page_title: M16 rifle
section_title: M4 carbine
hierarchical_section_title: M16 rifle / Derivatives / M4 carbine
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 M4 carbine was developed from various outgrowths of these designs, including a number of 14.5-inch (368 mm)-barreled A1 style carbines. The XM4 (Colt Model 720) started its trials in 1984, with a barrel of 14.5 inches (370 mm). The weapon became the M4 in 1991. Officially adopted as a replacement for the M3 "Grease Gun" (and the Beretta M9 and M16A2 for select troops) in 1994, it was used with great success in the Balkans and in more recent conflicts, including the Afghanistan and Iraq theaters. The M4 carbine has a three-round burst firing mode, while the M4A1 carbine has a fully automatic firing mode. Both have a Picatinny rail on the upper receiver, allowing the carry handle/rear sight assembly to be replaced with other sighting devices.
caption: An M4A1 carbine (foreground) and two M16A2s (background) being fired by U.S. Marines during a live fire exercise: though adopted in the 1990s and derived from the M16A2, the M4 carbine was part of a long line of short-barreled AR-15 used in the U.S. military
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