The BR56 Battle Rifle was designed in 2542 as an attempt to upgrade the BR55 series. It was designed to be a smaller rifle than the BR55, and a cheaper one, too. Unfortunately, the rifle failed miserably in accuracy, as it had a lot of trouble hitting targets outside of 75 meters. This may be due to the fact that the prototype was rushed because the need for a better rifle in the Human-Covenant War. Because of this, the BR56 was never put into service, and the BR55 and MA5B remained dominant until the final years of the war.