Chris Masters delivers a cracking read about the ‘funny plastic weapon’ that replaced the Vietnam-era L1A1 assault rifle in the 1980s, the successors to which remain the ADF’s primary personal weapon. And what a history it is. Chris skilfully weaves the political, design, industrial, economic and battlefield factors that have driven decision-making about the weapon earlier known as the Steyr AUG, F88 and Austeyr and now known as the EF88.

As with earlier ASPI case studies on defence projects, Sticking to our guns is designed to help those in Defence, industry and parliament and other interested observers to better understand the complexities of the business, all with the aim of improving how Australia equips the ADF.

Chris Masters is one of Australia’s best-known and most influential investigative journalists. He holds the record as the longest serving reporter on the country’s longest running current affairs program, Four Corners. Over 25 years he made a series of nation-shaping reports, among them ‘The Moonlight State’, which helped trigger Queensland’s Fitzgerald inquiry into police corruption.

Chris has received multiple awards for his work, including the premier Gold Walkley for his international exposé of the sinking of the Greenpeace boat Rainbow Warrior. He is the author of five best-selling books, including Uncommon soldier: the story of the making of today’s diggers (2013) and No front line: Australian special forces at war in Afghanistan (2017).