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Hellion’s Big Brother Spotted in the Wild on NATO Front Lines

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Images captured on a shooting range somewhere in Lithuania have captured a familiar bullpup 5.56 at play in the snow.

Panzerbrigade 45 “Litauen” recently released a photo essay on social media with troops qualifying in the Baltics, a region of NATO allies that share a tense border with Russia in Northeast Europe.

Seen prominently is the HS Produkt VHS-2 rifle in its full-flavor select fire variant. Over on this side of the pond, the Croatian-made VHS is better known as its NFA-compliant sporting variant, the Springfield Armory Hellion. 

Patches seen in the photos point to the troops as belonging to the 565-member 6th Croatian Contingent (6. HRVCON), a battalion of Cold War classic towed 122mm D30 RH M94 (2A18) howitzers, which is part of the NATO Multinational Battlegroup Lithuania (MN BG LTU), an outfit composed of troops from not only Croatia but also Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands.

The VHS, introduced in 2008, was adopted by the Croatian Army in 2016. In addition to Croatia, the VHS is standard issue to military and police units in a half-dozen countries.

More than 20,000 VHS series rifles are in service in Croatia. (Photos: Croatian Army)

Over here, the Hellion debuted on the commercial market in 2022 and is now available in several variants across numerous barrel lengths and colorways. We reviewed the 16-inch carbine model and found it to be exceptional in testing.

Despite its short length, the Hellion has a 16-inch CMV barrel with a 1:7 twist and a Melonite coating. Its overall length makes it ideal for CQB-style shooting, and the adjustable stock —you just don’t see that on bullpups —makes the gun modular for a wide range of shooters. (Photo: Chris Eger)

Growing Hell..ion

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Springfield Armory has been importing its American take on the Croatian-made VHS2 5.56 NATO chambered bullpup carbine for a minute, and now they have expanded the lineup to include both 18- and 20-inch variants, really growing the family.

The HS Produkt VHS is a legit combat rifle, already seeing some real-life service around the globe in some very armpit-quality places even though it is only about 15 years old. The improved second-gen VHS2, which was introduced back in 2013, first came into the U.S. in early 2022 as a semi-auto version with enough Section 922 tweaks (BCM Gunfighter grip, Magpul mag, etc.) to make it compliant.

The standard 16 inch model, which I reviewed in 2022

Debuted over here as the Springfield Armory Hellion with a 16-inch barrel, it has gained a reputation as a reliable, easy shooting, accurate, and feature-rich (user-adjustable gas system, fully ambidextrous, 5-position collapsible stock, swappable ejection port, excellent flip up iron sights on a full Pic rail, etc.) bullpup, outclassing a lot of the competition such as the Tavor, AUG, and FS 2000.

I have put upwards of 2K rounds through one on a T&E and loved it enough to buy it.

Well now, Springfield has introduced two new variants that share every feature and only change with the barrel length and type.

The new models include an 18-inch and a 20-inch, the latter with a ribbed forward section for enhanced cooling as well as an integrated bayonet lug (with the company promising compatible bayonets on the way). Springfield points out that the 20-inch model sports a similar configuration to that of the Croatian Army’s VHS-D2, a super accurate designated marksman version of the VHS-2.

16, 18, and 20…

Hellion 18-inch model

Hellion 20-inch model. Note the ribbed barrel and bayonet lug. Springfield says this model is a ringer for the VHS-designated marksman rifle

 

Hellion 16

Hellion 18

Hellion 20

Barrel Length:

16 inches

18 inches

20 inches (includes bayonet lug)

Overall Length:

28.25 – 29.75 inches

30.25 — 31.75 inches

32.25 — 33.75 inches

Weight:

8 pounds

8 pounds, 3 oz

8 pounds, 6 oz

MSRP:          

$1,999

$2,016

$2,031

 

The neat thing is that the price point is practically the same, and, while some other Springfield platforms (looking at you, Prodigy) have gotten some downright mixed to bad reviews, it seems like everyone kind of likes the Hellion.

Time will tell.

Hell(ion) on wheels. Actually not that bad

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Announced to coincide with SHOT Show in January, the 5.56 NATO carbine is an Americanized version of the HS-Produkt– who also makes the XD series pistols– VHS-2 rifle made for the Croatian military.

Well, I’ve been kicking one around for the past couple of months to get a feel for it and have the battle scars to prove it.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Meet a new 5.56 Bullpup to the American Market, via Croatia

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Shrinking the size of their rifle game, Springfield Armory hit the market Friday with the Hellion bullpup 5.56 NATO platform.

An evolution of the proven HS Produkt-made VHS-2 rifle system, the Hellion has an overall length of just 28.25-inches while still possessing a carbine-length 16-inch CMV barrel with a 1:7 twist. The rifle uses a 2-position adjustable short-stroke gas piston operating system. It also has fully ambidextrous controls and a reversible ejection system that can be swapped without using special tools.

While the HS Produkt name is vague on the U.S. market, the Croatian gun maker is known for variants of its HS-2000 pistol, which has been imported to this side of the Atlantic for decades as the Springfield XD series. The VHS series rifle was first introduced in 2005– an evolution of a bullpup prototyped during the Croatian War of Independence in 1992– and today is the standard rifle of the Croatian military and police, as well as in use in other countries around the globe.

More in my column at Guns.com.