Army Special Forces operators using the Mk 12 MOD 0 and MK 12 MOD H, while NAVSPECWAR operators, U.S. Department of Defense photographs and privately obtained photographs, consistently show most U.S. military service branches appear to typically deploy different iterations of the SPR. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division expanded on the Recon Rifle. Early models included the SPR, SPR/A, and SPR/B. Navy SEALs Recon Rifle, a 16" flat-topped M16 carbine. The SPR program appears to have grown out of both the SOPMOD Block II program, and the U.S. The program was an outgrowth of the desire by both US Army and Navy special operations forces for a rifle with greater effective range than an M4 carbine but shorter than an SR-25. The SPR concept was originally proposed by Mark Westrom, currently president of ArmaLite, while working at Rock Island Arsenal in 2000. Navy, is a heavily modified light designated marksman variation of the M16 line of infantry weapons, chambered for NATO standard 5.56×45mm ammunition. The SPR, used by Special Operations Forces of both the U.S. The weapon was developed by the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division for US special operations units, not for Navy units in general. The SPR was eventually type-classified by the U.S. SPR initially stood for Special Purpose Receiver as it referred to an add-on upper receiver assembly (part of the proposed SOPMOD upgrades), but that nomenclature changed to Special Purpose Rifle as the weapon became a stand-alone weapons system. The United States Navy Mk 12 MOD 0/1/H Special Purpose Rifle ( SPR) is a semi-automatic designated marksman rifle that was in service with United States Special Operations Forces in the designated marksman role until 2017, also designed to be shorter than standard weapons. Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Divisionġ0 lb (4.5 kg) (fully loaded, w/heavy barrel added with a optic)Ģ,750 ± 20 ft/s (838.2 ± 6.1 m/s) w/Mk 262 Mod 1 ammunition