The VHS (, multifunctional Croatian machine gun) is a 5.56×45mm NATO bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured by HS Produkt of Croatia. The VHS rifle was first introduced at the 2007 iKA exhibition, the annual Croatian innovation display that takes place in the city of Karlovac. The development began from a Croatian Army request for a new infantry rifle to meet NATO standards. An improved version of the VHS rifle, known as the , was introduced in April 2013. In January 2022, it was announced that Springfield Armory, Inc. will be importing the into the US as the Hellion. History Development During the Croatian War of Independence, HS Produkt (then called IM Metal) created a bullpup variant of the 7.62 mm Kalashnikov assault rifle. This rifle had a number of flaws, partly caused by limited technological capabilities of IM Metal, but provided a valuable learning experience for the company. A delayed blowback model was tested in the mid-1990s, but the results were still not satisfactory, and it was superseded by a design similar to the M16 rifle. More prototypes followed in 1996, 1999 and 2004. The development cycle that ultimately led to the current version of the VHS rifle started circa 2003. A new prototype, externally quite similar to the French FAMAS, was publicly announced in 2005 and presented to Croatian Minister of Defense Berislav Rončević. However, only 10% of the 2004 prototype was retained in the production model. Evaluation and adoption On November 19, 2007, the Croatian Ministry of Defence placed an order for an experimental batch of 50 rifles to be tested by the Croatian contingent then deployed in Afghanistan within the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The contract was placed at 4.5 million kuna. Other nations, including Kuwait and Venezuela showed interest in acquiring the rifle. On November 24, 2008, HS Produkt introduced the final version of the VHS assault rifle. After an initial testing phase with the first 40 rifles, an order for 1,000 rifles was made. In 2009, an additional order of 2,000 rifles was made to enter service with the Croatian Army. By the end of 2012, and as of 2013, the Croatian army had 3,600 VHS rifles in service. Another order of 2,000 rifles was to be delivered to the Croatian military by the end of 2014. A long-term Croatian Army requirement calls for 50,000 assault rifles, ensuring the long-term production of VHS-2.