U.S. Special Operations Command will begin fielding the MK24 Medium Range Gas Gun Assault before the end of the fiscal year, furthering SOCOM’s shift away from legacy cartridges like the 7.62mm NATO round, according to a recent report.
SOCOM spokesman Navy Cmdr. Joe Vermette told Task & Purpose the MRGG-A will completely replace the MK17 SCAR. He added that SOCOM is “pursuing a rapid fielding method” to “multiple (Special Operational Force) components.”
Last August, SOCOM awarded the Iowa-based LMT Defense a 10-year contract to the tune of $92 million for the MRGG-A. At SOCOM’s request, the rifle features a swappable barrel, allowing operators to change between firing 7.62mm and 6.5mm Creedmoor cartridges.
“This thing isn’t just a gun, it’s a deployment package,” said Joe Hajny, an LMT Defense spokesman, about the multi-caliber chambering in an interview with Classic Firearms at this year’s Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show.
Hajny added that SOCOM prioritized “the quick barrel change.” He explained the logic is that when SOCOM operators are “out with the partner forces that don’t have access to 6.5, the field environment might switch, they could change the caliber if need be.”
With that, he said an operator can change the barrel in about a minute. As for the barrel itself, Hajny explained that it measures in at 14.5 inches, so the rifle feels more like an M4 carbine but operates like an M110 semi-automatic sniper rifle, which also uses the 7.62 cartridge.
The most notable change is SOCOM’s adoption of the 6.5mm Creedmoor.
SOCOM reportedly began testing the cartridge along with almost two dozen others in 2017 and found that it delivered the best overall performance at ranges 1,000 meters.
“(The MRGG-A) is a big one that I think is going to trickle down to more of your mainline units down the road,” Hajny said.
Other services have also been shifting away from legacy cartridges like 7.62 and 5.56. The Army, for example, has been transitioning to its Next Generation Squad Weapons chambered in 6.8x51mm.
In 2021, SOCOM hosted an assessment event with its partner Special Operations Forces Works, or SOFWERX, to identify small arms weapon systems capable of greater accuracy at ranges past 1,200 meters.
Along with the MRGG-A, SOCOM expressed interest in a new sniper rifle and lightweight machine gun. After years of testing, the organization contracted Geissele Automatics for the MRGG Sniper rifle in 6.5 and Sig Sauer for the LMG-Medium in .338 Norma Magnum.
In a recent interview with The War Zone, Lt. Col. Alan Wood, SOCOM’s program manager for lethality, explained that like the 6.5mm, the .338 is “more effective on target” at “greater ranges” and the system overall — the rifle and ammo — could weigh “hundreds of pounds” less than the heavy .50-caliber round. Yet, SOCOM has paused fielding on the LMG.
As for the MRGG-A, Wood said, “It’s just a phenomenal, accurate weapon system for our SOF operators. All the components are super excited about this one.”
Daniel Terrill is a contributor to Military Times. He’s been reporting on military issues, the gun industry, and the outdoors for nearly two decades. Although writing is his passion, he’s been a Marine, police officer, and, perhaps the most dangerous job of his career, a substitute teacher.