Arctic Warfare L96

The Arctic Warfare family traces its design concepts to Olympic shooting gold medallist Malcolm Cooper working with gunsmiths Dave Walls and David Caig, in work that predates the founding of Accuracy International. The resulting PM (Precision Marksman) rifle was submitted to a British Army trial held after the Falklands War to replace the Lee–Enfield-derived L42A1. It was selected over the Parker Hale M85, Heckler & Koch PSG1, SIG Sauer SSG 2000 and Remington 700, and was adopted in 1984 as the L96A1, fitted with a Schmidt & Bender 6×42 telescopic sight designated the L13A1. Rifles were issued with sight, bipod, five magazines, sling, cleaning kit and tool roll in a fitted transport case. A Swedish requirement to replace the m/1941B led Accuracy International to develop the upgraded AW (Arctic Warfare) in the early 1990s, adding de-icing features that gave the family its name.

The rifle is a manually operated bolt action built around an aluminium chassis running the full length of the stock, marketed as the Accuracy International Chassis System (AICS). The receiver and all other components bolt directly to this chassis, with two hollow polymer half thumb-hole panels bolted to each other through it. The flat-bottomed, flat-sided receiver is machined in-house from forged carbon steel, secured by four screws and epoxy-bonded to the chassis. The bolt carries six lugs in two rows of three engaging a replaceable heat-treated locking ring insert, cocks on opening with a 60-degree throw, and uses a non-rotating external extractor with an internal ejector. Gas relief holes vent case-head failures, while milled slots at the rear of the bolt clear water, ice and debris. The bolt handle is bent rearward. The AW pattern enlarged the thumb-hole, bolt handle, magazine release and trigger guard for use with Arctic mittens, and introduced a three-position firing pin blocking safety on the bolt shroud that allows the bolt to be cycled with the trigger locked. Free-floating stainless steel barrels are supplied by Maddco Rifle Barrels and Border Barrels and can be replaced by the operator, as can the bolt, allowing chambering changes in the field. Sighting is via an integral dovetail rail or an optional pinned and bonded MIL-STD-1913 rail. Feeding is from detachable steel box magazines, double-stack on standard actions and single-stack on magnum actions.

British service versions include the L118A1 and folding-stock L118A2, and the L115A1, L115A2 and L115A3, used on Operation Granby and Operation Telic. Sweden adopted the AW in 1991 as the Prickskyttegevär 90, upgraded from 2011 to Psg 90B standard with folding stocks, Spuhr mounts and Schmidt & Bender PM II optics. Australia fields the SR98 and the folding-stock AW50F. Germany adopted the AWM-F as the G22 in 1998, the AW50 as the G24 and the suppressed AWC as the G25. The Netherlands adopted the AWM in 1996. Other users include Belgium, Indonesia, Ireland, Latvia, Malaysia, Norway, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore and Spain. Police and civilian models comprise the AWP, the AE introduced in 2001 and updated to AE Mk III in 2009, and the AT of 2014. The AX series was unveiled in 2010, comprising the AXMC, AX308 and AX50, with the AXSR marketed from 2025. USSOCOM employs the AICS-based Mk 13; the U.S. Marine Corps announced in April 2018 that the Mk 13 Mod 7 would replace the M40.