The Barrett MRAD (Multi-role Adaptive Design) is a

bolt-action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...

sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long-range rifle. Requirements include accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment and optics for anti-personnel, anti-materiel and surveillance uses of the military sniper. The modern sniper rifle is a por ...

SOCOM PSR The Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR) was a program by United States Special Operations Command to replace all bolt-action sniper rifles in use by United States special operations snipers with a single bolt-action rifle chambered for a large caliber Ma ...

. The MRAD is based on the

Barrett 98B The Barrett Model 98B (also known as the Barrett Model 98 Bravo) is a bolt-action sniper rifle chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6×70mm or 8.58×70mm) and manufactured by Barrett Firearms Manufacturing. The Model 98B was officially announced in ...

and includes a number of modifications and improvements. The Barrett MRAD was named the 2012 Rifle of the Year by the

NRA The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while conti ...

Design

After the

United States Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Arm ...

(USSOCOM) announced their desire for a new

precision sniper rifle The Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR) was a program by United States Special Operations Command to replace all bolt-action sniper rifles in use by United States special operations snipers with a single bolt-action rifle chambered for a large caliber ...

in December 2009, Barrett created the MRAD in accordance with the specifications laid out by SOCOM. Building off of the successful

, the MRAD features multiple improvements such as a folding

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

which allows the rifle to be transported more easily. When folded, the stock latches around the bolt handle which increases the security of transporting the rifle without increasing the width when it is unfolded. A major MRAD feature (and requirement of the military PSR solicitation) is a field-changeable barrel/caliber capability. Loosening two Torx screws in the receiver allows the removal of the barrel from the front of the receiver/handguard. With only a bolt face change, and in some cases a magazine change, caliber may be changed. The factory headspaced bolt face is provided with each barrel. Barrel/caliber change can occur in less than two minutes. In addition to the typical military requested calibers of .338 Lapua Magnum, .300 Winchester Magnum, and .308 Winchester calibers, Barrett also offers caliber conversion kits in .338 and .300 NORMA Magnum, 7mm Remington Magnum, .260 Remington, and 6.5mm Creedmoor. Barrel lengths are offered in 17" to 26", but not in all calibers. Barrels are available in

fluted Fluting may refer to: *Fluting (architecture) * Fluting (firearms) * Fluting (geology) * Fluting (glacial) *Fluting (paper) Arts, entertainment, and media *Fluting on the Hump ''Fluting on the Hump'' is the first album by avant-garde band Kin ...

and heavy profiles. The trigger module can be removed without tools, providing access to user-adjustable trigger pull weight and over travel, and making cleaning easier. Additional features of the MRAD include a single-button

length-of-pull Length of pull (sometimes abbreviated as LOP) is the distance from the trigger to the part of a rifle or shotgun which fits against the shoulder of the shooter. Length of pull is an important ergonomic factor for ease of use; and optimum length of ...

adjustment, adjustable cheek rest height, a polymer bolt guide which acts as a dust cover to reduce debris entering the action, a user reversible AR-15 style safety, an ambidextrous magazine release, and the ability to accept standard M16/AR15 style pistol grips. Early MRADs had 30 MOA slope full length 21.75" standard 1913

Picatinny rail The Picatinny rail ( or ), or Pic rail for short, also known as a MIL-STD-1913 rail, 1913 rail or STANAG 2324 rail (cancelled), is a military standard rail interface system that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It was o ...

on top of the receiver/handguard. Current MRADs feature 20 MOA slope rail. Shorter 2"-4" Picatinny rails sections may be user positioned at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock at several fore/aft positions along the handguard. MRADs are offered in several Cerakote colors. Similar to the M16/AR15, the MRAD upper and lower receivers can be separated by pushing out rear and front two take-down pins. Pushing out only the rear take-down pin allows the upper receiver to tilt on its front take-down pin like an

AR-15 An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporatio ...

to allow for maintenance in the field. With

match grade Match grade frequently refers to quality firearm parts and ammunition that are suitable for a competitive match. Sometimes it also refers to other devices and parts that are made with high precision in mind. Description In firearms, the term is ...

.338 Lapua Magnum The .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6×70 mm or 8.58×70 mm) is a rimless, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. It was developed during the 1980s as a high-powered, long-range cartridge for military snipers. It was used in the War in Afghanistan and ...

ammunition the MRAD is capable of 0.5 MOA (

minute of angle A minute of arc, arcminute (arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol , is a unit of angular measurement equal to of one degree. Since one degree is of a turn (or complete rotation), one minute of arc is of a turn. The na ...

) accuracy at distances of up to 1500 meters. With standard ammunition, the accuracy drops to 0.75 MOA, which is still sub-MOA.

Precision Sniper Rifle

The particular model of the MRAD that was submitted for US SOCOM's MK21 PSR (Precision Sniper Rifle) trial was fitted with a barrel, and weighed (without an optic). In 2013 the Remington Modular Sniper Rifle was selected as the winner of the PSR competition. However, in 2018 it was decided that the MK21 did not conform to SOCOM requirements at the time, and the program was re-competed as the MK22 ASR (Advanced Sniper Rifle).

MK 22 ASR and MK 22 PSR

MK 22 MOD 0 ASR (Advanced Sniper Rifle) is the designation for the Barrett MRAD variant ordered by USSOCOM. In 2019,

U.S. Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Arm ...

awarded Barrett Manufacturing a US$50 million contract for the ASR (Advanced Sniper Rifle) contract, ordering the Barrett MRAD with the ability to convert chambering between 7.62x51mm, .300 Norma Magnum, and .338 Norma Magnum. The MK 22 ASR is issued with Barrett's AML 338 suppressor and paired with the Precision Variable Power Scopes (P-VPS) SU-295/PVS Nightforce ATACR 5-25×56 and SU-295/PVS Nightforce ATACR 7-35×56. MK 22 PSR (Precision Sniper Rifle) is the designation for the Barrett MRAD variant ordered by the US Army. In 2021, the US Army awarded Barrett a US49.9 million contract for delivery of 2,800 MK22 PSR rifles, while the Marine Corps planned to ordered 250. The MK 22 PSR will have conversion kits for .338 Norma Magnum, .300 Norma Magnum, and 7.62×51mm NATO. However, unlike the MK 22 ASR, it is issued with a Leupold Mark 5HD 5-25x56mm scope. The Army plans for the MK 22 to replace the currently in use M107 and M2010 sniper rifles. The Marine Corps intends to have the MK 22 to replace all M40A6 and MK 13 MOD 7 sniper rifles.

Users

*: In 2013, the MRAD was adopted by the

Yamam The Yamam ( he, ימ"מ, an acronym for ''Centralized Special Unit'' , ''Yeḥida Merkazit Meyuḥedet''), also called in Hebrew and Israel's National Counter Terror Unit (I.N.C.T.U.) in English, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, ...

, Israel's

elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

and

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

unit, as their long range sniper rifle, to replace old

PGM 338 The PGM 338, also known as the PGM .338 LM (LM - Lapua Magnum) or PGM Mini-Hecate .338, is French sniper rifle from the early 1990's (being produced since 1993). It uses the .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6×70mm) cartridge, which remains supersonic up to a ...

rifles. In 2018 the MRAD was adopted by the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

. *: Introduced in 2018 as a replacement for the 7.62mm Arctic Warfare sniper rifles *: Ordered by the

Norwegian Armed Forces The Norwegian Armed Forces ( no, Forsvaret, , The Defence) is the military organization responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Royal ...

in 2013. In use with Norwegian Special Operations Forces since 2015, as well as

Kystjegerkommandoen ''Kystjegerkommandoen'' (KJK: in English "Coastal Ranger Commando") is a Norwegian amphibious unit trained to operate in littoral combat theatres, filling the role of a marine corps and coastal artillery. History The unit was created when it b ...

and several

Norwegian Army The Norwegian Army ( no, Hæren) is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway ...

units. Snipers of Beredskapstroppen Delta of the

Norwegian Police The Norwegian Police Service ( no, Politi- og lensmannsetaten) is the Norwegian national civilian police agency. The service dates to the 13th century when the first sheriffs were appointed, and the current structure established in 2003. It co ...

have also been seen with this rifle. *: MK 22 MOD 0 Advanced Sniper Rifle (ASR) ordered by the

. MK 22 Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR) ordered by US Army. MK 22 rifle being considered by US Marine Corps, uncertain which variant. File:Barrett-MRAD-0017.jpg, Shooting a Barrett MRAD chambered for

.308 Winchester The .308 Winchester is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge widely used for hunting, target shooting, police, military, and personal protection applications globally. It is similar but not identical to the 7.62×51mm NATO ...

with

suppressor A silencer, also known as a sound suppressor, suppressor, or sound moderator, is a muzzle device that reduces the acoustic intensity Sound intensity, also known as acoustic intensity, is defined as the power carried by sound waves per unit ...

File:MK22 ASR and PSR comparison.jpg, SOCOM MK 22 MOD 0 ASR (above) compared to Army MK 22 PSR (below). File:2022 USASOC International Sniper Competition Image 1 of 16 7111406 220321-A-OP908-044.jpg, MK 22 ASR being fired at USASOC International Sniper Competition File:LOTAR academy. VIII.jpg,

snipers shooting a Barrett MRAD chambered for 7.62×51 mm NATO File:YAMAM-sniper-0020.jpg, Israeli

YAMAM The Yamam ( he, ימ"מ, an acronym for ''Centralized Special Unit'' , ''Yeḥida Merkazit Meyuḥedet''), also called in Hebrew and Israel's National Counter Terror Unit (I.N.C.T.U.) in English, is Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, ...

snipers shooting a suppressed Barrett MRAD

References

External links