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ArmaLite rifle
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ArmaLite rifle
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ArmaLite rifle
ArmaLite rifle From top, four assault rifles: M16A1, M16A2, M4, and M16A4. The M16 and M4 models are manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company and have been standard issue weapons for United States and NATO military forces since the 1960s.

ArmaLite rifle

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ArmaLite rifle, any of several lightweight, small-caliber assault rifles designed by the American manufacturer ArmaLite, Inc. The first ArmaLite rifle, the AR-10, was a 7.62-millimetre, gas-operated weapon with a length of 40.5 inches (102.9 cm) and a weight of 8.8 pounds (4.0 kg). It did not survive its trials but did pave the way for highly successful similar designs, notably the AR-15, the U.S. Army rifle designated as the M16. ArmaLite’s AR-18 rifle resembled and operated like the AR-15, but it was carefully redesigned to be easily manufactured with unsophisticated equipment in less-developed countries—although no such arrangement was actually made.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.