M16 rifle (redirected from M16A1 rifle)

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.