page_title: M16 rifle
section_title: M16A2
hierarchical_section_title: M16 rifle / Variants / M16A2
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Amerikanisches Sturmgewehr M16A2. Kaliber 5.56x45mm NATO. Aus der Sammlung des "Armémuseum" (Swedish Army Museum), Stockholm. Sweden. Mit entferntem Hintergrund. English: American Assault rifle M16A2. Caliber 5.56x45mm NATO. From the collections of Armémuseum (Swedish Army Museum), Stockholm. Sweden. With removed Background. The rifle in the photo was used by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) during the trials in the early 1980's, to replace the Swedish Ak 4 battle rifle. Ultimately, the M16 was not chosen as the new service rifle of the Swedish Armed Forces. Instead, the Belgian FN FNC was chosen, and since 1985 has been manufactured in Sweden under the Ak 5 designation. FMV donated this particular M16 rifle to the Swedish Army Museum in 1987.
context_page_description: The M16 rifle, officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16, is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56mm automatic rifle with a 20-round magazine.
  In 1964, the M16 entered US military service and the following year was deployed for jungle warfare operations during the Vietnam War. In 1969, the M16A1 replaced the M14 rifle to become the US military's standard service rifle. The M16A1 improvements include a bolt-assist, chrome-plated bore and a 30-round magazine.
  In 1983, the US Marine Corps adopted the M16A2 rifle and the US Army adopted it in 1986. The M16A2 fires the improved 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge and has a newer adjustable rear sight, case deflector, heavy barrel, improved handguard, pistol grip and buttstock, as well as a semi-auto and three-round burst fire selector. Adopted in July 1997, the M16A4 is the fourth generation of the M16 series. It is equipped with a removable carrying handle and Picatinny rail for mounting optics and other ancillary devices.
  The M16 has also been widely adopted by other armed forces around the world.
context_section_description: The development of the M16A2 rifle was originally requested by the United States Marine Corps as a result of combat experience in Vietnam with the XM16E1 and M16A1. It was officially adopted by the Department of Defense as the "US Rifle, 5.56mm, M16A2" in 1982. The Marines were the first branch of the U.S. Armed Forces to adopt it, in the early/mid-1980s, with the United States Army following suit in the late 1980s.
  Modifications to the M16A2 were extensive. In addition to the new rifling, the barrel was made with a greater thickness in front of the front sight post, to resist bending in the field and to allow a longer period of sustained fire without overheating. The rest of the barrel was maintained at the original thickness to enable the M203 grenade launcher to be attached. A new adjustable rear sight was added, allowing the rear sight to be dialed in for specific range settings between 300 and 800 meters to take full advantage of the ballistic characteristics of the new SS109 rounds and to allow windage adjustments without the need of a tool or cartridge. The weapon's reliability allowed it to be widely used around the Marine Corps' special operations divisions as well. The flash suppressor was again modified, this time to be closed on the bottom so it would not kick up dirt or snow when being fired from the prone position, and acting as a recoil compensator.
  The front grip was modified from the original triangular shape to a round one, which better fit smaller hands and could be fitted to older models of the M16. The new handguards were also symmetrical so armories need not separate left- and right-hand spares. The handguard retention ring was tapered to make it easier to install and uninstall the handguards. A notch for the middle finger was added to the pistol grip, as well as more texture to enhance the grip. The buttstock was lengthened by ⁵⁄₈ in (15.9 mm). The new buttstock became ten times stronger than the original due to advances in polymer technology since the early 1960s. Original M16 stocks were made from fiberglass-impregnated resin; the newer stocks were engineered from DuPont Zytel glass-filled thermoset polymers. The new stock included a fully textured polymer buttplate for better grip on the shoulder, and retained a panel for accessing a small compartment inside the stock, often used for storing a basic cleaning kit. The heavier bullet reduces muzzle velocity from 3,200 feet per second (980 m/s), to about 3,050 feet per second (930 m/s).
  The A2 uses a faster 1:7 twist rifling to better stabilize the heavier NATO-standard ammunition. A spent case deflector was incorporated into the upper receiver immediately behind the ejection port to prevent cases from striking left-handed users. The action was also modified, replacing the fully automatic setting with a three-round burst setting. When using a fully automatic weapon, inexperienced troops often hold down the trigger and "spray" when under fire. The U.S. Army concluded that three-shot groups provide an optimum combination of ammunition conservation, accuracy, and firepower. The USMC has retired the M16A2 in favor of the newer M16A4; a few M16A2s remain in service with the U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard.
caption: M16A2
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