OUR FOUNDING STORY

MFMD started with a simple operational question.

Russell Oliver—a U.S. Army Special Forces 18B Weapons Sergeant—asked why suppressors were still built around baffled designs that hadn’t fundamentally changed since Hiram Maxim. Those systems reduced sound, but at a cost: backpressure, gas to the face, reliability issues, and degraded weapon performance.

In 2007, Russ began developing a different approach—one that didn’t trap gas, but captured, controlled and redirected it forward and away from the shooter. The goal wasn’t just suppression. It was better weapon performance, reduced shooter exposure, and improved reliability under sustained fire.

That work led to the founding of Operators Suppressor Systems (OSS) and, in 2012, a patent for an energy-capture and control device unlike anything on the market. Instead of containment, suppression became a problem of energy and flow management. That shift changed the trajectory of the industry and established Russell as the godfather of baffleless free-flowing, forward-venting signature suppression.

1909

Baffle Suppressor Invented

2005

Russell in the Special Forces

2007

First Baffleless Suppressor Design

Years of continued refinement followed—treating sound, recoil, and gas behavior as a single physics problem rather than separate accessories.

The MFMD was the next step.

It did not originate as a commercial product. It originated from a formal operational requirement.

In March 2022, the Irregular Warfare Technical Support Directorate (IWTSD) issued a Broad Agency Announcement identifying a critical gap: the need for a single, integrated muzzle-end solution capable of reducing flash, managing recoil, and suppressing sound without adding length, weight, or new trade-offs.

2012

First Baffleless Suppressor Patent

2007–2016

Russell Creates Operators Suppressor Systems (OSS) To Commercialize Baffleless Suppressors

2016–PRESENT

MFMD Becomes The Next Evolution In Baffleless Suppression

IWTSD requirements are driven by real constraints—detectability, survivability, sustainment, and interoperability. MFMD applied decades of energy-control development to meet that need.

The result is not an accessory.

It is a signature-management architecture designed for sustained operational use.

MFMD PROGRAM HISTORY

Origin, Evolution, and Program Expansion

The Multi-Function Muzzle Device (MFMD) program originated in response to a clearly articulated operational demand from the special operations community.

On March 23, 2022, under IWTSD BAA 22S4385, Task Order TO-OS-R4713 was issued to explore a new class of muzzle device capability. The requirement was initiated by CANSOFCOM, NSWC (WARCOM), and AUS-SOCOMD, reflecting a multinational operational need rather than a single-unit or platform-specific request.

Tactical Offensive Support Team Lethality (Formerly of IWTSD)

Assistant Secretary of War Special Operations Low Intensity Conflict

At the time, the operational problem was well understood but unresolved:

Tactical operators were required to choose between mutually exclusive muzzle device functions. A single weapon system could be optimized for sound suppression, flash suppression, or recoil reduction—but not all simultaneously. Because only one muzzle device can be employed at a time, operators were forced to accept compromises that directly impacted signature management, controllability, and mission flexibility.

The requirement explicitly called for an advanced family of Multi-Function Muzzle Device systems capable of addressing these tradeoffs. The system needed to:

• Effectively suppress sound and flash
• Provide meaningful recoil mitigation
• Remain compact, lightweight, and easy to employ
• Function across a broad range of Programs of Record (POR)
• Be caliber-agnostic, enabling future force-wide application

The government’s stated goal was not incremental improvement, but a fundamentally different approach:

“A hybrid flash hider, suppressor, and muzzle brake contained in a single, easy-to-install device—scalable in size to support calibers ranging from 5.56mm through .338.”

The desired operational impact was equally explicit:

“. . . to increase tactical lethality and survivability across the irregular warfare continuum by reducing the potential for compromise during target engagement and enabling consistent signature reduction across multiple weapon platforms.”

Phase I: Initial Demonstration and Feasibility

The initial phase of the program focused on proving feasibility across a representative spectrum of weapon systems and calibers.

Phase I deliverables included MFMD systems developed and integrated on:

• .338 Lapua Magnum sniper system (28” barrel)
• 7.62 NATO gas-operated rifle (16” barrel)
• 5.56 NATO gas-operated rifle (11.5” barrel)
• .300 BLK gas-operated rifle (7.5” barrel)

These systems were delivered as complete, weapon-specific configurations supported by data packages and evaluation materials. The intent of Phase I was not broad fielding, but to validate whether a single architectural approach could credibly address sound, flash, and recoil mitigation across disparate platforms without introducing new operational penalties.

The results of Phase I exceeded the original technical parameters and performance expectations outlined in the task order.

As Phase I results were reviewed and shared across the stakeholder community, awareness of the MFMD technology expanded beyond the original initiators. Additional units, partners, and allied organizations began expressing interest in extending the capability to platforms and calibers that had historically resisted effective signature reduction.

Based on the demonstrated success of Phase I, Strategic Sciences was awarded a Phase II follow-on contract to extend the technology well beyond its original scope.

Phase II formally began on January 15, 2024.

Phase II: Scale, Adaptability, and Platform Diversity

Phase II shifted the program from feasibility demonstration to large-scale adaptability across a wide range of modern and emerging weapon systems—including sniper platforms, carbines, belt-fed systems, and crew-served weapons.

Phase II systems included MFMD designs for:

• 6.8 NGSW M7
• 6.8 M250
• .300 BLK (5.5” Rattler)
• .300 BLK (7.75” RASR)
• .264 LICC (14.5” carbine)
• 6 ARC (16” GFR)
• 6.5 Creedmoor (20” MRGG-S)
• 6.5 Creedmoor (22” M110A3)
• .300 Norma Magnum (26” MK22 MRAD)
• .375 Enabeld (20” and 30” MRAD ELR ESSO)
• .50 BMG (29” MK15)
• 5.56 (13” LAMG belt-fed)
• 7.62 (16” MK48 belt-fed)
• 7.62 (23.5” M240B belt-fed)
• .338 Norma Magnum (23.5” LWMMG belt-fed)

By the conclusion of Phase II, the MFMD program had delivered over 40 unique, weapon-specific designs across 11 calibers to more than 25 U.S. and allied end users deployed worldwide.

These systems were evaluated and verified by national laboratories across multiple countries, validating the technology well beyond a niche or limited application. Critically, the program demonstrated scalability to large-caliber sniper systems and crew-served weapons—platforms that had historically been considered impractical or impossible to suppress effectively.

Program Maturity and Current State

Through continued collaboration with operational end users and industry partners, Strategic Sciences has expanded the MFMD effort beyond original program expectations.

To date, the program has resulted in the development, validation, and delivery of more than 63 MFMD systems across 13 calibers, establishing the MFMD not as a single solution, but as a mature, adaptable family of systems.

What began as a narrowly scoped response to a defined operational gap evolved into a broad, multinational program addressing complete signature reduction across an unprecedented range of weapon platforms.