.g. the German Bundeswehr and the Spanish
Armed Forces. It is gas-operated and employs a rotating bolt and
multi-lug locking system, in contrast to traditional Heckler & Koch
delayed roller-locked bolt systems. The butt-stock folds to the
right. In 2012, reports about overheating G36 rifles in Afghanistan
surfaced which affected the G36’s accuracy. In April 2015, the
German Ministry of Defence decided that the G36 would be phased out.

Category Assault Rifles

Operating system gas, selective-fire
Cartridge 5.56 x 45mm / .223 Remington
Length 1002 mm
Feeding detachable, polymer box magazine

The following ammunition can be used by the HK G36:

5.56 x 45mm / .223 Remington

Bullet diameter 5.7 mm

Case length 44.7 mm

Overall length 57.4 mm

12 salw-guide.bicc.de
SALW Guide

HK MP5
Though the Heckler & Koch MP5 was designed
in the 1960s, it is still one of the most widely
deployed sub-machine guns and has been
developed into a family with numerous variants.
The gun features either a fixed or a sliding
(telescoping) butt-stock. The original MP5 offers
a choice of single shot or automatic fire,
whereas later models received a burst-fire device, allowing two or three-round-bursts each
time the trigger is operated. Current models remain in (licensed) production in several
countries, though The China North Industries Corporation, officially abbreviated as Norinco,
manufactures an unlicensed copy, the NR08.

Category Submachine Guns

Operating system delayed-blowback; selective-fire
Cartridge 9mm Parabellum (9 x 19mm)
Length 680 mm
Feeding detachable box magazine

HK MP 5 HK MP 5

left view left view, stock extended

salw-guide.bicc.de 13
 SALW Guide

HK MP 5 HK MP 5

left view right view

HK MP 5 HK MP 5

right view right view

HK MP 5 HK MP 5

right view top view

14 salw-guide.bicc.de
SALW Guide

HK MP5 HK MP 5
094/md-01-300w.jpg 094/md-02-300w.jpg
marking details marking details: HK MP 5 Kal. 9 mm x 19 80244

HK MP 5 HK MP 5
094/md-03-300w.jpg 094/ws-01-300w.jpg
marking details: HK MP 5 weapon specifics

HK MP 5 HK MP 5
094/ws-02-300w.jpg 094/ws-03-300w.jpg
weapon specifics weapon specifics

HK MP 5
094/ws-04-300w.jpg
weapon specifics

The following ammunition can be used by the HK MP5:

9mm Parabellum (9 x 19mm)

Bullet diameter 9 mm

Case length 19.15 mm

Overall length 29.69 mm

MAS 49
The MAS-49 is a French semi-automatic rifle that
replaced various bolt action rifles as the French
service rifle. The MAS-49 and MAS 49/56 use a
direct gas impingement system with no gas
piston. In this system gas is vented from a port
on top of the barrel and piped directly into an
open cylindrical hollow located in front and on
top of the bolt carrier. The system has the advantage of not depositing gas fouling on the

salw-guide.bicc.de 15
 SALW Guide

bolt itself, a separate part located underneath the bolt carrier.Many MAS-49/56 rifles were
imported as surplus in the USA and had been rechambered to fire the 7.62x51mm NATO
round.

Category Rifles & Carbines

Operating system Gas operated, tilting bolt
Cartridge 7.5 x 54mm
Length 1100 mm
Feeding Box magazine

MAS 49 MAS 49

right view
right view

The following ammunition can be used by the MAS 49:

7.5 x 54mm
Bullet diameter 7.8 mm

Case length 54 mm

Overall length 78 mm

MAS 49/56
The MAS-49 is a French semi-automatic rifle that replaced various
bolt action rifles as the French service rifle. The MAS-49 and MAS
49/56 use a direct gas impingement system with no gas piston. In
this system gas is vented from a port on top of the barrel and
piped directly into an open cylindrical hollow located in front and
on top of the bolt carrier. The system has the advantage of not
depositing gas fouling on the bolt itself, a separate part located
underneath the bolt carrier. Many MAS-49/56 rifles were imported as surplus in the USA and
had been rechambered to fire the 7.62x51mm NATO round.

16 salw-guide.bicc.de
SALW Guide

Category Rifles & Carbines

Operating system Gas operated, tilting bolt
Cartridge 7.5 x 54mm
Length 1020 mm
Feeding Box magazine

MAS 49/56 MAS 49/56

right view
right view

MAS 49/56 MAS 49/56

right view

marking details

MAS 49/56 MAS 49/56

marking details

marking details

The following ammunition can be used by the MAS 49/56:

salw-guide.bicc.de 17
 SALW Guide

7.5 x 54mm
Bullet diameter 7.8 mm

Case length 54 mm

Overall length 78 mm

Panzerfaust 3 (PzF 3)
The Panzerfaust 3 (Tank fist 3 or "The German RPG") entered into
production in 1987 and is still in service with the German Bundeswehr
and several other countries, such as Japan and the Netherlands. This light
anti-tank weapons (LAW) system is man-portable, shoulder-fired and
unguided, and is known for its high kill probability, firing from enclosed
spaces (due to the recoilless countermass principle) and low costs. More
than 250,000 units of the PzF 3 have been produced since the early
1990s.

Category Portable Launcher of Anti-tank Missile and Rocket Systems

Operating system light anti-tank weapon
Cartridge

Panzerfaust 3 (PzF 3) Panzerfaust 3 (PzF 3)

left view left view

18 salw-guide.bicc.de
SALW Guide

Panzerfaust 3 (PzF 3) Panzerfaust 3 (PzF 3)

121/ws-01-300w.jpg
weapon specifics

right view

Panzerfaust 3 (PzF 3)
121/ws-02-300w.jpg
weapon specifics

The following ammunition can be used by the Panzerfaust 3 (PzF 3):

SIG SG540
The Swiss SIG SG540 was designed as a potential replacement for
the SG510. It was produced between 1977 and 2002 in Switzerland
and remains in production in Chile only. While the SG540 and the
SG 543 models are chambered for the 6.56 x 45 mm caliber, the
SG542 uses 7.62 x 51 mm NATO cartridges.

Category Assault Rifles

Operating system gas, selective-fire
Cartridge 5.56 x 45mm / .223 Remington
Length 950 mm
Feeding detachable box magazine

salw-guide.bicc.de 19
 SALW Guide

SIG SG540 SIG SG540

left view left view

SIG SG540 SIG SG540

right view top view

SIG SG540 SIG SG540

top view bottom view

20 salw-guide.bicc.de
SALW Guide

SIG SG540 SIG SG540

107/md-01-300w.jpg 107/ws-01-300w.jpg
marking details weapon specifics

SIG SG540
107/ws-02-300w.jpg
weapon specifics

The following ammunition can be used by the SIG SG540:

5.56 x 45mm / .223 Remington

Bullet diameter 5.7 mm

Case length 44.7 mm

Overall length 57.4 mm

Simonov SKS
SKS is a self-loading Carabine. It utilizes a short-
stroke gas piston with its own return spring, and a
tilting bolt locking, where a bolt tips down to lock
onto the floor of the receiver. Charging handle is
attached to the right side of the bolt carrier and
moves when gun is fired. Safety switch is located
inside the trigger guard. The early model 50
weapons are shorter and are usually found without the bayonet. The SKS was an extremely
reliable, simple constructed weapon with two unique distinguishing characteristics: a
permanently attached folding bayonet, and a hinged non-detachable magazine. However, it
was incapable of fully automatic fire and limited by its ten round magazine capacity, and
was rendered obsolescent by the introduction of the AK-47 in the 1950s. The SKS was only
briefly a standard infantry weapon in front-line units of the Soviet Armed Forces before
being replaced by the AK-47 . The weapon was in service with several armed forces, both
regular and irregular, and it can be found in many countries in Asia and Africa. The SKS
remains popular on the civilian market as a hunting and marksmanship arm in many
countries, including the United States and Canada.

salw-guide.bicc.de 21
 SALW Guide

Category Rifles & Carbines

Operating system Gas operated, tilting bolt
Cartridge 7.62 x 39mm
Length 1020 mm
Feeding Box magazine

Simonov SKS Yugoslavian SKS (Type 59/66)

left view, with muzzle grenade launcher and

left view grenade front sight

Simonov SKS Simonov SKS

right view

right view

Simonov SKS CHN SKS (Type 56)

right view, with typical spike-shaped bayonet

right view, SKS with a scope

22 salw-guide.bicc.de
SALW Guide

Simonov SKS Simonov SKS

marking details

marking details

Simonov SKS

marking details

The following ammunition can be used by the Simonov SKS:

7.62 x 39mm
Bullet diameter 7.92 mm

Case length 38.7 mm

Overall length 56 mm

salw-guide.bicc.de 23
 SALW Guide

Tagging of Sources
We believe that our Guide should be as transparent as possible without endangering the
confidentiality of our sources. Rather than name the exact source for each unit of data, we
have created tags so that users can at least know whether the data comes from a primary
or secondary source, and by which medium it can or has been found. All incoming data is
validated and then tagged by the project team at BICC before it enters our database.

Sources are tagged according to the following criteria:

1. Primary Sources:
These are presentations of facts. They are proof of an SALW event (e.g. a transfer, sighting,
misuse, etc.) because the source was created at the time of the event itself. Primary
sources as usually original documents such as transfer authorizations, firearms legislation,
or academic journals presenting results of a study on SALW holdings in a particular country,
for example. However, they can also be information offered by a person with direct
knowledge of an SALW event or who has documented an SALW event at the time that it
happened.

2. Secondary Sources:
These are interpretations or evaluation of facts. Secondary sources contain commentary
and analysis of SALW events that are documented in primary sources.

Sources are also tagged according to the dominant medium of delivery:

A. Written - the source is based on written words.

B. Oral - the source is based on spoken words.
C. Visual - the source is based on seen events or optical images.

These criteria make our tags two-dimensional. While the process of classifying sources is a
primarily subjective one, the project team at BICC has developed the following table to
serve as an example of possible sources within each category.

Table: Examples of sources on SALW distribution

Primary Secondary

24 salw-guide.bicc.de
SALW Guide

Written • Fact books • Wikipedia

• Weapons Transfer • Literature reviews
authorizations • Training or safety manuals
• End-user certificates on gun control, ammunition,
• Transcripts of interviews, legal physical stockpile security
proceedings, speeches/ management)
presentations, meetings, • Minutes of meetings,
conferences or symposia conferences, symposia
• Newspaper articles • Indexes (e.g. Global
• Written correspondence (e.g. Militarization Index)
letters, emails, text messages, • Newspaper articles
etc.)
Etc.
• Blogs
• Peer-reviewed journal articles
• Treaties, constitution, laws
• Records of organizations (e.g.
annual reports)
• Surveys, questionnaires

Etc...

Oral • Interviews with experts, • Speeches, panel

including radio or telephone presentations, etc. on data
• Legal proceedings provided by experts
• Speeches or interventions by
Etc...
experts or national
representatives in government
or international meetings

Etc ...

Visual • Artifacts (e.g. the weapons • PowerPoint presentations on

themselves, ammunition) results found by experts
• Photographs of weapons,
Etc...
ammunition, etc.
• Videos (e.g. YouTube, those
recorded by mobile phone)
• Television documentaries, news
reports

Etc ...

salw-guide.bicc.de 25
About the Guide SALW Guide

Table: Example tags

Source (sample) Type of Medium of

source delivery

IHS Jane’s Weapons Infantry (2015-2016) primary written

Panel discussion of weapons use of non-state secondary oral

armed groups

Documentary on paramilitaries in Colombia primary visual

About the Guide

The Interactive Guide on Small Arms and Light Weapons is an open access tool,
designed to build knowledge on how to identify different types, makes and models of
commonly used SALW in organized violence; to collect data on the global and country-
specific spread of these SALW; and to describe some of their visual and technical
specifications.

The guide is not an exhaustive list of all SALW that are used around the world.

Global SALW control relies on, among other things, data and knowledge of the weapons
themselves. Our aim is that the Guide will be used to support national reporting duties on
SALW holdings; facilitate and ameliorate the collection of data on SALW; and increase
general knowledge of global distribution of SALW.

The interactive Guide was developed by BICC in close cooperation with the Bundeswehr
Verification Center (BwVC), and with the generous support of the Federal Foreign Office,
Germany.

Contact
Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC) gGmbH
Joseph Farha
Project Coordinator
Pfarrer-Byns-Str. 1
53121 Bonn
Germany

26 salw-guide.bicc.de
SALW Guide Overall project coordination

E-Mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.bicc.de

Zentrum für Verifikationsaufgaben der Bundeswehr (ZVBw) - Bundeswehr

Verification Center (BwVC)
Global Arms- and Proliferation Control Division
Major Laurentius Wedeniwski
Selfkant-Kaserne
Rue de Quimperle 100
52511 Geilenkirchen
E-Mail: [email protected]

Overall project coordination

Joseph Farha
Project Coordinator
Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC)

Responsible for all content (including photos):

Zentrum für Verifikationsaufgaben der Bundeswehr (ZVBw) - Bundeswehr Verification

Center.
Major Laurentius Wedeniwski: Small Arms and Light Weapons Guide (2016).

Responsible for design, editorial and technical implementation:

Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC) gGmbH.

Technical management: Joseph Farha
Programming: Rolf Alberth

salw-guide.bicc.de 27