As of this month, the Royal Marines’ UK Commando Force (UKCF) has a new weapon in its arsenal: the German-made Sig Sauer MCX.
UK Commando Force Operations announced in a post on X that its personnel have been issued 1,500 Sig Sauer MCX rifles. The small arms will be employed in a “maritime counter-terrorism role.”
It won’t replace the already standard Knights Stoner KS-1 carbine, an improved version of the SR-16, which is the primary weapon for elements of the Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS) units.
The MCX will be used by the forty-two Commando and forty-seven Command Raiding Groups tasked with counter-terrorism roles.
“The rifle is well-suited for the specialist counter-UK terrorism roles of the Commando Force, replacing rifles produced by Colt Canada as part of £6 million Navy investment,” the Royal Navy announced in a statement, adding that it was “part of continued investment in the Commando Force.”
The MCX, a Piece of the Puzzle for Project Hay
The UKCF’s adoption of the MCX is part of the ongoing Project Hay, which was named to honor Ronnie Hay, who served as a British fighter pilot and Royal Marine during the Second World War.
According to the UK’s senior service, “[Hay] epitomised the daring of the Commandos during raids on Nazi-occupied territory. As the only Royal Marines fighter ace, Hay flew combat sorties in the Fleet Air Arm, earning multiple decorations for his aerial victories and ground-attack missions.”
He was among the pilots who provided aerial support during the Dunkirk evacuations in late May and early June 1940 and took part in the Battle of Britain. Later, he supported the Operation Torch landings in North Africa and the Far East, where “he led one of the Fleet Air Arm’s largest operations and supported the assault on Okinawa.”
“These rifles reinforce the commitment of the Navy and Defence to our transformation, and the value the Commando Force provides to our national and international security” explained Lieutenant Colonel Olly Osborne, of the Commando Force Programme team. “This is an excellent period of investment in the force and provides great confidence through exceptional task specific modern weaponry.”
The new effort follows Project Hunter, which led to the Royal Marines’ adoption of the KS-1 rifle.
The MXC Rifle in the Crosshairs
Developed by German-based Sig Sauer, the MCX features a modular design that allows it to operate in various environments. It features a short-stroke gas pistol that reduces recoil and is available in multiple calibers—5.56x45mm NATO, .300 Blackout, 7.52x39mm, 6.8mm Fury, and 5.56mm SIG Fury—while it can be outfitted with different barrel lengths, including a sixteen-inch (406mm) “Patrol” variant and a nine-inch (229 mm) short-barreled version designed for close-range combat.
The select-fire MCX has a full-auto rate of fire of 800 to 900 rounds per minute, and an effective range of 1,650 feet (500 meters) with the NATO 5.56x45mm cartridge.
The UKCF won’t be the only operator of the MCX.
The United States military selected the MCX during its Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) program to find the replacements for its legacy M4 carbine and M249 light machine gun. Following a more than two year prototyping and evaluation period, the U.S. Army awarded Sig Sauer a 10-year-firm-fixed-price follow-on production contract, with the MCX Spear serving as the basis for the XM5 rifle (now designated XM7), chambered in the 6.8x51mm (.277) Sig Fury cartridge.
Sig Sauer is also producing the XM250 light machine gun, which is chambered for the Sig Fury round.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites, with over 3,200 published pieces and over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Shutterstock/Michael Puche.
