At Eurosatory 2016, held in Paris in June 2016, "the most modern adaptation of the M4 assault rifle" was presented. The fully ambidextrous M4 rifle, designated Modular Ambidextrous Rifle System - Light (MARS-L), was demonstrated at the stand of the American arms company Lewis Machine & Tool (LMT). In 2016, the Eurosatory exhibition was held in the French capital for the 25th time.
Ambidextr is a person who knows how to work equally well with his left and right hands. Ambidexterity can be either innate or developed during training. It assumes that a person does not have a pronounced working hand, with both hands he can perform different actions with the same speed and efficiency. Accordingly, samples of small arms are called ambidextrous, the control of which is duplicated and equally convenient for use by both left-handers and right-handers. According to the representatives of the Lewis Machine & Tool company, who attended the exhibition in Paris, the MARS-L rifle is the most modern and fully adapted version of the M4-like rifle for right-handed and left-handed people. The rifle is absolutely symmetrical or mirrored, which makes it equally convenient to use it with either hand at any time.
The rifle was created by LMT in response to incoming requests from customers from around the world, mainly the military. The MARS-L rifle is made of a special aluminum alloy and is designed according to modular technology, which allows you to quickly and quickly change various parts and accessories of the weapon. The manufacturer notes that the rifle is available to customers with barrels of different lengths: 10, 5, 14, 5, 16, 18 and 20 inches (from 267 to 508 mm). It is also possible to use different types of cartridges: 5, 56 mm,.300 Blackout (7, 62x35 mm),.204 Ruger (5, 2x47 mm) and 6, 8 SPC (6, 8x43 mm). Among other things, the weapon has 8 points of attachment of the Picatinny rails at once, which allows the shooter to use a rich arsenal of all kinds of "body kits".
The MARS-L is based on the M4 automatic carbine, created on the basis of the M16A2 and originally intended for arming the crews of combat vehicles and calculations of various types of weapons and military equipment. The main differences between the M4 automatic carbine and the famous M16 assault rifle are a shortened barrel and a shortened telescopic buttstock. In 1994, the M4A1 model was created, which was distinguished by the ability to fire in continuous bursts, like the M16A2E3. The MARS-L ambidextrous rifle has two firing modes, semi-automatic (L) and automatic (LS).
The manufacturer assures that the MARS-L rifle can be used in the ground forces and various naval units. The weapon can be used both in a humid environment and when leaving the water. The manufacturer guarantees that it will be possible to quickly open fire from the weapon after it has been at a depth of up to 20 meters, thanks to effective liquid drainage schemes. Having been in the water, the weapon will allow the shooter to fire without refusals and delays.
The elegant and intuitive design of the weapon, created by the designers of MARS-L, simplifies the process of its study and mastering by fighters. The rifle has already been tested by both the military and law enforcement officials. The rifle is characterized by complete symmetry and unity of controls, which allows the shooter to control the weapon from either side with the same speed and ease. Such a rifle will definitely appeal to all left-handers, who, according to statistics, are today 15% of the population, that is, every 7th person on our planet.
The first country to adopt an ambidextrous rifle was New Zealand. Thus, the New Zealand military found a replacement for obsolete weapons. According to the portal armyrecognition.com, in December 2015, Defense Minister Gerard Brownlee signed an order to replace Austrian Steyr AUG rifles with American LMT MARS-L. LMT's new assault rifles are reported to weigh 3.3 kilograms, which is 300 grams less than the Austrian Steyr AUG. The New Zealand military ordered the MARS-L in caliber 5, 6 mm.
The main reason for replacing the Austrian army universal rifles Steyr AUG, which had been in service with the New Zealand army for almost 30 years, was the lack of accuracy of their shooting at a distance of 200 meters. Eight companies took part in the competition for the supply of new assault rifles to New Zealand at once: Beretta, Ceska Zbrojovka, Colt, FN Herstal, Steyr Mannlicher, SIG Sauer, Heckler & Koch and LMT, but only the latter was able to achieve the location of the local military. MARS-L tests were carried out from March 2 to June 1, 2015 in the most severe operating conditions. According to the results of the tests carried out, the New Zealand military were completely satisfied with the new American rifle of the LMT company, built on the basis of the time-tested M4.
In total, the New Zealand Ministry of Defense has ordered 9,000 new assault rifles from LMT for a total of NZ $ 59 million (US $ 39.2 million), and warranty service is also included. Thus, the cost of one rifle was 4355 US dollars. The rifles will be shipped to New Zealand complete with various optional accessories. In particular, we are talking about grenade launchers, optical day and night sights, silencers, as well as laser designators, tactical flashlights, etc. Due to the presence of 8 points of attachment of the Picatinny rail, the weapon can be easily "configured" for solving various combat missions.
