The MDR (an acronym for micro dynamic rifle) is a family of autoloading

bullpup A bullpup firearm is one with its firing grip located in front of the Chamber (firearms), breech of the weapon, instead of behind it. This creates a weapon with a shorter overall length for a given barrel length, and one that is often lighter, ...

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

s designed by

Desert Tech Desert Tech is a rifle manufacturer founded in 2007 as Desert Tactical Arms and later re-branded as Desert Tech in 2013. They are located in West Valley City, Utah. Its CEO, Nick Young, is the nephew of Paul Elden Kingston. As of May 2018 all of ...

(formerly Desert Tactical Arms) in 2014. A second generation version of the rifle is marketed as the MDRX (an acronym for micro dynamic rifle eXtreme). In 2018 a military version of the MDR, the NGSAR, was submitted, but was not one of the finalists in the United States Army

Next Generation Squad Weapon Program The Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) program is a United States military program created in 2017 to replace the 5.56mm M4 carbine and M249 SAW light machine gun and the 7.62mm M240 machine gun, with a common system of 6.8mm cartridges; and t ...

trials to replace standard issue US army Infantry Weapons. The MDR's first public debut was in 2014 at

Shot Show The SHOT Show , which is an acronym for "Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show", is an American annual trade show for the shooting sports, hunting, outdoor recreations and firearm manufacturing industries. The show is owned and sponsored by ...

Design

The Desert Tech MDR is a gas operated, conventional rotary bolt bullpup rifle. The gas system features a gas piston located above the barrel and a 6 position manual gas regulator. The MDR rifle is designed to be ambidextrous. The MDR contains an ambidextrous forward and side eject port and viewing window that allows for tool free forward ejector side change. A non reciprocating ambidextrous charging handle is installed on both sides of the gun, and two or three-position safety / selector levers and magazine release are provided on both sides of the pistol grip. The rifle is compatible with Desert Tech caliber conversion kits that allow the rifle to change caliber. This provides a unique feature in which the rifle chassis can accept both

intermediate cartridge An intermediate cartridge is a rifle/carbine cartridge that has significantly greater power than a pistol cartridge but still has a reduced muzzle energy compared to fully powered cartridges (such as the .303 British, 7.62×54mmR, 7.92×57mm ...

s and

full-powered rifle cartridge A rifle cartridge is a firearm cartridge primarily designed and intended for use in a rifle/carbine, or machine gun. Types Full-powered A full-powered cartridge is a rifle cartridge used interchangeably between service rifles, sniper rifle ...

s on the same serial number platform (such as 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO magazines). The outer shell of the gun is made from impact-resistant polymer with an aluminum receiver. The .308/7.62 MDR was 10,000 round endurance tested with .308 win 150 grain FMJ American Eagle, 7.62x51 149 grain American Eagle, 7.62 m80 ball US Surplus and averaged 1 failure in 2000 rounds.

NGSAR Prototype, Modified MDR for NGSW

In 2018 a modified MDR family rifle, the NGSAR, chambered in a proprietary 6.8mm

polymer-cased ammunition Polymer-cased ammunition (PCA) is firearm ammunition (cartridge) with casings made from synthetic polymer instead of the typical metallic casing. PCA is considered a new alternative that potentially reduces production cost and weight for long g ...

cartridge made by PCP was selected as one of the United States Army's

(NGSW) weapons trial finalists to replace the United States Army's 5.56×45mm NATO caliber weapon systems. Desert Tech partnered with PCP tactical who provided a custom ammunition solution. The NGSAR was trialed in a

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighter ...

and

automatic rifle An automatic rifle is a type of autoloading rifle that is capable of fully automatic fire. Automatic rifles are generally select-fire weapons capable of firing in semi-automatic and automatic firing modes (some automatic rifles are capable of ...

configuration and were ultimately rejected. The NGSAR rifle included improvements in the design such as a T-Worx battery powered integrated data rail, onboard round counter, longer receiver, bolt carrier, barrel extension, charging handle, forward eject system, barrel mounting system, proprietary 6.8mm PCP magazines, custom flow reflex suppressor, CNOD day/night optic.

MDR .308/7.62 upgrade program

The 2017 MDR in .308/7.62 win received public feedback that resulted in an upgrade program by Desert Tech on the gas and extractor system in 2019 to improve the rifle's ammunition tolerance without having to adjust the gas setting as frequently. This update is considered the Generation 2 MDR Gas System. Desert Tech publicly addressed the MDR criticism on January 10, 2019. Desert Tech directly attributed the most vocal criticism of the platform to the InRangeTV company in collaboration with the Forgotten Weapons Company that demonstrated numerous failures in the system that were identified to be from varying ammunition loads used in the gas system on December 13, 2018. In addition to addressing the criticism, Desert Tech provided a technical root cause analysis presentation on the platform failures and resulting improvements with the generation 2 gas system. As a supplemental incentive, Desert Tech announced their MDR generation 2 gas system upgrade was to be covered under their warranty program for all owners.

MDRX redesign

The Micro Dynamic Rifle eXtreme, MDRX, variant was produced and marketed as a separate firearm in 2020. Improvements to the firearm include the following: Improved impact-resistant polymer, improved trigger, improved gas block, and a new "Ratchet" compensator. The firearm was offered in .300 BLK, 6.5 Creedmoor (The first production semi auto Bullpup chambered in this cartridge), along with its original .223/5.56 and .308/7.62 calibers as well as 20" barrel and side ejection options. This update is considered the generation 3 MDR gas system. A California compliant variant was produced with a 20" barrel, shark fin grip, reduced magazine size, and California compliant Ratchet compensator to qualify for a featureless rifle restrictions. The MDRX, with its various caliber kits, is rated from the manufacturer between 1-2

MOA Moa are extinct giant flightless birds native to New Zealand. The term has also come to be used for chicken in many Polynesian cultures and is found in the names of many chicken recipes, such as Kale moa and Moa Samoa. Moa or MOA may also refe ...

MDR/MDRX official variant upgrades

On January 28, 2021, the MDRX Micron conversion kit was announced that allowed the purchase of a 11.5" 5.56/.223 Wylde barrel, replacement hand guard, ejector plates, a new 'Raiden' flash hider, and bolt replacement for a side eject bullpup with a total length of 23.43". These kits allow standard MDRX and MDR rifles to be classified and regulated as a

short-barreled rifle Short-barreled rifle broadly refers to any rifle with an unusually short barrel. The term carbine describes a production rifle with a reduced barrel length for easier handling in confined spaces. Concern about concealment for illegal purposes ha ...

(SBR) requiring the user to apply with the appropriate regulatory bodies before install of the conversion kit in their rifle. These kits became available for sale on January 29, 2021. On March 18, 2021, a collaboration effort between Desert Tech and BLK LBL Bipods was announced to develop, produce, and sell the Mantis

handguard A barrel shroud is an external covering that envelops (either partially or full-length) the barrel of a firearm, to prevent unwanted direct contact with the barrel (e.g. accidental collision with surrounding objects, or the user accidentally tou ...

. The handguard is a , , aluminum handguard with an integrated bipod that replaces the factory polymer handguard and improved zero for handguard mounted parts. The aluminum handguard with integrated bipod is designed for both 16" and 20" barrel MDR/MDRX rifles and allows both an

M-LOK M-LOK, for Modular Lock, is a firearm rail interface system developed and patented by Magpul Industries. The license is free-of-charge, but subject to an approval process. M-LOK allows for direct accessory attachment onto the "negative s ...

under handguard attachment as well as an integrated

bipod A bipod is a V-shaped portable attachment that helps support and steady a device, usually a weapon such as a long gun or a mortar. The term comes from the Latin prefix ''bi-'' and Greek root ''pod'', meaning "two" and "foot" respectively. Bipod ...

to be used at the same time without interference. In early 2022, a , Mantis handguard for the longer 20" barrel option was available for sale. In March 2022, ES Tactical, a Desert Tech Dealer who specializes in precision upgrade parts, began to sell after market caliber conversion kits in

.350 Legend The .350 Legend (9×43 mm), also called 350 LGND, is a SAAMI-standardized straight-walled intermediate rifle cartridge developed by Winchester Repeating Arms. The cartridge was designed for use in American states that have specific regu ...

and

.450 Bushmaster The .450 Bushmaster is a rifle cartridge developed by Tim LeGendre of LeMag Firearms, and licensed to Bushmaster Firearms International. The .450 Bushmaster is designed to be used in standard M16s and AR-15s, using modified magazines and u ...

, resulting in the first Bullpup to be chambered in those cartridges. In June 2022, Desert Tech and BLK LBL announced a and ALX hand guard solution similar to the Mantis without the Bipod attachment.

References

{{Bullpup firearms Semi-automatic rifles of the United States Bullpup rifles Assault rifles of the United States .300 BLK firearms 7.62×51mm NATO battle rifles 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifles Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2014 Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2017 Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2018 Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2020 Trial and research firearms of the United States