Springfield Armory® is proud to announce two new variants of the Hellion™, offering enhanced ballistic performance with 18” and 20” barrel length options and unique features true to the original VHS-2 design.
Based on the internationally proven bullpup employed by the Croatian armed forces in demanding environments ranging from Iraq to Africa and beyond, the Hellion offers American shooters a semi-automatic version of this highly capable and fully ambidextrous firearm. The newly released variants feature extended 18” and 20” barrels, resulting in a 5.56mm that still offers the compact handling characteristics of a bullpup, but with enhanced velocity and downrange performance.
In addition, the 20”-barreled version of the Hellion features an overall configuration similar to that of the Croatian VHS-D2, a designated marksman version of the VHS-2. The 20” Hellion is outfitted with a distinctive ribbed forward section of barrel for enhanced cooling as well as an integrated bayonet lug.
Now, why did I say LongPup? Well the VHS-2 has an adjustable length of pull on the stock and it is… more than average to begin with. I like the feature in concept but the actual dimensions are for NBA and NFL proportioned folks.
That ribbing aside (and the barrel cooling ribbing on the 20 is neat) I like that the bullpup offerings in the US, especially of actual service rifle designs, is expanding. The VHS-2 Hellion has some ergonomic quirks to be sure, but it is an eminently runnable rifle. I still want to see Lithgow bring in the F90 updated AUG variants into country too. Get the whole updated mix.
I’m ultimately looking forward to seeing the Hellion and its aftermarket join strong offerings like the leading X95 in being 5.56 NATO for everyone.
