LMT .308 Modular Weapon System (MWS) Monolithic Rail Platform (MRP) Semi-Auto 7.62mm NATO Tactical AR Battle Rifle/Carbine

By David Crane
defrev (at) gmail (dot) com

All photos contained in this article were taken by DefenseReview.com, and are copyrighted. DefenseReview.com owns the copyright on these photos. The photos were shot with a Canon PowerShot S90 10-megapixel digital camera (still camera with video capability).

April 1, 2010
Last updated on 2/04/14.

The Lewis Machine & Tool (LMT) LM308MWSE Monolothic Rail Platform (MRP) 7.62x51mm NATO (7.62mm NATO)/.308 Win. (civilian legal) tactical AR rifle/carbine generated a lot of attention and interest at SHOT Show 2010. We presume that "LM308MWSE" stands for "LMT .308 Modular Weapon System Semi-Automatic".

The LMT LM308MWSE 7.62mm rifle/carbine operates via direct gas impingement (DGI) a.k.a. direct impingement gas (DI gas) and has been adopted by the British Army, reportedly beating out the HK417 gas piston/op-rod AR rifle/carbine for the contract. The Brits ordered 440 units, designated the weapon the LM7, and then reportedly redesignated it the L129A1.

The purpose of the L129A1 is to provide British military forces with a 7.62mm semi-auto "sharpshooter" weapon enabling designated marksmen to accurately and reliably engage targets out to 800 meters. Magazine capacity is 20 rounds, which allows for a lot of fast follow-up shots against fast-moving enemy targets, including vehicles. The MRP freefloats the barrel in order to maximize accuracy.

DefenseReview was informed (at SHOT Show 2010) that the British Army found the LMT .308 MWS MRP (LM308MWSE)/LM7/L129A1 battle rifle to be both more accurate AND more reliable under military combat test conditions than the HK 417. This is interesting, since the LMT .308 is a direct-gas-impingement (DGI) AR rifle/carbine, and the HK417 is a gas piston/op-rod AR. Hm. It would seem that piston-driven ARs aren't always superior to direct gas ARs. Interesting. I wonder what publication has been writing about that very truth. Oh, yeah. That's right…it was US!

DefenseReview received the following weapon spec info via email from Ryan Johnson at LMT:

LMT LM308MWSE rifle:

16" chrome lined barrel with 1:10" twist. 18" ultra match stainless
barrel will be available once military contracts are fulfilled.

Rifle uses SR25 (Knights) type magazines and we offer 10rd and 20rd
capacity mags.

Rifle features LMTs Tactical Front and Rear sights, 2 stage trigger,
ambi selector and SOPMOD stock.

Rifle is an upscaled Monolithic rail platform receiver with the quick
change barrel options, planned caliber releases are .243 and .260
Remington.

Empty rifle weight = 9.98 pounds
Extended length = 38"
Collapsed length = 34.75"
Top rail surface = 19.25"
3, 6, and 9 o'clock rail length = 9"
Overall upper receiver length is 21.2"

MSRP is $2500.00.

DefenseReview got to view and handle the LMT LM308MWS at SHOT Show 2010, and the weapon looked and felt good. We haven't test-fired it, yet, though.

We have, however, test fired both the
LMT CQB MRP Defender Model 16 (MSRP: $1829.28) and LMT CQB MRP Defender Model Piston 16 (MSRP: $2054.85) 5.55x45mm NATO (5.56mm NATO)/.223 Rem. rifle/carbines, and we really like them. In fact, Defense Review test-fired the LMT CQB MRP Defender Model Piston 16 prototype at the Knight's Armament Co. (KAC) range in Titusville, FL during SHOT Show 2007.

DefenseReview recommends that our readers check these weapons out at the LMT website.

Additional Photos:

Company Contact Info:

Lewis Machine & Tool (LMT)
1305 11th St. W.
Milan, IL 61264
Phone: 309-787-7151
Sales Phone: 309-732-9527
Fax: 309-787-7193
Sales Fax: 309-787-2636
Sales Email: sales@lewismachine.net
Technical Info & Returns Email: SwansonG@lewismachine.net
Website: https://www.lewismachine.net/

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