Beta C-Mags

[Mahatatain]

Does anyone know when Beta C-Mags (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_c-mag) became available IRL as I'm trying to figure out whether they are feasible for a T2k game?

I've seen a reference on Wiki that mentions "Coil Magazines" for 7.62x51mm weapons from the "early 1990's" and the H&K MG-36 was released in 1997 (I think) and that was designed to be used with the C-Mag (again, according to Wiki). It therefore sounds feasible to me that a rare 5.56x45mm C-Mag or two could exist in a T2k game but I'm not certain.

As you can see my information is not very reliable so I wondered if anyone knows much about the C-Mag and when it became available, both in terms of general supply to troops and, prior to that, as a rare item amongst special forces types.

Thanks for any information/help.