MFR56 Selected For Philippine Marine Corps’ New SAWJul 12, 2022The Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) is expecting a delivery of MFR56 5.56 mm caliber Squad Automatic Weapons (SAW) made by System Defence of Turkiye in the next few weeks. The contract for 160 units was signed last week on Monday (4 July) although its value has yet to be revealed.
In 2021, the Philippine Navy (PN) outlined its requirements for a new SAW to replace older FN Minimi and M60E3/E4 light machine guns in the PMC inventory. Notable among the required specifications are the 5.56 mm x 45 mm caliber, a dual-feed system with a 30-round standard magazine or a high capacity 200-round box magazine, a quick-change barrel, and an overall weight not exceeding 8.16 kg.
Aside from the offer by the Turkish company, the Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) Negev NG5 and Singapore’s ST Kinetic Ultimax 100 were also listed among the candidates in the acquisition program.
I doubt the Marines will be replacing the M60E4/E6 GPMGs in service, but the Minimis were always too few in number to properly equip the PMC.