Barrett Ships First New MK22 Army Precision Sniper Rifles
The MK22 is a version of Barrett’s popular MRAD bolt gun, which can be swapped between three different calibers on the fly, hence the “Multi-Role Adaptive Rifle” abbreviation.
Tennessee-based Barrett Firearms recently announced the first batch of new MK22 Precision Sniper Rifles have been shipped to the U.S. Army.
The U.S. Special Operations Command in 2019 tapped Barrett to produce what were then termed new Advanced Sniper Rifles identified in SOCOM’s budget justification book as part of an effort to continue “development of enhanced capabilities to improve performance” of “individual sniper weapons to engage out to 1500 meters.”
They soon followed up with this award earlier this year with a five-year $49.9 million contract under the Army’s Precision Sniper Rifle program for Barrett’s MRAD (Multi-Role Adaptive Design) MK22 MOD 0 rifle, paired with a Leupold’s Mark 5HD 5-25×56 optic, complete with a flat dark earth coating and the Army’s patented Mil-Grid reticle and sniper accessory kit. The MK22 will replace several currently fielded Army sniper rifles.
A special operations sniper participating in the MK22 Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR) test conducts vertical wind tunnel testing with his MK22 in the “front-mount” configuration. (Photo: Mr. Michael Zigmond, audiovisual production specialist, U.S. Army Operational Test Command)
More in my column over at Guns.com.
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