MA5B Individual Combat Weapon System

"Hey, soldier, is that an assault rifle in your hands or are you just happy to see me?"

- Janissary James

The MA5B Individual Combat Weapon System (MA5B ICWS or MA5B Assault Rifle) is a standard-issue service rifle of the United Nations Space Command.

Design Details
The MA5B Assault Rifle is an air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed weapon designed for automatic fire. The MA5 series rifle is the workhorse of the UNSC Marine Corps and has been in service for more than fifty years. The MA5B has an attached electronics suite that provides information on rounds remaining in magazine, compass heading, as well as several other "housekeeping" functions. The rifle performs well in a variety of environments especially given the perceived delicacy of the attached electronics suite. The MA5 rifle can be outfitted with a number of modifications including sound suppressors, a grenade launcher or a standard issue flashlight and more “exotic” ammunition types like Shredder Rounds; however, these modifications are only available by Mission Conditional Requisition (MCR). The MA5B Assault Rifle is easily one of the most versatile weapons in the UNSC’s arsenal. Due to this versatility, the MA5B is complimented by many of the UNSC's other weapons as either the primary means to a kill or in a secondary role as the fallback weapon.

The MA5B rifle is a bullpup rifle and is made of Titanium Alloy and Polymer - the rifle is a gas-operated weapon with a rotating-bolt and therefore must be cocked before the first shot can be fired. The charging handle used to chamber the round is situated on the left side of the rifle 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 both be pulled back and locked or, must be fully cycled after a fresh magazine is inserted to load the next round. The magazine itself is located at the butt of the rifle and the magazine release button is located above the magazine housing and has an arrow pointing down toward the housing. The electronics suite is integrated along the top rail guard of the weapon. The MA5B is designed for the toughest of situations, able to be subjected to elements that would otherwise jam and render a weapon inoperable. The MA5B has concealed iron sights. It is used by Marines and other personnel with improper equipment to uploading a targeting reticule to the user's Heads Up Display or Neural Interface.

Ammunition
The MA5B Assault Rifle uses M118 7.62x51mm Armor Piercing, Full Metal Jacket rounds. These rounds are designed to pierce body armor, so the rounds are reasonably large, and are surrounded by a molded jacket of either steel or titanium, which enhances its armor-piercing capabilities. The round might also have a carbide or similar hardened tip, and might also be coated in copper or another metal over the steel, titanium, etc. shell.

However, despite these advanced rounds, the damage done by a single round is very limited, made even worse by the Assault Rifle's low accuracy at long ranges. Although performing poorly against Covenant shields, the AP-FMJ round can easily penetrate the lightly armored Grunts and Jackals and finish unshielded Elites very quickly.

Accuracy
The most pressing negative aspect of the MA5B is its inconsistent accuracy. Firing the weapon in short bursts will allow much higher accuracy, as opposed to holding down the trigger. One round fired may produce a perfect bull's-eye, but the next may fly away and slam into the dirt a dozen meters from the same target. This has lead to the belief that the rifle is very incapable of hitting targets greater than close-range; this is untrue. If attacking targets at surprisingly long-ranges, one can effectively wound or kill that target by firing in single shots or bursts. Unfortunately, this lack of consistent accuracy has tarnished the image of the rifle, and the problem has kept the MA5B out of the hands of those who prefer less spontaneous weapons.

Advantages
The MA5B in both offensive and suppressive situations remains the Marine Corps most reliable weapon. When fired in short bursts, or even single shots, there is a significant increase in accuracy, and the rifle's armor penetrating ability makes it key for handling even the toughest of infantry, having the ability to kill an Elite in about 45 rounds in close quarters. The MA5B rifle is effective at killing light armored infantry at close-to-medium range, and the high rate of fire combined with the high ammunition capacity allows its user to spray the whole area with suppressing fire. The MA5B also gives the user an ammo count on its digital readout, as well a compass pointing toward the arbitrary magnetic "north" position. In the hands of someone who can control their trigger finger, the MA5B becomes a deadly weapon in CQB situations.

Disadvantages
The MA5B is not without disadvantages, its main disadvantage being its horrible accuracy when fired at a range of more than forty meters. At that range, enemy infantry may be hit by a few bullets, or not be hit by any bullets at all. The MA5B Assault Rifle performs poorly against energy shields unless firing on full automatic at close range without giving a shielded infantry time to cover.

Tactics
The MA5B Assault Rifle is one of the weapons which troopers will love and loathe in equal measures. The rifle's rate of fire makes it a devastatingly powerful weapon in close range combats. The only disadvantage is it's reloading time, takes about 1.5 seconds, which gives the enemy enough time to put troopers down with a hail of plasma bolts. In a skilled Marines hand, the assault rifle can easily put down 2-4 opponents per magazine.