MA3A assault rifle

The MA3 Assault Rifle is an older variant of the MA5B Assault Rifle used by the Marines of the UNSC. These weapons were obsolete when the MA5B was produced, as the MA5B was capable of being stripped down or reconfigured in different ways for various missions. The MA5B could become an MA2B Assault Rifle when its excess components were removed.

As of 2552, these weapons were in the black market. They were used by the Eridanus Rebels for security of Eridanus Secundus. When Spartan-117 returned to the base, the guards were using MA3's, which replaced the HMG-38 Rifle model they had previously used.

It is also noted that Spartans such as Kurt used MA3's in raids like the one in Ghosts of Onyx during the earlier years of the SPARTAN program.