MK16A2

*For Variants see MK16A1 and MK16A4.*

The **MK16A2** is the 2nd Generation of the MK16 Rifle. The MK16A2 was developed as a successor to the MK16A1, that has been requested by the Amphibious Panamoan Marine Corps in the 1980's from their combat experience in the Hyemen War. Featured in *Blitzkrieg*, notably in the Blackout War.

## MK16A2

* Standard
* Grenadier

## Technical Information

### Weapon Class

Assault rifle
Marksman rifle

### Users

Panamoan Army, Amphibious Panamoan Marine Corps

## Statistics

### Muzzle Velocity

4020 Feet Per Second

It has a newer adjustable rear sight, case deflector, heavier barrel, improved handguard, pistol grip and buttstock, as well as a semi-auto and three-round burst fire selector. The circular, polymer handguard that makes it more comfortable for smaller hands and allow it to be stored in weapon armories without seperating left and right hand spares. It uses a faster rifling twist rate, to accomodate for the newer improved SS878 cartridge of the standard 5.56x45mm SDC round, increasing it's range to 600 meters, although it can hit targets at 800 Meters with optical sights with some precision.

## History

The MK16 is an Assault Rifle manufactured by Holt's Firearms Incorporated at 1961, After the request of the Panamoan Military on an Assault Rifle that will heavily replace the Current MN14 Rifle. Since it was not the first rifle to use their new 5.56mm Caliber, Problems didn't arose. Holt made the barrel lenghtened to 20 Inches, which is the minimum barrel length of a Light Machine Gun or a Marksman Rifle. This was routinely augmented with a rifling twist of 8 Grooves and 1:7 Twist, Also due to it's long barrel, it outmatched shorter 5.56mm SDC rifles in terms of Muzzle Velocity, surface penetration, accuracy, stability and stopping power. When the Hyemen War started, Panamoan soldiers and marines were eager to use the weapon, as they are convinced by it's space age looks and outstanding performance. The bore was chrome plated, and it's chamber.

The results from the extensive testing of the first MK16 Variant (XMK16) was good, it was praised for it's outstanding accuracy for up to 600 Meters, unrivaled penetration and stopping power compared to other 5.56mm Rifles, and was surprisingly lightweight for it's size. Only a few soldiers said that they should need a Carbine configuration, because of it's size.

The MK16 was well praised by Soldiers and marines during the first years of the Hyemen war. However, some soldiers demanded that the weapon should include a forward assist, to lessen the need for fixing their rifle before being caught off guard by the enemy. APMC Marines suggested a curved 30 Round Magazine, as it can lessen reloads and make it look like a true Assault Rifle (Because they have typical curved magazines). Soldiers in combat only complained about Ammunition Shortage, due to how rarely used the 5.56mm SDC Caliber is used in the time. The MK16A1 fixed the reliability problems via forward assist, and a reinforced barrel. This also made it widely accepted by Soldiers, Especially who were struggling with the MN14 against KR-47 Users.

The **MK16A2** implemented an updated iron sights, and a standard curved magazine, with a rifling twist of 10 Grooves and 1/7 Inches twist. The **MK16A2** became the sole improvement at 1970. The MK16A3 is a fully automatic variant of the A2, looking physically similar.

After the adoption of the **MK16A2**, the MK16A3 was only issued to the Amphibious Panamoan Marine Corps. The MK16A3 was adopted in the summer of 2003, where the wider introduction of optical sights and accessory devices, the **MK16A2**/3 will excel at performance, but will fare poorly in terms of modularity.

## Design

The MK16 is a lightweight, 5.56mm, air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed assault rifle, with a rotating bolt. The MK16A2 receiver and handguard are made of Titanium-Aluminide Alloy, its barrel, bolt, and bolt carrier of 9090 Titanium Alloy, and its handguards, pistol grip, and buttstock are made out of Polymer.

Modifications to the MK16A2 were extensive. In addition to the new rifling, the barrel was made with a greater thickness in front of the front sight post, to resist bending in the field and to allow a longer period of sustained fire without overheating. The rest of the barrel was maintained at the original thickness to enable the MK203 grenade launcher to be attached. A new adjustable rear sight was added, allowing the rear sight to be dialled in for specific range settings between 300 and 800 meters to take full advantage of the ballistic characteristics of the new SS878 Striker cartridge and to allow windage adjustments without the need of a tool or cartridge.The weapon's reliability allowed it to be widely used around the Amphibious Panamoan Marine Corps' special operations divisions as well. The flash suppressor was again modified, this time to be closed on the bottom so it would not kick up dirt or snow when being fired from the prone position, and acting as a recoil compensator.

The handguard was modified from the original triangular "Toblerone" shape to a round, polymeric tubular version, which better fit smaller hands and could be fitted to older models of the MK16. The new handguards were also symmetrical so armories need not separate left- and right-hand spares. The handguard retention ring was tapered to make it easier to install and uninstall the handguards. A notch for the middle finger was added to the pistol grip, as well as more texture to enhance the grip. The buttstock was lengthened by 5⁄8 in (15.9 mm), making the weapon 1,003 mm long.

### Specifications

* Length: 1,003mm
* Caliber: **5.56x45mm SDC**
* Effective Range: 600-800 Meters
* Weight: **7.45** Pounds (Fully Loaded)

## Trivia

### General

* Like other Nevian Weapons, it can easily penetrate a tree bark.
* Like the M16 Rifle, It can be also converted and effectively utilized as a Marksman Rifle.
* It has the same magazine with the XMK4 in terms of physical appearance.
* When Holt released the MK16A2, the Panamoan military immediately ordered 2 million.
* It's design allows for the full compatibility of 30 round STD magazines.
* The redesigned iron sights gave it a more pleasing appearance, aside from the adjustable features.