ArmaLite

ArmaLite is one of the premier small arms manufacturers in the United States and has many innovative and groundbreaking models to its name. It has been in active operation for 45 years now, and arrived at a time when development of new and innovative weapons had come to a literal standstill. It began with a market orientation of new sporting firearms, with the hope that its new designs would attract the interest of military too. Among its most well-known products are the assault rifles popularly known as the M16 and M14. The most current version of the legendary M16 is the M16A2, which has many new features incorporated. Based in Geneseo, Illinois, it was established in 1954 under the name ArmaLite Division of the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation. The company has seen many owners since the time of its inception. It was reorganized in 1995.

ArmaLite’s illustrious track record began even before it was officially incorporated as a firearm manufacturing company. While it was still being privately funded, it designed and developed a lightweight bolt action rifle called the AR-1 Parasniper. However, history began being written with the acceptance of the .22 Hornet-chambered AR-5 rifle by U.S. Air Force. This rifle was rechristened the MA-1 Survival Rifle for this purpose, and a civilian version called the AR-7 was also introduced in the late 1950s. The USP of this rifle was the fact that it could be disassembled easily and the components stored in the butt stock. Another innovative feature that was important in the survival context was the fact that it could float. This was made possible by filling the butt stock with plastic foam, thereby making it buoyant. Many variants of this model are still available and in great demand today.

After this followed a number of enduring and widely used designs, including the AR-10. ArmaLite had been invited as one of the firearms companies to submit replacements for the M1 Garand in 1955, and this Assault rifle was the result of research and development for this purpose. While the AR-10 never did manage this objective because of its rather unusual aesthetics, the AR-10 remains a landmark in assault rifles. ArmaLite followed it up with a sub-caliber version called the AR-15, a sub-fire version of which was accepted by the US Air Force. It is still available as a semi-automatic sporting weapon. Colt later bought the designs for this line of rifles from ArmaLite. In order to keep itself in the running, the company designed and launched the AR-18 assault rifle in 1963. This weapon featured a new gas system that did not impinge on the design patents relinquished to Colt. While it did not make it into the US military, the AR-18 was accepted by the Irish IRA and also served as the prototype for the German G36, the British L85 and the Singaporean SAR-80. The reason why it did not find acceptance by the US Armed Forces was the fact that the M16 was already a standardized weapon that it was unable to dislodge.

One of the main drivers in ArmaLite’s focus on new innovations in firearms was Eugene Stoner, who joined the company as Chief Engineer in 1954. He was a firearm expert who had served in the marines during World War II. Stoner successfully expanded on the theories of George Sullivan, Lockheed Aircraft Corporation’s Chief Patent Counsel, who first saw the virtue and potential of using plastics and alloys in firearms. Eugene Stoner’s designs are the platform on which almost all of ArmaLite’s most successful models have been conceived. Aomg the company’s most popular models, apart from those already mentioned, are:

• The AR-7 Explorer – ArmaLite’s first commercial item
• The AR-10B - an improved version of the AR-10 put into production in 1996
• The AR-16 - a basic infantry rifle chambering 7.62mm NATO caliber ammunition and featuring a folding stock. It also launches rifle grenades
• The AR-17 - a semi-automatic shotgun equipped with a hard-anodized aluminum receiver and barrel
• The AR-18 select fire
• The AR-180 semi-auto and AR-180B
• The AR-22 – a Blank Firing Device meant for training on or testing the Mk 19 Mod 4 40mm Grenade Machine-gun
• The AR-23 - a Sub-Caliber Training Device for the above-mentioned Mk 19, but featuring a special tracer cartridge facility
• The AR-50 - chambering .50 caliber Browning Machine Gun cartridge and adaptable to the Russian 12.7mm cartridge