Granted, this isn’t a new sighting but indeed the most current public pic of the Manta Suppressor Cover I’m aware of is this one from The Misfit Society:
That said, it’s known that Manta Suppressor covers have been an issued option (certainly with the SBS) since at least summer 2018.
The Misfit example was initially misidentified as another brand of cover. It wasn’t until plucky UKSF impressionista and Reptile House writer John ‘Disco’ Danter got his Manta cover, that it became evident that from certain angles – such as the one in the pic – the cover’s ribs simply aren’t apparent. The same goes for distance away from the object.
The general consensus is that the cover depicted in the Misfit pic is of the camo colourway, although presumably other colours are out there too. I chose a camo one, however, as I thought it looked best.
John chose green, to go with his woodland paint job:
There’s been a lot more debate about the following pic from the King of Jordan set:
Again, the muzzle device early on was misidentified by some; this time as a Surefire Warden. In hindsight, however, it’s possible that this is also a Manta cover – on a standard FA556SA Suppressor – again in camo.
Now…why are these covers used on the 10” L119A2? Does it really need the kind of heat mitigation which is a nice to have for magnified optics and precision long range shooting, in terms of lessening the mirage effect?
Well, it seems at least part of the answer could lie in eluding near-peer actors and their IR capabilities – as illustrated in Manta’s video:
The Reptile House 