The Modular Sniper Rifle, or MSR, is a bolt-action sniper rifle recently
developed and produced by Remington Arms for the United States Army. It was
introduced in 2009, and was designed to meet specific United States Army and
USSOCOM Precision Sniper Rifle requirements. The MSR won the PSR
competition, and is called the Remington Mk 21 Precision Sniper Rifle in U.S.
military service. History
On 7 March 2013, MSR was declared the winner of the Precision Sniper Rifle
competition. Remington announced that the MSR had won on March 8, and it was
publicly confirmed on March 9. This was followed by a $79.7 million contract for
5,150 rifles with suppressors, along with 4,696,800 rounds of ammunition to
be supplied over the next ten years. The contract was awarded on 12 September
2013. Remington Defense produces the sniper rifles and utilizes two other
companies for other system components, with Barnes Bullets for ammunition and
Advanced Armament Corporation for muzzle brakes and suppressors; all three
companies are subsidiaries of Freedom Group Incorporated.
By 2015, the U.S. Army was considering the PSR to replace both the .300
Winchester Magnum M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle and the .50 BMG M107 Long Range
Sniper Rifle for regular snipers, although no decision has been made. The
U.S. Marine Corps was also considering the Mk 21 to replace their M40A5 sniper
rifle, but is unlikely to adopt the Mk 21 due to the higher cost of the system,
particularly the ammunition, as compared to the 7.62mm NATO M40A5.
Design The Remington MSR is a manually operated
bolt-action weapon with a rotary locking bolt. To facilitate caliber change, the
bolt is equipped with removable bolt heads, with bolt faces matched for
appropriate calibers. Bolt heads have three radial locking lugs. The MSR rifle
is built upon an aluminum alloy "chassis", which hosts a compact
receiver, adjustable trigger unit, pistol grip, and fully adjustable
side-folding buttstock. The quick-change barrels are free-floated inside the
tubular handguard which is provided with a number of user-installable Picatinny
type accessory rails. The top of receiver also is fitted with monolithic
Picatinny rail used to install sighting equipment. Additional equipment includes
detachable folding bipod, and a quick-detachable suppressor which
installs over the specially designed muzzle brake.
The model that won the PSR competition is a modified version of the original
MSR. It can be chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO, .300 Winchester Magnum, and .338
Lapua Magnum. It is reported to have 0.7 MOA average accuracy at 1,000 m with
both Barnes and ATK 300 gr .338 Lapua Magnum ammunition.
Changes to the PSR version include: Reinforced AAC muzzle brake for Titan QD
suppressor Chromoly steel .338 barrel with 1:9.5
twist, 5R rifling, and Melonite finish One piece handguard with 20 MOA top rail
Barrel nut accessible without removing the handguard
X-treme trigger Light weight, removable buttstock with
throw lever adjustments instead of ratcheting adjustments
On 14 August 2014, the Army announced it was seeking sources to produce .338
Lapua armor piercing ammunition for use in the Mk 21 PSR to effectively engage
targets out to 1,500 m. The main objective is for the rifle to defeat
level IV body armor at 400 meters, whether suppressed or unsuppressed, in
temperature ranges of −65 to 160 °F. Other minimum requirements include a
velocity of 1,340 ft/s or more at 1,250 meters, 1,000 ft·lb of kinetic energy at
1,500 meters, and the ability to defeat both 3⁄8 in of rolled homogeneous armor
and 1⁄2 in of cast iron at 800 meters. Users
United States: USSOCOM, winner of the Precision Sniper Rifle competition.
Colombia: Colombian Special Forces. See also
Precision Sniper Rifle References