M16 assault rifle

The M16 is the military version of the AR-15 rifle, it was designed by American firearms designer, Eugene Stoner and manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company. The rifle is featured in many video games.

History
Eugene Stoner designed the AR-15 rifle in 1957, it was adopted by the US Air Force in 1961 as the M16, during the Vietnam War. Soon after, it was also adopted by the US Army. The finalized production version of this weapon is called the M16A1. The M16 is the first small-caliber rifle which was formally adopted by an Armed Force as a standard weapon, It also comes with different improved variants included the M16A2, M16A3 and the M16A4. The rifle is adopted by over 80 countries around the world.

Design Features
The M16 is an direct-impingement, gas-operated assault rifle. It fires the 5.56x45mm small-caliber rifle cartridge and fed with a 20/30-round STANAG magazine. The overall weapon is mainly built from aluminum alloy and glass-reinforced plastic, making it a light weapon at that time. In order to reduce malfunctions, a forward assist is also included on the weapon. The M16 is an selective fire weapon, it can be switched to different firing modes depends on its model. (M16/M16A1/M16A3: Semi/Auto; M16A2/A4: Semi/3-round burst) The rate of fire of the M16 is around 700–950 rounds per minute when firing automatically. The rifle is an accurate weapon, although it has suffered lots of malfunctions and required frequently maintenance in the field.

Accessories
The M16 can be fitted with an M203 Grenade Launcher and a various types of optics.

Variants
The M16 rifle comes with these following variants:


 * M16: Variant originally used by the US Air Force.


 * XM16E1/M16A1: Variant adopted by the US Army and the first model which features a forward assist.


 * M16A2: An improved version introduced in the 1980s, the handguard has be re-designed and has replaced the full-auto function with 3-round burst.


 * M16A3: M16A2 with M16A1 lower receiver (which means it can be fire in full-auto instead of 3-round burst), mainly used by the US Navy.


 * M16A4: Just like the M16A2, but features a removable carrying handle and a full length Picatinny rail for mounting optics and other accessories. It is the current service rifle of the US Armed Forces.

Appears in
The M16 rifle appears in many video games, such as:


 * VietCong
 * America's Army
 * Operation Flashpoint
 * Splinter Cell
 * Conflict: Desert Storm
 * Delta Force: Black Hawk Down
 * The Matrix: Path of Neo
 * Left 4 Dead
 * Left 4 Dead 2
 * Far Cry 2
 * ArmA II
 * Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
 * Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2
 * Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 3
 * Call of Duty: Black Ops
 * Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
 * Battlefield 2
 * Battlefield 3
 * Battlefield 4
 * Battlefield Play4Free
 * Project Reality
 * Combat Arms
 * Homefront