MA5B assault rifle

The MA5B assault rifle, or simply MA5B or MA5, is a standard-issue automatic rifle utilized widely by the UNSC, particularly the UNSC Marine Corps. It is part of Misriah Armory's MA5 Individual Combat Weapon System (ICWS) series.

Design
The MA5B is a gas-operated automatic rifle chambered in the widespread 7.62x51mm cartridge, most often used with standard M118 FMJ-AP ammunition, though also employed with shredder and hollow-point. MA5Bs typically feed from 60-round detachable box magazines, which are marked with red paint when loaded with hollow-point rounds. The weapon's automatic rate of fire is 15 rounds per second, but it can be limited to semi-automatic or 3-round burst via a fire selector to conserve ammunition and alter firing pattern. Its range has been indicated to be 500m in the hands of a competent shooter by Spartan Linda-058.

One significant aspect of the MA5B's design is its capacity for modification. During the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV, SPARTAN-IIs made use of MA5Bs that had been altered in order to mount silencers, combating the conspicuous audible report of the weapon's firing. Early in the Covenant War, SPARTAN-IIs also frequently employed MA5Bs with underslung M301 40mm launchers to fire HE grenades, notably during Operation: SILENT STORM and the salvage operation on Netherop.

The most characteristic part of the MA5B's architecture is the accentuated shroud mounted atop the cowling, which houses the weapon's integrated computer and display. While all MA5 ICWS rifles feature this to some extent, on the MA5B, it is tallest and most bulky. The magazine which feeds the rifle is inserted behind the thumbhole pistol grip in a bullpup configuration, another trait typical of the MA5 series. The charging handle is an inconspicuous rounded-off protrusion on the left of the weapon's body, and the ejection port is situated on the right. The weapon's horizontal foregrip plays host to a forward-facing flashlight, bearing a prominent green button on both sides of the weapon. The barrel of MA5B lacks any form of muzzle device, and the stock features a prominently adjustable shoulder brace segment. The finish of the weapon is a dull grey, with a darker grey color for the fore and rear grips.

Functionality
The MA5B's prominent integrated display features both an ammunition counter and an electronic compass. This can be assigned to highlight a specific point to orientate the user in combat or confusing terrain; during the Battle of Alpha Halo, this point was the relative direction of the gas giant Threshold. Additionally, in low-light conditions, the flashlight mounted beneath the barrel of the weapon can be activated to provide illumination.

As is typical of human firearms, the MA5B is fired by the depression of a trigger positioned at the top of the main grip. When the trigger is pulled, the round in the weapon’s chamber is fired, and the weapon’s gas system harnesses some of the energy from the deflagrating propellant to cycle the bolt back into its open position. As the bolt travels back, the spent casing from the expended round is pushed out of the ejection port. After the bolt opens, the weapon’s recoil system pushes it forward again to strip a fresh round from the currently loaded magazine and lock it into the firing chamber. Over the course of these actions, the ammunition counter situated on the display of the weapon’s integrated computer will register the expenditure of one round from the total supply provided by the magazine and tick down by that value. From this point, one of three things will occur. If the weapon’s fire-selector was set to the mode of fire to semi-automatic, the trigger will have to be released and pulled again before another round fires. If the weapon is set to the 3-round burst fire mode, each pull of the trigger will result in 3 successive shots. If the weapon is set to fully-automatic, however, the firing action will repeat successively while the trigger is held down until the magazine is expended or the trigger is released.

Once the magazine is empty, the charging handle on the left side of the weapon will lock back, indicating that the bolt is open and no round is chambered. After the depleted magazine is exchanged for a fresh one, the charging handle must be nudged to cause the bolt to close, chambering the round and preparing the weapon to fire again. If the magazine is exchanged before the weapon is fully emptied, this process can be ignored as the cycle of the bolt will have been uninterrupted.

Performance
The capabilities of the MA5B are seemingly deemed to be sufficient by soldiers of the UNSC, with John-117 regarding the weapon as "powerful." While the rifle is very capable of harming foes wearing physical body armor, and even light vehicles, personal energy shielding represents a significant detriment to its stopping power, as a great deal of concentrated fire from multiple MA5Bs - or an extended period of continuous automatic fire from a single rifle - is needed to overwhelm such systems.

One positive attribute of the weapon is the high capacity of the 60-round magazines with which it is typically used, an attribute that was comforting to UNSC marines wielding it in battle. So well-liked was this attribute that even in light of reliability issues brought on by spring wear, the switch toward 32-round magazines with the later MA5C assault rifle was met with frustration by the marines of E2-BAG/1/7.

When firing this weapon, it has been noted that short, controlled bursts are more accurate than continuous automatic fire. While the cyclic automatic rate of fire is high, actual rate of fire in combat is dictated by the user's own proficiency at aiming, firing and reloading.

Advantages
The MA5B in both offensive and suppressive situations remains one of the UNSC's most reliable weapon. When fired in short bursts, or even single shots, there is a significant increase in accuracy, and the rifle's armor penetrating ability makes it key for handling even the toughest of infantry, having the ability to kill an Elite in about 45 rounds in close quarters. The MA5B rifle is effective at killing light armored infantry at close-to-medium range, and the high rate of fire combined with the high ammunition capacity allows its user to spray the whole area with suppressing fire. The MA5B also gives the user an ammo count on its digital readout, as well a compass pointing toward the arbitrary magnetic "north" position. In the hands of someone who can control their trigger finger, the MA5B becomes a deadly weapon in CQB situations.

Disadvantages
The MA5B is not without disadvantages, its main disadvantage being its horrible accuracy when fired at a range of more than forty meters. At that range, enemy infantry may be hit by a few bullets, or not be hit by any bullets at all. The MA5B Assault Rifle performs poorly against energy shields unless firing on full automatic at close range without giving a shielded infantry time to cover. In comparison to modern assault rifles it can be more related to an oversized sub-machine gun, as it is underpowered and lacks the ability to select a fire mode. The MA5B is also not the ideal weapon to use against Flood Combat forms, as Combat forms dropped by one are likely to rise again soon afterwards if not damaged with another weapon prior. A way to counter this is to kill the Combat form and with the remainder of the clip, fire at the body.

Miscellaneous

 * There is a second melee animation for the MA5B, in which the user holds the weapon vertically and clubs anyone in front of them with the back end of the weapon. This animation is used in a few Halo Custom Edition maps, but was taken out of the official game. This animation is similar, if not identical, to the melee animation used for the M90 CAWS.
 * In Halo: Combat Evolved and Anniversary, the gas giant Threshold is considered arbitrary north by the MA5B's compass.
 * In the early version of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, the MA5B used the MA37 as a placeholder render, before using the MA5C for the final game.

List of appearances

 * Halo: The Fall of Reach
 * Halo: Combat Evolved
 * Halo: The Flood
 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo Graphic Novel
 * Breaking Quarantine
 * The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor
 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * Halo: Contact Harvest
 * Halo: The Cole Protocol
 * Halo Wars
 * Halo Legends
 * Homecoming
 * The Babysitter
 * Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
 * Dirt
 * The Mona Lisa
 * Halo: Fall of Reach
 * Covenant
 * Invasion
 * Halo: Glasslands
 * Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
 * Terminals
 * Halo: The Thursday War
 * Halo: Mortal Dictata
 * Halo Mythos
 * Halo Wars 2
 * Halo: Rise of Atriox
 * Halo: Fireteam Raven
 * Halo: Silent Storm
 * Halo: Oblivion