IMBEL MD-2 and IMBEL MD-3 SERIES ASSAULT RIFLE BRAZILIAN

IMBEL MD-2 and IMBEL MD-3 Assault Rifles were accepted into the Brazilian military when the LAPA's exotic looks and construction were not readily accepted by the Brazilian soldiers. It was also easier and cheaper to simply produce a scaled-down version of the Light Automatic Rifle (the Brazilian name for the FN FAL) than a new, exotic rifle that required extensive retooling of the weapons factories and retraining or troops. The MD-2 and MD-3 (originally collectively known as the FZ-961) are to some extent standard-pattern assault rifles that bear some resemblance to the FNC, but are in fact a local design.

IMBEL MD-2A1 ASSAULT RIFLE

The original idea for the MD-2 was to simply rebarrel the Brazilian version of the FAL for 5.56mm NATO, but this required more work than the designers thought, and they also wanted to incorporate some new ideas. As stated above, they ended up with a rifle externally similar to the FNC, but internally quite different. Internally, in fact, the MD-2 and MD-3 resemble a mix of the FAL and the M-16A3. They use M-16 and M-16-compatible magazines, and 40% of the parts of the MD-2 and MD-3 are interchangeable with those of the LAR/FN FAL.

IMBEL ASSAULT RIFLE VARIANT SERIES

The IMBEL MD-3 ASSAULT RIFLE has a fixed stock, and the MD-2 has a side-folding metal stock. Like many modern assault rifles, the lower receiver is of light alloy, the upper is stamped steel, and parts like the handguard, pistol grip, and suchlike are of high-impact plastic or composites. This weapon is used by both military and police forces, and a civilian semiautomatic-only version is produced. (In civilian guise, the weapons are known as the IMBEL MD-2A1 ASSAULT RIFLE and IMBEL MD-3A1 ASSAULT RIFLE, respectively.) Most LARs in Brazilian service had been replaced by the MD-2 and MD-3 by 2002.