Firearms / Assault rifles / IMBEL MD-2
IMBEL MD-2
General Facts
- TYPE
Assault rifle - ORIGIN
Brazil - NICKNAMES
- - DESIGNED
1982 - 1985 - DESIGNER
Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil (IMBEL) - PRODUCTION
1985 - late 1990's? - PRODUCERS Brazil - IMBEL
- QUANTITY
Unknown - UNIT COST
Unknown - CHARACTERISTICS
Rugged and sturdy design
Rather heavy for a 5.56mm rifle
Introduction
The MD-2 is a late Cold War era assault rifle of Brazilian origin. Development took place in the early 1980's after the Brazilian government expressed an interest in adopting the 5.56x45mm NATO round. The MD-2 was developed by IMBEL, which already had much experience producing the FN FAL battle rifle under license. The MD-97 is a further development of the MD-2 and is a much lighter design.
Design
The MD-2 is based on the design of the Belgian FN FAL battle rifle and looks very similar. The early prototypes used an exact copy of the FAL operating mechanism, but a rotating bolt design is found on production models. The MD-2 is made of steel and is a sturdy but heavy firearm.
Firepower
The MD-2 fires the 5.56x45mm NATO round from 30 round STANAG magazines. It is a select fire rifle with a cyclic rate of fire of about 700 rpm. The practical effective range is quoted as 300 meters.
Users
The MD-2 was adopted as the standard issue service rifle in the Brazilian army and navy. Many were acquired but not nearly enough to fully replace the older FAL. The MD-2 is also used by various police and military police forces throughout Brazil. It seems there were not export sales.
IMBEL MD
MD-2: Baseline model with tubular side folding stock.
MD-2A1: Semi-automatic model of the MD-2.
MD-3: Similar to the MD-2 but fitted with a fixed polymer stock.
MD-3A1: Semi-automatic model of the MD-3.
MD-4: Carbine model of MD-2 with shorter barrel.
Note: there was an MD-1 model. This was a prototype using a tilting block for locking instead of a rotating bolt. Improvements during testing led to the development of the MD-2.
| Type | Assault rifle |
|---|---|
| Caliber | 5.56x45mm NATO |
| Magazine | 20, 30 round detachable box |
| Operation | Gas operated, short stroke gas piston, rotating bolt |
| Fire selector | 0-1-F |
| Rate of fire | 700 - 750 rpm |
| Barrel length | 453mm |
|---|---|
| Rifling | 6 grooves, 178 mm right hand twist |
| Muzzle velocity | 915 m/s |
| Stock | Foldable |
| Length | 1.010 mm / 764 mm |
| Width | ? |
| Height | ? |
|---|---|
| Weight | 4.4 kg empty |
| Sights | Iron sights, hooded post front and aperture rear |
| Remarks | - |
| Type | Assault rifle |
|---|---|
| Caliber | 5.56x45mm NATO |
| Magazine | 20, 30 round detachable box |
| Operation | Gas operated, short stroke gas piston, rotating bolt |
| Fire selector | 0-1-F |
| Rate of fire | 700 - 750 rpm |
| Barrel length | 453mm |
|---|---|
| Rifling | 6 grooves, 178 mm right hand twist |
| Muzzle velocity | 915 m/s |
| Stock | Fixed |
| Length | 1.0 m |
| Width | ? |
| Height | ? |
|---|---|
| Weight | ? |
| Sights | Iron sights, hooded post front and aperture rear |
| Remarks | - |
| Type | Assault rifle |
|---|---|
| Caliber | 5.56x45mm NATO |
| Magazine | 20, 30 round detachable box |
| Operation | Gas operated, short stroke gas piston, rotating bolt |
| Fire selector | 0-1-F |
| Rate of fire | 700 - 750 rpm |
| Barrel length | 330 mm |
|---|---|
| Rifling | 6 grooves, 178 mm right hand twist |
| Muzzle velocity | 840 m/s |
| Stock | Foldable |
| Length | 887 mm / 640 mm |
| Width | ? |
| Height | ? |
|---|---|
| Weight | ? |
| Sights | Iron sights, hooded post front and aperture rear |
| Remarks | - |
5.56x45mm NATO
The development of the MD-2 took place following a decision to adopt the 5.56x45mm NATO round.
FN FAL
The IMBEL MD-2 design is based on the Belgian FAL battle rifle and except for the magazine both rifles look rather similar.
IMBEL MD97
The MD97 is an update of the MD-2 design, making it lighter and adding the ability to mount certain accessories.