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Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle

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"Mk14" redirects here. For the computer kit, see MK14. For other uses, see Mark XIV (disambiguation).
Mk 14 EBR
Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle "Rock Island", used by the U.S. Army
TypeBattle rifle
Designated marksman rifle[1]
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service2002–present
Used bySee Users
WarsWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Iraq War
Syrian Civil War[2][3]
War in Iraq (2013–2017)
Russo-Ukrainian War[4]
Production history
DesignerMike Rock and Jim Ribordy (Original)
Smith Enterprise, Inc. (Current)
Designed2001
ManufacturerNaval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division
Smith Enterprise Inc.
Sage International
Specifications
Mass11.24 lb (5.1 kg)[5]
Length35 in (889 mm)[5]
Barrel length18 in (457 mm) (Mod 0)[5]
22 in (558.8 mm) (Mod 1) (EBR-RI)
Cartridge7.62×51mm NATO
ActionGas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire700–750 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity853 m/s (2,800 ft/s)
Effective firing range700 m (770 yd)[6]
Feed system10 or 20-round detachable box magazine
SightsModified M14 iron sights, normally used with a magnifying scope

The Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle (EBR) is an American military selective fire battle rifle, and a designated marksman rifle chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. It is a variant of the M14 battle rifle and was originally built for use with units of United States Special Operations Command, such as the United States Navy SEALs, Delta Force, and task specific Green Berets ODA teams/units.[7]

History

[edit]

Development began in 2000 with a request by the United States Navy SEALs for a more compact M14 battle rifle.[8] A few prototype stocks were also made in the same year.[9] In 2001, Mike Rock Rifle Barrels was the only rifle barrel maker asked by United States Special Operations Command to participate in a SOPMOD conference to create what would be the Mk 14 Mod 0 EBR, with details that include a collapsible stock that was requested for the new rifle and with an aluminum body with telescopic rails. Mike Rock collaborated with engineer Jim Ribordy to make the new rifle. Tests showed that their rifle was effective, but had excessive noise problems.

U.S. Army service in Afghanistan, September 2010

In 2003, Ron Smith and Smith Enterprise, Inc. created their own version of the M14 EBR (MK14 SEI),[10] which used a medium heavy weight 457 mm (18.0") barrel and was more widely favored than the rifle made by Rock and Ribordy. The Smith Enterprise-based MK14 was then used as a basis to eventually create the Mk 14 Mod 0 with Springfield Armory, Inc. being tasked to supply the necessary machinery needed to create the weapon in cooperation with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division.

United States Navy SEALs were the first to be armed with the EBR in 2004,[6] followed by the U.S. Coast Guard. The U.S. Army also uses the M14 EBR-RI, being created and updated by the Weapons Product Support Integration Directorate of the TACOM Life Cycle Management Command at the Keith L. Ware Test Facility in Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois; having fielded approximately 5,000 units by mid-2010.

In early 2017, the Army began writing a new requirement for an SDM rifle (SDMR) for combat platoons and squads. Although the Army has been using the M14 EBR since 2009, they had to be turned in when returning from theater, and it had weight issues being almost 15 lb (6.8 kg) unloaded.[citation needed] A new marksman rifle will equip each combat arms squad weighing about 11 lb (5.0 kg) firing standard M80A1 7.62 mm rounds fitted with a rifle optic rather than a telescopic sight.[11] In March 2018, the Army announced that a version of the HK G28, which had already been selected to replace the M110 SASS, would be issued as the service's standard SDMR. Issuing a 7.62 mm SDMR is meant to increase individual squads' ability to defeat enemy body armor that standard 5.56×45mm rounds cannot penetrate. Fielding was planned to start in late 2018.[12]

Design

[edit]
United States Army's Program Executive Officer training with the MK14 EBR.

This weapon upgrades the standard M14 action and replaces the standard 22.0-inch (560 mm) barrel with an 18.0-inch (460 mm) barrel bolted onto a telescoping chassis stock system[7] with a pistol grip, a different front sight, Harris bipod, four Picatinny accessory rails (which surround the barrel),[7] and a more effective flash hider in place of the standard lugged USGI flash suppressor.[13] A paddle-type bolt stop similar to that of the M4 carbine is used on the rifle. The EBR chassis system stock is made up entirely of lightweight aircraft alloy.

A Kydex hand guard and M68 CCO are also added, though they are almost always replaced with a vertical foregrip and magnifying scope for better handling and for use in a designated marksman role.[citation needed] A Wind Talker suppressor can be mounted on the DC Vortex flash hider,[14] though the U.S. military did not adopt one to active service.

Sage International had some involvement in the decision of whether to invest approximately $120,000 in an injection mold incorporating rail attachments into the design or machine the replacement stock from a solid billet of aluminum. The latter option was selected, which was then shown at the SHOT Show in Orlando in 2003.

The Mk 14 has been criticised for being too heavy, at 14 pounds (6.4 kg) when loaded with a 20-round magazine, with most of this weight being at the front of the weapon, making it difficult to aim.[15]

Configurations

[edit]

Several configurations are available on the Mk 14 Mod 0 EBR, including the attachment of an AN/PVS-4 night vision scope. Others had included the capability of adding two different scopes or sights on the Picatinny rails, for more precision or zoom level.[citation needed]

Variants

[edit]
The Mk 14 Mod 0

Mk 14 Mod 0

[edit]

First fielded in 2013, the Mod 0 replaces the M14's stock and handguard, and the operating rod has been redesigned, connecting the barrel to the stock.[16] Designed for use by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, its parts are coated with manganese phosphate to help resist corrosion.[17]

M39 Enhanced Marksman Rifle

[edit]
Main article: M39 Enhanced Marksman Rifle

The M39 Enhanced Marksman Rifle began development around 2006 at the request of Marine Corps Systems Command, who wanted a versatile semi-automatic rifle that could operate alongside the M40A5.[18] It entered service in 2008, replacing the standard M14 DMR in Marine Corps usage.[17]

Contractors

[edit]

Military

[edit]

While the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division creates the military Mk 14 Mod 0 and Mod 1 rifles, Sage International was contracted to provide the weapon's chassis-type stock.[9]

Civilian

[edit]

The civilian version created by Smith Enterprise Inc. is also known as the MK14 SEI.[19] The Sage EBR chassis stock is available in a carbine variant known as the M14ALCS/CV. The carbine variant is also known as the MK14 SEI Mod 1.[8]

Fulton Armory manufactures a clone of the EBR chassis.[20]

Troy Industries has created a replica of the EBR's modular system made by Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division called the Troy Modular Chassis System (MCS).[21] The MCS can be used by mounting any functioning M1A or M14 rifle on it.[22]

Philippine arms company FERFRANS has created their version of the Mk 14 Mod 0 called the FERFRANS SOPMOD M14/M1A Enhanced Battle Rifle, which uses a Sage International M14/M1A EBR Tactical Stock System aluminum chassis, an M4 buttstock, and a GRSC M4-62 General Purpose Combat Recticle.[23]

Users

[edit]
A U.S. Army sergeant with the Mk 14 in Afghanistan, 2007

Non-state actors

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "M14 7.62mm Enhanced Battle Rifle (EBR)". peosoldier.mil. p. 219. Archived from the original on 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  2. ^ فرقة المعتصم (17 June 2017). "لواء المعتصم- معسكر_المهام_الخاصة3 مميز ولأول مرة في الجيش السوري الحر تدريب برمائي". Archived from the original on 2021-12-13 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ "US Mk 14 EBR allegedly seized by Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria - Armament Research Services". Armament Research Services (Ares) - Armament Research Services is a Specialist Technical Intelligence Consultancy Offering Arms & Munitions Research/Analysis Services. 23 September 2015.
  4. ^ Moss, Matthew (2022-07-06). "M14s in Ukraine -". The Firearm Blog. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  5. ^ a b c "MK 14 Mod 0 Enhanced Battle Rifle". AmericanSpecialOps. Archived from the original on 16 September 2022. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  6. ^ a b Neville, Leigh (2016). Modern Snipers. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 256. ISBN 9781472815354.
  7. ^ a b c "M14 rifle (USA)". 25 March 2022. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022.
  8. ^ a b "The History and Development of the M14 EBR". Athenswater. 2011. Archived from the original on 16 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2008.
  9. ^ a b c http://www.m14.ca/articles/Wednesday13969Armstrong.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  10. ^ "CRAZY HORSEŽ US NAVY MK14 SEI MOD 0". Athenswater. Archived from the original on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.CRAZY HORSE US NAVY MK14 SEI MOD 0. Retrieved on October 5, 2008.
  11. ^ Cox, Matthew (2017-10-31). "US Army to Search for New 7.62mm Rifle". Military.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2017. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  12. ^ Cox, Matthew (2018-03-06). "Army Plans to Field H&K G28 as New Squad Marksman Rifle". Military.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2018. Retrieved 2022-09-27..
  13. ^ "M14SE "CRAZY HORSE®" SEMIAUTOMATIC SNIPER SYSTEM (SASS)". Smith Enterprise, Inc. 2 March 2005. Archived from the original on 11 February 2006. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
  14. ^ "M14SE "CRAZY HORSE"® SQUAD DESIGNATED MARKSMAN (M14SE SDM) AND MK14 SEI RIFLE". Smith Enterprise, Inc. Archived from the original on 1 March 2009.
  15. ^ Mizokami, Kyle (2019-11-06). "Dead at 1968 Feet: Meet the Newest Sniper Rifle for the Army". The National Interest. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  16. ^ Gun Digest: Shoot Like a Sniper. F+W Media. 31 March 2014. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-4402-4294-6.
  17. ^ a b Thompson, Leroy (2014). The M14 Battle Rifle. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. pp. 56–57. ISBN 978-1-4728-0255-2. OCLC 869771277.
  18. ^ "Gun Review: The M1A Warhorse Reborn". Tactical Life. 2014-11-04. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  19. ^ "Review: Smith Enterprise Custom Mk 14 EBR Mod 0 SEI". 26 December 2023.
  20. ^ "An Official Journal of the NRA | Building the Fulton Armory M65 EBR Rifle".
  21. ^ "21st Century M14/M1A Battle Rifle: Meet the Troy Modular Chassis System (MCS)".
  22. ^ http://www.m14.ca/manuals/M14MCSmod1Manual.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  23. ^ "FERFRANS SOAR Select-Fire SBRs and Carbines, and GRSC Combat Rifle Scope (CRS) at the Range". 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
  24. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2015-05-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  25. ^ Hetherington, Andrew (3 February 2011). "Extreme Peril". Army News (Australia). Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  26. ^ Vining, Miles (April 22, 2017). "ISOF Arms & Equipment Part 2 – Precision Rifles". armamentresearch.com.
  27. ^ Mizokami, Kyle (9 March 2018). "U.S. Army Squads Getting New Marksman Rifles". Popular Mechanics.
  28. ^ Smallwood, Michael (2015-08-11). "United States Mk 14 EBR in Syria". Armament Research Services. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  29. ^ Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (September 7, 2017). "An old American rifle gains prominence in Islamic State propaganda footage". The Washington Post.
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