The DI designation on the weapon refers to Defence Industry (of the Myanmar Directorate of Defence Industries),[7] while the MA designation means Myanmar Army.[8]
History
Myanmar decided to redesign a bullpup rifle after Tatmadaw troops reported multiple failures with the EMER-K1, an earlier bullpup rifle clone of the QBZ-97, ranging from gun jams to stoppages.[9] At the time, some of them were issued to Tatmadaw forces on patrol duties at the Yadana gas field in 1998.[10][9] Myanmar originally wanted to acquire QBZ-97s and eventually set up a production line to manufacture them on their own, but China refused to honor them due to arms sanctions against the State Peace and Development Council.[9][3] Subsequently, the QBZ-97s previously sold to Myanmar were not returned.[1]
The QBZ-97 rifles with Myanmar were reverse engineered again; they did not seek Chinese assistance in creating the MA-1 Mk. IIIs.[6][5] During analysis of the rifles in 2009,[4] they were reported to be suitable for the Tatmadaw in jungle operations.[11]
The MA-1 Mk. IIIs were first shown in public in 2012.[12] They were subsequently shown at various Tatmadaw Armed Forces Day parades.[13]
Plans were made to fully adopt the MA-1 Mk. III by 2016, but it was delayed due to quality issues.[11] At the time, it was reported that the MA-1 Mk. IIIs had poor reliability in the field.[14] Chinese media criticized Myanmar for cloning the QBZ-97 without permission after the rifle was publicly revealed.[15]
In 2020, Myanma social media photos showed an improved version of the MA-3 Mk. III, implying that production issues were mostly resolved.[16]
Design
According to the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M), the rifle family is reportedly being manufactured at DDI's KaPaSa 22 factory.[7]
While the MA-1 Mk. III has visual similarities with the QBZ-97, the difference lies with the use of phenolic plastic materials instead of engineered plastics, which gives off the brown finish.[5][17] Another difference is the shape of the handguard and the vent holes on it.[18]
The MA-1 Mk. IIIs do not use the same Type 95 bayonet made for the QBZ-95.[19][20] Instead, the Tatmadaw uses a clone of the Type 81 bayonet for the rifles.[5] Only the MA-1/3 Mk. III have bayonet lugs installed as a default option.[11]
There were unconfirmed reports that Myanmar sought the assistance of Singaporean defense companies in order to improve on the manufacture of the MA-1 Mk. III[17] by secretly acquiring machinery for the factories.[14] This supposedly resulted in the improvement of using engineered plastics and the rifle's design.[17] For the MA-3 Mk. III, some of the more recently made carbines have carry handles that have a more rectangular shape, more ergonomic front handguard and vent holes, making it resemble the QBZ-97.[21]
Variants
MA-1 Mk. III
The standard assault rifle variant based on the QBZ-97.[22]
MA-2 Mk. III
The light machine gun variant with a long barrel and a bipod.[23]
MA-3 Mk. III
A carbine variant.[24] Known to be used by Myanma special forces units.[25]
MA-4 Mk. III
A variant of the MA-1 Mk. III equipped with an underbarrel grenade launcher.[26] It is also known to be used by Myanmar special forces units.[25]
Users
Myanmar: Used by the Tatmadaw.[24] This includes the Myanmar Navy SEALs.[27]
Notes
^Minor adaptions were made to the original Chinese design.