MA6 assault rifle

The MA6 assault rifle was a Misriah Armory built assault rifle designed to replace the MA5 ICWS Series that failed to progress beyond field tests.

History
Late Human-Covenant War shortages and the success of the caseless rounds for the M7 SMG would prompt Misriah Armory to reexamine its own production lines. Two conclusions were drawn: the electronics in the MA5 were taking up a large number of materials that were getting ever harder to acquire; and the shells themselves were taking up metal that could be used for other things, such as more bullets. Believing they could scale up the caseless techniques to a 6.5mm AR round and strip out a majority of the electronics, could create a rifle that used up fewer resources and would, in turn, weigh less. This was a promising concept for an equally resource-strapped UNSC.

Unfortunately, Misriah could not get the caseless ammunition to work on time, forcing the MA6 to go back to traditional 6.5mm. Regardless of the resource cost, soldiers in the UNSC preferred the electronic amenities of the MA5. The quick return to cased ammo late in rifle production created reliability issues in the physical mechanics of gun. As well, the switch in production lines would take the time that appeared to be quickly slipping away as the Covenant was getting closer to Sol.

Overall, the MA6 was an unreliable weapon that had fewer features than its predecessor and failed to even bring to fruition its envisioned innovation. All the while taking up valuable factory space that could be used to continue to produce its predecessor despite the extra costs of such.

Misriah would eventually get caseless 6.5mm to work nearly a decade later and its claimed benefits would end up proving mostly true in the MA7 ICWS Series.