B&T APC556
- Category
- Assault Rifle
- Barrel
- 310 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.57 kg
- Introduced
- 2011
About
What it is, and why it matters
The B&T APC556 is a Swiss selective-fire assault rifle chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO, built around the Advanced Police Carbine (APC) platform developed by B&T AG (Brügger & Thomet). It uses a short-stroke gas piston system with a multi-lug rotary bolt and an integral hydraulic buffer to soften recoil, paired with fully ambidextrous controls and a folding, length-adjustable stock. The upper receiver is aluminum alloy while the lower is polymer, and the rifle feeds from STANAG-pattern 30-round magazines. Designed primarily for law enforcement and special-operations use, it offers a quick-change barrel and a dedicated interface for B&T ROTEX sound suppressors.
B&T (originally Brügger & Thomet) made its name building suppressors and accessories before moving into complete weapon systems; the APC line, badged 'Advanced Police Carbine', reflects the company's law-enforcement focus, and the APC556 shares its modular receiver architecture with the 9mm APC9 family.
The APC556 is the 5.56mm member of B&T's APC carbine family, which also includes the 9mm APC9 and the .300 BLK / 7.62mm variants. The semi-automatic civilian version is marketed as the APC223.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- B&T AG (Brügger & Thomet)
- Category
- Assault Rifle
- Country
- Switzerland
- Status
- In production
- Produced
- 2011
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 310 mm
- Overall length
- 841 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.57 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Gas operated
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 30
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Aluminum alloy
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Polymer
- Finish
- Anodized
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 880 m/s
- Effective range
- 400 m
- Rate of fire
- 600 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Short stroke gas piston
Rotary bolt
Hydraulic buffer
Ambidextrous controls
Folding telescopic stock
Monolithic picatinny rail
Stanag magazine compatible
Quick change barrel
Integral suppressor interface
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 158 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 3.57 kg | 3.60 kg | Near the median |
| Overall lengthAmong 156 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 841 mm | 920 mm | Shorter than about 70% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 157 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 310 mm | 449 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 158 5.56x45mm NATO assault rifles | 30 | 30 | Near the median |
Answers
Questions about the B&T APC556
How much does the B&T APC556 weigh?
The B&T APC556 weighs 3.57 kg (7.87 lb) empty.
What caliber is the B&T APC556?
The B&T APC556 is chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO.
How many rounds does the B&T APC556 hold?
The B&T APC556 holds 30 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the B&T APC556?
The B&T APC556 is 841 mm (33.1 in) long overall, with a 310 mm (12.2 in) barrel.
Who makes the B&T APC556?
The B&T APC556 is made by B&T AG (Brügger & Thomet) (Switzerland). It was designed by B&T AG.
When was the B&T APC556 introduced?
The B&T APC556 was introduced in 2011.
How does the B&T APC556 operate?
The B&T APC556 uses a gas operated action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Swiss law enforcement agencies
- Switzerland
Provenance
Confidence in this record
82%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/apc556' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "apc556", "name": "B&T APC556", "manufacturer": { "id": "bt-ag", "name": "B&T AG (Brügger & Thomet)", "countryCode": "CH", "foundedYear": 1991, "website": "https://www.bt-ag.ch", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:43:43", "version": "92f8fc30d4932021beec6d4bd0c3f6f32f1a53e6214fbb44fd5ad17bb6b08494" }, "category": { "id": "assault-rifle", "name": "Assault Rifle", "description": "Selective-fire rifles chambered in intermediate cartridges" }, "country_of_origin": "CH", "year_introduced": 2011, "barrel_length_mm": 310, "weight_empty_g": 3570, "action_type": "gas_operated"}