Engineering:DI MA-1

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Short description: 2002 assault rifle made in Myanmar
MA-1
MA-1, MA-2, and MA-3 rifles captured by TNLA during 2023 fighting in Kyaukme.
Type
Place of originMyanmar
Service history
In service2002–present
Used bySee Users
Wars
  • Ethnic conflicts in Myanmar
  • Myanmar civil war
Production history
DesignerYisrael Galili of Israel Military Industries[1][lower-alpha 1]
Designed1991
ManufacturerKa Pa Sa No. 1
Myanmar Fritz Werner Industries[lower-alpha 2]
Produced2002–Present
VariantsSee Variants
Specifications
Mass
  • 4 kg (9 lb) (No Magazine, Mk. I-II)
  • 4.42 kg (10 lb) (No Magazine, Mk. II)
  • 4.66 kg (10 lb) (With Magazine, Mk. I-II)
Length
  • 978 mm (39 in) (Mk. I-II)
  • 1,065 mm (42 in) (Mk. I-II)
  • 508 mm (20 in) (Barrel Length, Mk. II)
Cartridge5.56×45mm NATO
ActionGas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire
  • 950 rounds/min (Mk. I-II)
  • 600-700 rounds/min (Mk. II)
Muzzle velocity950 m/s (3,120 ft/s)
Effective firing range400 m (437 yd)
Feed system
  • 35-, 50-, or 65-round box magazine (Galil-based)
  • 30-round magazine (For Mk. II variants c. 2019)
  • 70 or 100-round drum magazine (MA-2)
  • 10-round magazine (MA-S Mk. I)
  • 20-round magazine (MA-S Mk. II)
Sights
References[3][4][5][6]

The DI MA-1[lower-alpha 3] is a family of Myanmar-made assault rifles chambered for 5.56×45mm NATO, produced by the Myanmar Directorate of Defence Industries.

The MA designation on the weapon means Myanmar Army.[8] The series are sometimes erroneously referred to as the EMERK-3.[2]

History

The Tatmadaw was armed with the BA63 (Burma Army 63), the Myanma-made version of the Heckler & Koch G3A3 battle rifle[9] made under license agreement with West Germany under the Ka Pa Sa factories in partnership with Fritz Werner Industry Ausrustungen-Gmbh (FRG) and the German Technical Corporation Agency.[10] However, it was considered too heavy for Myanma soldiers to use in jungle warfare.[7]

A team of engineers from IMI reportedly visited Yangon in 1991, helping with preparing the foundation to manufacture the MA-1s.[11][12] Reports cite Israel's support of Myanmar in developing the MA-1 despite repeated denials by Israeli officials based in Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand.[13]

Serial production started in 2002 after signing an agreement with IMI.[7] The assault rifles were mostly made at Ka Pa Sa No 1 or DI-1,[8] a factory located near Inya Lake that serves as the main factory.[7][14]

According to William Ashton, Israel sought Myanmar out in order to gain international allies due to the constant threat of being surrounded by hostile states in the Middle East.[13]

Operational Use

The MA-series was first spotted in the early 2000s at numerous Tatmadaw Armed Forces Day parades and demonstrations,[15][12] replacing the previous Heckler & Koch G3 rifles that were in service.[7]

By 2009, it was reported that the Tatmadaw was almost fully equipped with the MA series.[7] From 2014, the Mk II variant is being used by the Tatmadaw as their standard rifle.[16] Plans were made to fully adopt the DI MA-1 Mk. III, but plans are halted due to quality issues.[17]

MA rifles have also been seen usage by the insurgent groups, captured from Tatmadaw forces[18] or from defecting soldiers.[19]

MA-1 and MA-3s have been documented in use by the PDF in the civil war since May 2023, with most being captures from Myanmar government soldiers and police officers.[20]

Some MA-3s were reportedly seen in Manipur, where they were confiscated in raids in July 2024.[21]

Design

Tatmadaw soldiers in an honor guard holding MA-1s in a rifle salute.

The DI MA-1 series are based on the IMI Galil with some localised modifications produced with assistance from Israel.[13]

The MA-1 rifles are made with ventilated handguards and horizontal charging handles, unlike the Galil which has a vertical charging handle.[2] Early models (Mk. I) have curved cheekpieces in the buttstocks with later models (Mk. II) omitting this.[22] MA rifles are compatible with Galil magazines,[2] although they can use polymer magazines.[22]

They were initially introduced with wooden handguards; early models were made with brown polymer furniture and rounded, smooth pistol grips.[23] Later versions were produced with black furniture and clear cut Galil grips, designated as the Mk II.[24] It also uses synthetic alloys and plastics in its construction.[16]

An indicator for a MA rifle that is optimized to fire rifle grenades is the presence of tall iron sights.[22] The rifles can use the MG-2 rifle grenade.[25]

The selectors consist of safe, semi-auto and full-auto mode.[23]

In a 2009 interview, Sai Sheng Murng, deputy spokesman of the Shan State Army (RCSS), mentioned that foreign-made 5.56 NATO ammo cannot be used in the MA rifles while Myanma-made ammo can work with foreign assault rifles chambered in the same caliber.[7][26]

Variants

MA-1

Standard assault rifle with a bayonet lug for the option to have a bayonet mounted.[2] The bipod was not made standard with the MA-1s with the cleaning kit stored in a hollow space in the buttstock. The MA-1s are not equipped with a pistol grip-type safety system.[27]

It's reported by convicted porters under the Tatmadaw that Myanma soldiers would write the battalion number on its stock.[28]

MA-2

Light machine gun version with a heavy barrel and a bipod mounted.[29]

It was originally developed without the idea of using a drum magazine, relying on standard capacity magazines,[30] but it can be used with drum magazines.[5]

The handguard has two rows of ventilation holes that are parallel to the barrel.[27] It has a carry handle, long/heavy barrel and bipod.[23] The bipods used are thin-based for Mk. I versions, but the Mk. II versions are seen with bipods that are cloned from those used for the M60 GPMG.[5]

MA-3

Carbine version with a folding metal buttstock.[31] The stock is rarely used due to great difficulty in moving it[27] and to fully depress the lock in order to unfold it.[23] Can be used with suppressors made from AISI-321 stainless steel.[11]

Early models were badly made due to the materials used in its manufacture before they were fully resolved through the Mk II variant.

MA-4

A version of the MA-1 equipped with an underbarrel grenade launcher (UBGL),[31] known as the BA203 (Burma Army 203).[5]

It is an unlicensed clone of the MKEK T-40.[32][lower-alpha 4] The UBGL is permanently fixed, which cannot be removed.

MA-S

Known as Myanmar Army Sniper, a designated marksman rifle variant based on the MA-2.[34] They are used with a PSO-1 scope.[11]

It's chambered in 7.62x51 NATO caliber and fires from a 10-round magazine.[34] There are reports indicating that production may have started as early as 2011 to 2012.[35] It has a total weight of 5.3 kg, a total length of 1140 mm and a barrel length of 620 mm.[34] The rifle has a muzzle velocity of 852 m/s and an effective range of 1000 meters.[34]

The MA-S consist of a Mk. I and Mk. II version. The Mk. I resembles a Dragunov that can take 10-round magazines[5][34] with a PSO-1 scope.[36]

The Mk. II resembles Zastava-based rifles that can take 20-round magazines.[5] It has a picatinny rail under the gas block to install a bipod.[5] It comes in two colors; green or black furniture.[5] A version of the Mk. II in a camo finish was on display at the 2019 Defence and Security arms fair.[5]

There is a MA-S variant made for Tatmadaw soldiers participating in overseas shooting competitions such as the ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet.[37]

Mk. II

Pre-2019

The Mk. II variant saw the use of polymer to replace the black stock of the Mk. I.[5] It was also often equipped with polymer stocks, pistol grips, and fore-ends as standard issue.[23]

Post-2019

The newer Mk II variants were shown overseas at the 2019 Defense and Security exhibition in Bangkok, Thailand, which was visited by Min Aung Hlaing.[38] This variant was publicly shown in 2022 with the Tatmadaw with a telescopic stock and picatinny rail on the upper receiver.[4] It was supposed to be shown in public in 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

The new Mk II magazine is based on the South African polymer Vektor R4 magazine.[22] The black moulds used in the newer Mk II variants were allegedly based on moulding materials provided by CAA Industries.[39]


A variant of the MA1 Mk II known as T1 was seen in the hands of Myanmar Army soldiers since December 2025.[40] Small numbers of them were captured by various rebel forces.[41][42][43]

Users

  •  Myanmar
    • 22px Tatmadaw[44]
    • 22px Myanmar Police Force[20]

Non-State Actors

  • 22px Karen National Liberation Army[18]
  • 22px Karenni Army[45]
  • 22px People's Defence Force (Myanmar)[20]
  • 22px Shan State Army (RCSS)[7]
  • 22px Ta'ang National Liberation Army[46]

Notes

  1. ↑ Minor adaptions were made to the original Israeli Galil design.
  2. ↑ Some sources mention this company is responsible for manufacturing the MA rifles.[2]
  3. ↑ Sometimes known as the MA1.[7]
  4. ↑ Other sources mention that it's an unlicensed clone of the M203.[33]

References

  1. ↑ "Yisrael Galili, Weapons Inventor, 72". The New York Times. 11 March 1995. https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/11/obituaries/yisrael-galili-weapons-inventor-72.html. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Roodhorst (2015), p. 1399.
  3. ↑ "MA-1". Archived from the original on 2024-12-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20241207111650/https://www.info-res.org/myanmar-witness/guides/ma-1/. Retrieved 2025-02-26. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "或将在缅甸第77个武装部队日亮相的缅军新式Ma突击步枪_型号_系列_榴弹发射器". https://www.sohu.com/a/532913784_100103668. 
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 "Archived copy". https://www.myanmarwitness.org/_files/ugd/06ca64_9dbcff31640547f3bd747fe8c86e6c6c.pdf. 
  6. ↑ "今日头条". https://www.toutiao.com/article/7147865835078550051/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 Lawi Weng. "Burmese Army Equipped with New Arms". Archived from the original. Error: If you specify |archiveurl=, you must also specify |archivedate=. https://web.archive.org/web/20231108200538/https://www2.irrawaddy.com/article.php?art_id=16508. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Toys for the Boys". http://asia-pacific-solidarity.net/asiapacific/focus/at_toysfortheboysinmyanmar_060911.htm. 
  9. ↑ Human Rights Watch. "Burma Government and Army". Archived from the original on 2008-10-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20081020114157/https://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/burma/Burma0902.htm. Retrieved 2018-08-03. 
  10. ↑ Roman Decker (November 2007). ""Strong and Fast": German Arms in Burma". Archived from the original on 2018-07-25. https://web.archive.org/web/20180725063328/http://www.bits.de/public/articles/kleinwaffen-nl11-07eng.htm. Retrieved 2018-08-03. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Critical Supplies - Special Advisory Council for Myanmar". 14 January 2023. https://specialadvisorycouncil.org/fatal-business/critical-supplies/. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Burma's Secret Military Partners". https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/216586/1/136_Burma%E2%80%99s_secret_military_partners_%28Canberra_papers_on_strategy_and_defence%29_Andrew_Selth_86p_0731527755.pdf. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 William Ashton (2000-03-01). "Myanmar and Israel develop military pact". Jane's Intelligence Review. Archived from the original on 2016-02-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20160205184743/https://peoplesgeography.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/ashton-myanmar-and-israel-develop-military-pact.pdf. Retrieved 2018-08-06. 
  14. ↑ "BURMA'S WMD PROGRAMME AND MILITARY COOPERATION BETWEEN BURMA AND THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA". p. 60. Archived from the original. Error: If you specify |archiveurl=, you must also specify |archivedate=. https://web.archive.org/web/20231108195657/http://www.asiapacificms.com/papers/pdf/burma_dprk_military_cooperation.pdf. 
  15. ↑ Ian McCollum, Rob Stott, Larry Vickers (January 1, 2019). Vickers Guide: Kalashnikov (Volume 2). https://www.vickersguide.com/kalashnikov-vol-2. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Thứ Ba (2014-11-25). "Súng trường MA-1 Mark II của Myanmar vượt trội M16 của Mỹ?, Page 3" (in Vietnamese). Bao Dat Viet. Archived from the original on 2014-12-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20141228125847/http://baodatviet.vn/anh-nong/sung-truong-ma-1-mark-ii-cua-myanmar-vuot-troi-m16-cua-my-3211745/?p=3. Retrieved 2018-06-08. 
  17. ↑ "無托步槍真香？緬甸山寨97式大批量裝備部隊，亞洲兩國幫了大忙" (in Chinese). 2020-10-22. https://twgreatdaily.com/uF_IT3UBLq-Ct6CZ4dQb.html. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "KAREN NATIONAL LIBERATION ARMY SITUATION REPORT". p. 2. Archived from the original. Error: If you specify |archiveurl=, you must also specify |archivedate=. https://web.archive.org/web/20231108195954/http://www.dictatorwatch.org/KNLA/KNLAapr2to7.pdf. 
  19. ↑ "Burma Human Rights Handbook". 2008. p. 14. Archived from the original. Error: If you specify |archiveurl=, you must also specify |archivedate=. https://web.archive.org/web/20221007102114/https://www.burmalibrary.org/docs08/HRDU_YB-2008/pdf/ethnic.pdf. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 "Myanmar PDFs getting the guns to turn the war". 19 May 2023. https://asiatimes.com/2023/05/myanmar-pdfs-getting-the-guns-to-turn-the-war/. 
  21. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20240714055717/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/manipur/manipur-police-seize-arms-ammunition/article68402671.ece
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 "Burmese Rifle Grenades of the Infantry MA Series of Rifles". 17 August 2018. https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2018/08/17/burmese-rifle-grenades-of-the-infantry-ma-series-of-rifles/. 
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 "BURMESE SMALL ARMS DEVELOPMENT - Small Arms Review". 26 August 2009. https://smallarmsreview.com/burmese-small-arms-development/. 
  24. ↑ Duong Minh (2014-11-23). "Súng trường Myanmar tự làm xuất hiện tại Việt Nam" (in Vietnamese). Soha. Archived from the original on 2018-07-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20180729111929/http://soha.vn/quan-su/sung-truong-myanmar-tu-lam-xuat-hien-tai-viet-nam-20141123170313522.htm. Retrieved 2018-08-03. 
  25. ↑ "MG-2 - Centre for Information Resilience". https://www.info-res.org/myanmar-witness/guides/mg-2/. 
  26. ↑ The Yat-Thai rifles of Shan State, Myanmar. Miles Vining. February 19, 2020. Armament Research Services (ARES).
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Johnson & Nelson (2016), p. 215.
  28. ↑ "Archived copy". https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1176422/1788_1311008144_burma0711-onlineversion.pdf. 
  29. ↑ Roodhorst (2015), p. 1400.
  30. ↑ "这款轻机枪在缅甸战争中使用最为广泛 供弹却常用步枪弹匣而不是弹鼓" (in zh). https://item.btime.com/m_9fea8a04a0c80ef29. 
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Roodhorst (2015), p. 1401.
  32. ↑ "The Kachin Kalashnikov in Myanmar". 24 July 2018. https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2018/07/24/the-kachin-kalashnikov-in-myanmar/. 
  33. ↑ "设计奇葩却很实用的缅甸Ma-4步枪". https://www.sohu.com/a/217264246_100103668. 
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 34.4 "不可忽视的战场幽灵 缅甸自制MA-S狙击步枪" (in zh). https://item.btime.com/m_9a10718e420438dc6. 
  35. ↑ "MA-Sniper Development Continues: Production and Issue". 13 September 2018. https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2018/09/13/ma-sniper-development-continues-production-and-issue/. 
  36. ↑ "The MA-Sniper: Early Burmese Army Designated Marksman Rifle Development". 30 August 2018. https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2018/08/30/the-ma-sniper-early-burmese-army-designated-marksman-rifle-development/. 
  37. ↑ "Burmese MA-Sniper Modified for AARM Marksmanship Competition". 10 September 2018. https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2018/09/10/burmese-ma-sniper-modified-for-aarm-marksmanship-competition/. 
  38. ↑ "或将在缅甸第77个武装部队日亮相的缅军新式Ma突击步枪". https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404751338751000817. 
  39. ↑ "Israel's CAA Industries Ltd suspected to have aided and abetted the Myanmar military's international crimes | Justice for Myanmar". https://www.justiceformyanmar.org/stories/israels-caa-industries-ltd-suspected-to-have-aided-and-abetted-the-myanmar-militarys-war-crimes-and-crimes-against-humanity. 
  40. ↑ တပ်မတော်မှာ MA1 အစားထိုး မိုက်တယ်... ပစ်အာပိုကောင်းလာတယ် ကျည်ခွံညှပ်တဲ့ပြသနာ လျော့သွားတယ် စစ်မင်း
  41. ↑ "စစ်တပ်ရဲ့ နောက်ဆုံးထုတ် အမ် အေဝမ်း သေနတ်ကို PDF တွေသိမ်းဆည်းရရှိ". People's Spring. January 6, 2026. https://www.ludunwayoo.com/news-mm/2026/01/06/144867/. 
  42. ↑ "ဖရူဆိုမြို့နယ်၊ နန်းဖဲကျေးရွာအနီးရှိ ချောင်းအတွင်းရေခပ်ဆင်းလာသည့် စစ်သားများကို တိုက်ခိုက်မှုု ၅ ဦးသေဆုံးပြီး လက်နက် ၅ လက်သိမ်းဆည်းရရှိ". Khit Thit Media. March 18, 2026. https://yktnews.com/2026/03/245538/. 
  43. ↑ "ပခုက္ကူ စက်မှုဇုန် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်တပ်ဂိတ် တိုက်ခိုက်ခံရ၍ လေးဦးသေဆုံး". Narinjara News. April 7, 2026. https://burmese.narinjara.com/local-news/detail/69d4e8c7e93643bdaca49525. 
  44. ↑ "When Myanmar's military seized power in a Feb. 1 coup, millions across the country took to the streets in protest". 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2021/myanmar-crackdown-military-coup/. 
  45. ↑ "Inside Myanmar's Armed Uprising". 6 December 2022. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-myanmar-civil-war-karenni-army-photos/. 
  46. ↑ "Burma Conflict Blog". Archived from the original. Error: If you specify |archiveurl=, you must also specify |archivedate=. https://web.archive.org/web/20231108195941/http://www.dictatorwatch.org/burmadeathwatch.html. 

Bibliography


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