The M16 rifle is a family of assault rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-round magazine.
A squad automatic weapon (SAW), also known as a section automatic weapon or light support weapon (LSW), is a man-portable automatic firearm attached to infantry squads or sections as a source of rapid direct firepower. Weapons fulfilling this role can be light machine guns, or modified selective-fire rifles fitted with a heavier barrel, bipod and a belt/drum-fed design.
The M4 carbine is a 5.56×45mm NATO, select-fire, gas-operated, magazine-fed assault rifle and carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle.
The Colt Canada C7 and C8 are a Canadian family of service rifles, manufactured by Colt Canada, having similar design and function to the Colt M16A3.
The Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG) is a series of prismatic telescopic sights manufactured by Trijicon. The ACOG was originally designed to be used on the M16 rifle and M4 carbine, but Trijicon has also developed ACOG accessories for other firearms. Models provide fixed-power magnification levels from 1.25× to 6×. ACOG reticles are illuminated at night by an internal tritium phosphor. Some versions have an additional daytime reticle illumination via a passive external fiberoptic light pipe or are LED-illuminated using a dry battery. The first ACOG model, known as the TA01, was released in 1987.
The Heckler & KochXM8 is a lightweight assault rifle system developed from the late 1990s to early 2000s. The rifle was designed by German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch (H&K), and shares design and engineering with their G36 rifle.
The FN Minimi is a Belgian 5.56mm light machine gun, also classified as a squad automatic weapon developed by Ernest Vervier for FN Herstal. Introduced in the late 1970s, it is in service in more than 75 countries. The weapon is manufactured at the FN facility in Herstal and their U.S. subsidiary FN Manufacturing LLC.
The Ultimax 100 is a Singapore-made 5.56mm light machine gun, developed by the Chartered Industries of Singapore by a team of engineers under the guidance of American firearms designer L. James Sullivan. The weapon is extremely accurate due to its constant-recoil operating system and is one of the lightest machine guns in the world.
The 1913 rail, also known as the Picatinny rail is an American rail integration system designed by Richard Swan that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It forms part of the NATO standard STANAG 2324 rail. It was originally used for mounting of scopes atop the receivers of larger caliber rifles.
The Squad Advanced Marksman Rifle (SAM-R) is a semi-automatic designated marksman rifle developed and used by the United States Marine Corps. It gave users the capability to provide fire in support of a rifle squad, providing precision fire in support of an assault, and aid in observation and adjusting of supporting arms.
The Beta C-Mag is a 100-round capacity drum magazine manufactured by the Beta Company. It was designed by Jim Sullivan and first patented in 1987 and has been adapted for use in numerous firearms firing the 5.56×45mm NATO, 7.62×51mm NATO, and 9×19mm Parabellum cartridges. C-Mag is short for century magazine, referring to its 100-round capacity. It has two drum units, each of which hold half of the cartridges inserted into the magazine. The latest version of the magazine is available with a transparent backing to allow the user to see the number of rounds remaining in the magazine. A C-Mag loaded with 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition typically weighs about 2.1 kg (4.63 lb); a C-Mag loaded with 7.62×51mm NATO ammunition weighs 4.77 kg (10.5 lb).
The Heckler & Koch HK416 is an assault rifle chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge. It is designed and manufactured by the German company Heckler & Koch.
The Colt Automatic Rifle or Colt Light Machine Gun is a 5.56 mm NATO, open-bolt, full-automatic-only firearm developed by Colt Defense. It is based on the M16A2/A4, and has a distinctive squared-off handguard, vertical grip, carrying handle and integrated bipod.
The Daewoo Precision Industries K3 is a South Korean light machine-gun. It is the third indigenous firearm developed in South Korea by the Agency for Defense Development, following the Daewoo Precision Industries K1 assault rifle and Daewoo Precision Industries K2 assault rifle. It is manufactured by Daewoo Precision Industries, current SNT Motiv. The K3 is capable of firing both 5.56×45mm NATO and .223 Remington rounds like the K2 assault rifle. The K3 light machine gun entered service in 1989, replacing the M60 machine gun in frontline use.
A STANAG magazine or NATO magazine is a type of detachable firearm magazine proposed by NATO in October 1980. Shortly after NATO's acceptance of the 5.56×45mm NATO rifle cartridge, Draft Standardization Agreement (STANAG) 4179 was proposed in order to allow NATO members to easily share rifle ammunition and magazines down to the individual soldier level. The U.S. M16 rifle's magazine proportions were proposed for standardization. Many NATO members, but not all, subsequently developed or purchased rifles with the ability to accept this type of magazine. However, the standard was never ratified and remains a "Draft STANAG".
The M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR) is a 5.56mm, select-fire assault rifle, based on the HK416 by Heckler & Koch. It is used by the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and is intended to be issued to all infantry riflemen as well as automatic riflemen. The USMC initially planned to purchase 6,500 M27s to replace a portion of the M249 light machine guns employed by automatic riflemen within Infantry and Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalions. Approximately 8,000–10,000 M249s will remain in service with the Marine Corps to be used at the discretion of company commanders. In December 2017, the Marine Corps announced that it would equip every member of an infantry squad with the M27, supplanting the M4 carbine which would be retained at the platoon leadership positions and above.
The M249 SAW, formally written as Light Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, M249, is the US military's adaptation of the Belgian FN Minimi, a light machine gun manufactured by FN Herstal (FN).
The XM7, previously known as the XM5, is the U.S. Army variant of the SIG MCX Spear, a 6.8×51mm, gas-operated, magazine-fed, assault rifle designed by SIG Sauer for the Next Generation Squad Weapon Program in 2022 to replace the M4 carbine. The XM7 features a free-floating reinforced M-LOK handguard for direct accessory attachment to slotted hole mounting points.
