On 30 March 2021, the Army awarded a $49.9 million, five year contract to Barrett Firearms Manufacturing Inc. (Murfreesboro, TN) to acquire the MK22 Multi-role Adaptive Design (MRAD) rifle as the Army’s new sniper weapon system.
The Army will buy approximately 2,800 MK22 rifles from Barrett, the current maker of the Army’s M107 .50 Caliber Long Range Sniper Rifle.
The MK22 is part of the Army’s Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR) Program which also includes the Leupold & Stevens (Beaverton, OR) Mark 5 HD scope and a sniper accessory kit.
The MK22 is a modular system that will be fielded with three separate calibers, the .338 Norma Magnum, .300 Norma Magnum and 7.62×51 NATO. Army snipers will be able to conduct a barrel change and select calibers based on their mission operating environment.
The PSR program will allow the Army an extreme range weapon systems that is lighter than current sniper rifles and includes features that will mask the sniper signature for improved survivability.
SOCOM previously awarded a contract to Barrett to purchase the MRAD as part of their Advanced Sniper Rifle (ASR) program.
God bless our troops- especially our snipers.
Good for the Army and Barrett/Geissele.
Geissele, though high quality gear, isn’t a part of this.
Happy for Kevin Owens and everyone who worked on this project. This is going to be a lethal rifle for SOCOM.
Nice work to all involved in the strategy to transition this rifle to conventional forces
Do you think that there will be enough peer pressure or superior performance ratings high enough for the Corps to switch to it as well?
The Marines have already announced desire to purchase 250 of the rifles, to replace all their current bolt action guns
250 rifles doesn’t replace all the bolt guns. In fact it doesn’t even replace all the supplemental mk13s they acquired.
Coming to an Arms Room near you sometime in 2041