The MARS rifles features lower receivers updated with fully ambidextrous mirrored controls and can be set up to use gas-operated, rotating bolt (internal piston, not direct impingement) or short-stroke piston operating systems with the help of basic tools.
The MARS receiver can host and switch between barrels of varying length, and diameter. material, and caliber. Two locking bolts accessible from the right side of the receiver with a basic tool lock a barrel extension and make the barrel unit user removable with a return to zero of the same barrel.
In September 2018, it was reported that some of the New Zealand Defence Force rifles had experienced breakages, including 130 with cracks around the bolt, and that all 9,040 rifles had had their firing pins replaced under warranty.[1]
LMT later claimed that the number of worn or broken firing pins was much smaller at "less than one-tenth of one percent".[2]
The issue reportedly stemmed from improper tempering. While replacing the firing pins, a similar quantity of selector switches and bolt carriers had also been found to display premature wear and were replaced.[2]
Variants
Military versions
L129A2
MARS-H based designated marksman variant, chambered in 6.5 mm Creedmoor.
Fitted with an 18in (457mm) barrel, a fully adjustable DMR stock and lengthened hand guard, a Leupold Mark 5HD 3.6-18×44 M5C3 Desert IR telescopic sight with TREMOR3 reticle, a HuxWrx suppressor, an Envision Technology ballistic calculator, and a Pixels-on-Target thermal sight was adopted in 2023.[3]
The change from 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition to 6.5 Creedmoor was due to the 6.5 Creedmoor's better ability to successfully engage targets at distances around and over 800m (875yd).[4][5]
The main disadvantages of this change are introducing a new chambering in the logistics chain, and due to a higher Oratio is shortened barrel life.[6] The upper receiver still uses a gas-operated, rotating bolt (internal piston) system like the L129A1, but the handguard attachment points on its sides were changed to be M-LOK compatible.[7][8][check quotation syntax]
Fitted with the Schmidt & Bender 3-20×50 PM II Ultra Short telescopic sight with the TREMOR3 reticle that enables quick targeting up to 800m (875yd) as their standard aiming optic.[9][10]
LMT's MRGG-A is a member of its Modular Ambidextrous Rifle System-Heavy (MARS-H) family, which are commonly described as AR-10-style rifles, but is chambered to fire the 6.5mm Creedmoor round.
The MRGG-A configuration LMT has shown publicly has a 14.5″ barrel built into an upper receiver with a ‘monolithic’ Picatinny type rail for optics and other accessories that runs the full length of the top of the rifle. The sides of the handguard have additional accessory attachment points utilizing the increasingly popular M-LOK system from Magpul.
The gun has ambidextrous controls and is capable of semi-automatic and fully-automatic fire. LMT has also shown MRGG-As with scopes from Nightforce Optics.
Back in 2021, Nightforce announced it had secured a contract from SOCOM for ATACRTM 4-20×50 F1 scopes “to augment multiple systems in the SOCOM inventory and… to support the MRGG (Mid-Range Gas Gun) once it is fielded.”
In U.S. service, those optics are also referred to as Ranging-Variable Power Scopes (R-VPS).[11][12]
Civilian versions
For civilian customers, LMT offers a semi-automatic only New Zealand Reference Rifle in its model range.[13] The Estonia R20 RAHE Reference Rifle version is also available.[14]
As of March 2025, LMT does not offer any semi-automatic only Swiss Armed Forces MARS based Reference Rifle model for civilian customers in its model range.
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