Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle

Origin
The creation of the Mk 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle began in 2000 after a request by United States Navy SEALs for the creation of a more compact M14 battle rifle. In 2001, Mike Rock Rifle Barrels, Inc. was the only rifle barrel maker asked by United States Special Operations Command to participate in a SOPMOD conference to create what would be the Mark 14 rifle, with details that include a collapsible stock that was requested for the new rifle and with aluminum body with telescopic rails.[1] Mike Rock collaborated with engineer Jim Ribordy to make the new rifle. Tests showed that their rifle was effective, but has excessive noise problems.

In 2003, Ron Smith and Smith Enterprises Inc. created its own version of the M14 Enhanced Battle Rifle (MK14 SEI), which was more widely favored than the rifle made by Rock and Ribordy. The Smith Enterprises-based EBR was then used as a basis to eventually create the Mk 14 with Springfield Armory, Inc. being tasked to supply the necessary machinery needed to create the weapon in cooperation with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division.

United States Navy SEALs were the first forces to be armed with the EBR in 2004, followed by the US Coast Guard. The United States Army is also being armed with the EBR, being created and updated by the Weapons Product Support Integration Directorate of the TACOM Life Cycle Management Command at the Keith L. Ware Test Facility in Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois. United States Marine Corps units were also considering the EBR, but wound up instead developing the M39 Enhanced Marksman Rifle.

Design
The weapon takes the standard M14 action and barrel assembly and adds a telescoping stock, a pistol grip, a different front sight, Harris bipod, four Picatinny accessory rails (which surround the barrel), and a more effective muzzle brake in place of the standard flash suppressor. A paddle-type bolt stop similar to that of the M4 carbine was used on the rifle. The EBR stock is made up entirely of lightweight aircraft alloy.

A plastic handshield and M68 CCO are also added as standard external accessories, though they are almost always replaced with a vertical foregrip and magnifying scope for better handling and for use in a designated marksman role. A suppressor can be mounted on the muzzle brake, though the U.S. military did not adopt one to active service.

Sage International had some involvement in the decision of whether to invest approximately $120,000 in an injection mold incorporating into the design the rail attachments or machine the replacement stock from a solid billet of aluminum with the former being selected, which was then shown at the SHOT Show in Orlando in 2003.

Note: This article contains information directly from Wikipedia.