M16 rifle

or AR-15

Assault rifle adopted as a standard weapon by the U.S. Army in 1967.

The M16, designed by Eugene M. Stoner in the 1950s for the ArmaLite Division of Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corp., has both semiautomatic and automatic capabilities. It weighs less than 9 lbs (3.6 kg) when equipped with a 30-round magazine, is 39 in. (99 cm) long, and fires a high-velocity .223-inch (5.56-mm) round. It can be fitted with a 40-mm grenade launcher. The M4 is a compact carbine version of the M16. See also Springfield rifle; AK-47.

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▪ firearm

also called  Ar-15,  

      assault rifle adopted as a standard weapon by the U.S. Army in 1967. The M16 superseded the M14 rifle. It is gas-operated and has both semiautomatic (i.e., autoloading) and fully automatic capabilities. Weighing less than 3.6 kg (8 pounds) and equipped with a 20-round or 30-round magazine, the M16 is 99 cm (39 inches) long and fires 5.56-millimetre (.223-calibre) ammunition at the rate of 700–950 rounds per minute. Both U.S. and South Vietnamese forces used it during the Vietnam War.

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