At SHOT Show 2020, we spoke to our friends at LMT about their latest military contract with the Estonian Defence Forces (Eesti Kaitsevägi). LMT gave us the low down on the contract, the Estonian rifles’ and their new factory.

Left-side of the rifles (Matthew Moss/TFB)

We first reported LMT’s selection by the Estonian military back in December 2018, the contract award was confirmed by LMT in May 2019 and the contract was officially signed in August 2019. The initial contact covers 16,000 rifles in a mix of 5.56×45 and 7.62×51 rifles. The 5.56x45mm rifles have been ordered in two barrel lengths: a 12 inch barrel for use by Estonia’s special forces units and a standard 14.3 inch length barrel for use by both the Estonian military, police and border officers.

LMT’s Estonian rifles on display at SHOT 2020 – backed by an Estonian flag (Matthew Moss/TFB)

The contract included around 1,000 7.62x51mm designated marksman rifles with new gas blocks and gas piston systems – the first time LMT have offered a rifle in this configuration – they hope to make the piston DMR available to the public sometime in 2021.

The 7.62 DMR with a Vortex Razor 1-6 (Matthew Moss/TFB)

The 7.62 DMR with a Vortex Razor 1-6 (Matthew Moss/TFB)

All of the rifles have LMT’s monolithic uppers, new 2-stage triggers (which can be returned to safe with the hammer down), a 2-position gas system and LMT’s own back up iron sights. The Estonian military has requested a particular set up for the rifles including optics and suppressors. The 5.56 rifles are shipping with a Holosun 503 red dot sight and their HMX3 3x magnifier. The 7.62 DMR rifles will ship with a Vortex Razor 1-6 on a Vortex mount.

The 5.56 rifle with Holosun red dot and 3x magnifier (Matthew Moss/TFB)

The 5.56 rifle with Holosun red dot and 3x magnifier (Matthew Moss/TFB)

The Estonian rifles will also each have an Allegro round counter system from Visible Assets. The round counter, housed in the pistol grip, detects the rifle’s recoil impulse and has an operational lifespan of up to 20 years. It will aid in maintenance management and can track rate of fire with an accuracy of around 98%. In addition to the Allegro round counter the rifles will also have the Armory2020 an intelligent inventory system based on RuBee (a two way, active wireless protocol) not RFID.

Close up of LMT’s right-side bolt release (Matthew Moss/TFB)

Close up of the rifle’s 2-position gas block and bayonet lug (Matthew Moss/TFB)

The rifles are also shipping with suppressors, from GSL Technology, not LMT’s own VBS cans – which are currently being used by Textron’s NGSW submissions. Estonia are likely to launch further rifle tenders in the future and LMT are in discussions about potential future procurement for military, police and border forces.

LMT celebrated the opening of their new factory in Eldridge, Iowa in May 2019. The new factory has variable capacity with a potential for up to 20,000 guns per year and room to grow.