Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/901315
M16A4 has fixed stock, detachable carrying handle with rear sight mounted on top Picatinny rail on the upper receiver (so called. flat top) in place of classic carrying handle with sight and Knight's Armament Corp.M5 Adapter Rail System with four hand guard mounting rails instead of classic handguard (first M16A4 rifles were delivered without rails). In such configuration was designated as M16A4Modular Weapon System (MWS). The M16A4 has trigger mechanism that was adjusted to fire single fire and three rounds bursts, despite existence of version with full auto mode (M16A3, that was purchased in limited quantities by US Navy). What's interesting is US Army not necessarily purchases full-size M16A4 rifles and only small amount of them was introduced to US Army that chooses M4 Carbines instead. Among the user of M16A4 except USA are Turkey, Thailand and Tunisia. In 2014 USMC conducted an experiment of equipping M16A4 rifles with folded stocks (mainly Vltor), to acquire shorter overall length but result was not satisfactory. At the end of 2015 after wide research and experiences that comes from using M16A4 from almost 20 years, USMC decided to withdraw all rifles from combat units and re- place them with more compact M4 as a better solution on modern battlefield where firefights are often in urbanized terrain on short and very short distances and soldiers are operates from inside of vehicles where rifle that is one me- ter long is not very handy. In Colt's offer are still rifles that fulfill M16A4 standards. They are marked as R0901 (with trigger mechanism with full auto mode) and R0905 (with three round burst). They are offered by FN America for international markets. POLISH M16 Pionner Arms Corp. M16A4 in configuration in the pictures is combination of M16A4 elements (flat-top upper receiver) and classic M16A2 (tubular plastic hanguard), but PAC plans to enlargement of their offer with handguard in Picatinny/ KeyMod/M-LOK mounts and adding models with different barrel lengths and collapsible stocks. advertorial