The Marine Scout Sniper Rifle or MSSR is a semi-automatic designated marksman rifle developed from the Colt M16A1 rifle by the Philippine Marine Corps Scout Snipers due to the lack of a dedicated precision rifle which is used in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The MSSR was developed due to the need of a sniper rifle system that could effectively use 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition (most other sniper rifles use the larger 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge). This was done mainly for cost-saving and availability reasons since the Armed Forces of the Philippines are actively engaged in counter-insurgency and internal security operations, especially against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayyaf Group.
The shorter effective range of the 5.56 mm cartridge compared to the 7.62 mm was less of a factor due to the shorter ranges encountered in jungle combat, where the rifle is primarily used. Its performance during subsequent combat operations proved the effectiveness of the weapon system, and it was adopted as the primary range sniper rifle (for ranges of up to 600 m) of the Philippine Marine Scout Snipers.
Originally intended to be temporary solution and slated to be delegated as a designated marksman's rifle upon the acquisition of newer 7.62 mm bolt-action rifles, the MSSR has instead become the primary sniper rifle of the Marine Scout Snipers due to its outstanding performance in the field.
The deployment of the MSSR also allowed the Philippine Marine Corps to retire its M1903 Springfield, M1C Garand and M14 rifles from active service.
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