MA4B ICWS Assault Rifle

Designed as the ultimate modular UNSC weapon, the MA4B APTR was designed to become a commonplace weapon in special forces. While some units used it, it found a much more welcome home in the hands of Long Term Assault Troops.

Physical Description
The MA4B All Purpose Tactical Rifle is a highly modular UNSC rifle that fires varying caliber rounds. It fires from a varying sized magazine that is housed in the receiver which is built directly into the underside of the gun and is located behind the handle (known as a bullpup configuration). The magazine does not fit flush into the housing, and the length it sticks outward varies on the magazine type.

This titanium alloy and polymer assault rifle firing with a gas-operated with rotating-bolts and therefore must be cocked before the first shot can be fired. The charging handles used to chamber the round is located on the left and right sides of the gun and moves during operation. Once the first round is fired, the gases from that round and those to follow impinge upon a gas piston, which pushes back the bolt carrier, rotating the bolt inside and continuing to chamber rounds until the magazine is empty. Once the magazine is empty, the charging handle must either be pulled back and locked or, must be fully cycled after a fresh magazine is inserted to load the next bullet. The ejection port is located on the right side of the gun above the mag housing.

The MA4B is equipped with a retractable stock with three points of articulation: completely retracted, half extended, and fully extended. The weapon has a mounting rail on the top of the gun, used to equip sights, scopes, and other aiming devices. However, it comes equipped standardly with a pair of modular iron sights. The weapon also does not have a real "grip". It features a mounting rail where the grip would be, which can be used to mount a grip, a grenades launcher, a shotgun, or any other number of things. Along both sides of the weapon, there are two more mounting rails, commonly used to attach flashlights and other things of similar nature. The MA4B features a digital ammo counter that sticks out of the weapon on the right side, which is slightly behind the grip.

The MA4B is designed to be extremely modular, capable of being modified quickly and easily for new missions, often within minutes. The MA4B features a revolutionary and simple barrel system which allows and individual soldier to remove the standard barrel with ease and replace it with any kind of barrel, for a sub machine gun to a battle rifle to a sniper rifle. Similarily, the ammo system is highly adaptable. It can fire either 5x23mm rounds, 7.62mm rounds, 9.5x40mm rounds, or 14.5x114mm rounds. Each replaceable barrel is desinged to fire one of these kinds of rounds. The weapon comes standardly equipped however, with the 7.62mm barrel and mag.

Development
The MA4B was developed in early 2486, as part of the MA4 line of rifles. It was inspired by other weapons that were highly modular, capable of being reconfigured quickly and easily. It was developed by Misriah arms, in conjuction with ONI weapons technicians. It was based primarily off of other articulating stock weapons, primarily weapons within a 2-4 year range. The gun was funded by the UNSC weapons council, as part of a military order of 10,000 individual units.

Usage
The MA4B was first introduced into the UNSC in 2489, after extensive testing. The weapon was primarily issued to units such as the Long Term Assault Troopers who were expected to function behind enemy lines without ressuply. It was used primarily because of it's high modularity, as it could function as many different types of weapons without many spare parts. Units who used the weapon were especially pleased because they could equip themselves with only one gun, plus a few extra parts, and replace the need for a wide arsenal of SMG, Battle Rifles, Assault Rifles, and Sniper Rifles. The weapon was fielded to 2502, when it was exposed to be to expensive to make. Later on however, other weapons creators would field weapons of startingly similar assembly.

Quotes
"I was a part of a long term offensive in New Vietnam during the late twenty-four-nineties, and was issued this rifle, as I had good credidentials in both marksmanship and close quarters combat.  I couldn't believe how adaptable the thing was, and was amazed with it."

"I can remember spending endless hours customizing my rifle in the barracks, trying to figure out the perfect combination of range, fire-rate, accuracy, add-ons, weight, and usability. Funny thing is, I can't remeber worth a damn what I chose."

"Love the little things. Like the pictanny rails on the bottom, instead of a normal grip, and the fact that you can take the iron sights off without any tools."

"First day with the thing, I tried changing the setup, just for fun. Under firefight conditions, I was able to switch from SMG weapon with a red dot and fore-grip to a battle rifle with ACOG scope and grenade launched in just over a minute and a half."

"We had an old saying with this rifle: nothing is impossible, as long as its got rails. Boy was it true."