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Colt Bags $198 Million Canadian Modular Rifle Contract

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Colt is the winner of the Canadian Modular Rifle, or CMAR, program, to replace the current C7/C8 service rifle fleet, which has been in service for more than 35 years in the land of the Blue Jays and Silver Medal Olympic hockey teams. The contract is valued at CAD $273 million ($198 million USD).

As part of the contract, which requires at least 80 percent domestic production, Colt will deliver up to 30,000 General Service (GS) rifles between 2026 and 2029 from its Kitchener, Ontario, factory. The contract includes provisions for a possible increase in the volume of deliveries with a Phase 2 option including 19,207 GS rifles and 16,195 “Full Spectrum” rifles, the latter outfitted with optics and other accessories. The full award covers a maximum of 65,402 rifles.

The Canadian Armed Forces contains approximately 68,000 active and 32,000 reserve personnel, with about one third of those– 44,000– being in the Army.

Canadian Modular Rifle, or CMAR, with MFMD
The 5.56 NATO caliber Colt CMAR, type classified as the C25 in the above image, uses a monolithic upper receiver, chrome-lined free-floating barrel, ambidextrous controls, and a full-length STANAG 4694 top rail with M-LOK slots on the forearm. Accessories include a Magpul MOE grip and CTR adjustable stock. Photos: Department of National Defence/Ministère de la défense nationale 

An interesting factor on the CMAR is its use of an all-in-one combination flash hider/muzzle brake/flow-through suppressor, the Multi-Function Muzzle Device, or MFMD. Designed by Utah-based Strategic Sciences, the modular MFMD is billed as delivering in terms of sound (sub 140dB for all systems), flash (99 percent reduction), and recoil (60 percent faster follow-up shots) with a durability comparable to the barrel’s life cycle.

Canadian Modular Rifle, or CMAR, with MFMD
Initial production will be for 30,000 rifles between now and 2029, with as many as 35,000 additional rifles to follow. 
Colt C8A4 optics
What optics the new CMAR will carry is probably TBD at the moment, with the Canadian Army trialing several dots and LPVOs by Steiner and SIG on the interim C8A4 in the past year. The current standard day optic in Canadian service is the 3.4x fixed power Elcan C79 (M145 in U.S. service), which was adopted in 1989.  

As for what will happen to the country’s soon-to-be surplus C7 rifles and C8 carbines, which are based on the Colt M16A3 and M4, respectively, it is likely they will be retained in arsenal storage as the Canadian Armed Forces is seeking to expand its Primary reserve forces from the current 23,561 part-time members to 100,000 and beef up the current force of 4,384 inactive or retired Supplementary Reserve members to 300,000, figures not seen under the Maple Leaf flag since World War II!

Canada adopted the license-built C7 series in 1984, replacing semi-auto inch-pattern FN FAL pattern C1A1 rifles in 7.62 NATO, which entered service in the 1950s.

Soldiers of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada training at CFB Gagetown with C1A1s, circa 1974 (Library and Archives Canada MIKAN 4235794)

First Ukraine-assembled CZ BREN 2s Roll Out

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An effort between the Ukrainian defense industry and CZ has yielded results as the first Ukraine-assembled Bren 2 rifles are being delivered.

Ukroboronprom, the state-owned Ukrainian defense production organ, announced on Dec. 14 that one of its enterprises had last month begun the licensed assembly of Bren 2 rifles in the country. The partnership between Colt CZ and Ukroboronprom was agreed upon in July, allowing local assembly of components shipped from CZ, leading to eventual full-rate production.

Since 2022, the country has been fielding Czech-made Brens, notably among special operations units and legions of foreign volunteers.

The Ukraine military, since it was formed in 1991, has traditionally used Warsaw Pact pattern small arms (left) to include multiple AK-47/74 variants in 7.62×39 and 5.45×39, while some units, such as the Rubizh Brigade in the top right, are issued assorted M4 platforms in 5.56. The CZ Bren 2, seen in use with Ukraine marines at the bottom right, is a newer addition. (Photos: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine)

The First CZ 75: SN 00001

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I recently had the honor of visiting CZ’s historic flagship factory in Uhersky Brod, in Czechia, the Czech Republic, and got to take the first CZ 75 out of its resting place.

Designed starting in 1969 by the brothers Koucky (Josef and Frantisek) for CZ as a 9mm parabellum chambered pistol made for commercial export, the handgun known as the CZ 75 was finished by early 1975 (hence the designation) with five pre-production samples (serial numbers 00001 through 00005) carefully assembled for testing and evaluation. Some of these T&E samples chalked up over 11,000 rounds in testing with no breaks or serious issues, and the gun soon went into full-scale production with a few minor, mostly cosmetic revisions.

Of those five, CZ 75 expert David Pazdera notes in his book that number 00004 disappeared into history, while 00002, 00003, and 00005 were sold on the commercial market in the early 1980s, leaving just 00001 as the sole remaining sample gun left in CZ’s inventory. They keep it locked inside a display case deep inside a secure vault.

Even with a 50-year-old design, you can easily spot the hallmark geometrical “Golden ratio/Golden section” in length and height used in the CZ 75 to produce an aesthetically pleasing firearm offering a natural point of aim.

CZ 75 Serial Number 00001. Note the slab-sided milled slide, duraluminum grips, and large hammer spur. Also note the very deep scallop to the front of the slide, something that would carry on to the First Model CZ 75s. Other than that, it is easily recognizable to any fan of the 75. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Compare the above to this second-generation 1986-vintage CZ 75 “Pre-B” with all matching serial numbers and zero import marks. (Photo: Chris Eger)

More in my column at Guns.com.