page_title: ArmaLite
section_title: Resurrection of the Armalite brand
hierarchical_section_title: ArmaLite / History / Resurrection of the Armalite brand
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo of the ArmaLite, Inc. AR-10T owned by Martin Lotz, founder AR10T.com
context_page_description: ArmaLite, or Armalite, is an American small arms engineering company founded in the mid 1950s in Hollywood, California. It ceased business in the 1980s. The company was revived in 1996 by Mark Westrom.
  The idea of entering the small arms industry caught the interest of then-company president Richard Boutelle at Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation, and Armalite was incorporated as a division of Fairchild on October 1, 1954. Their first design, the AR1 Parasniper from 1952, used foam-filled fiberglass furniture and a composite barrel using a steel liner inside an aluminum sleeve. This was little used, but when they were asked to compete in a contest for an aircrew survival rifle their AR-5 and AR-7 designs from 1956 saw production use. This was followed by an invitation to compete for the new combat rifle for US forces, which led to the AR-10. The AR-10 lost the 1957 contest, but many of its ideas were reused in the smaller and lighter AR-15.
  Tired of repeated failures in the market, Fairchild licensed the AR-10 and AR-15 designs to Colt, and the AR-10 to a Dutch company. Fairchild sold its interest in Armalite in 1962.
context_section_description: After passing through a series of owners, the Armalite brand name and rampant lion logo was sold in 1996 to Mark Westrom, a former U.S. Army Ordnance officer and inventor of a 7.62 NATO sniper rifle based on the design concepts of Eugene Stoner.  The company resumed business as Armalite Inc.  Today, Armalite produces a number of AR-15 and AR-10-based rifles, as well as .50 BMG rifles (the AR-50), and a modified AR-180 named the AR-180B (discontinued in 2009). In the mid-2000s, Armalite had also announced that they are introducing a handgun line including the AR-24 and AR-26 (both pistols also discontinued).
  In 2013, Westrom sold Armalite, Inc. to Strategic Armory Corps, who also owns AWC Silencers, Surgeon Rifles, Nexus Ammo, and McMillan Firearms. Strategic Armory Corps was formed with the goal of acquiring and combining market-leading companies within the firearms industry.
caption: Armalite AR-10B
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