Armalite AR-18
The Armalite AR-18 was a complete redesign of the AR-15, meant for simplified Third World licensed production methods.
By Staff Writer
With Eugene Stoner's AR-15 rifle design firmly entrenched as the M16 under production by Colt, his Armalite firm turned to the design and production of a similar yet simplified version of their AR-15 design, moreso to license this version out for production in Third World markets. As the base AR-15 proved to be too difficult to manufacturer without the need for complex production practices, the AR-18 was to be the “budget” assault rifle alternative in a market where the 5.56mm cartridge was becoming as highly available as the 7.62mm type.
The AR-18, looking every bit like its M16 cousin, was produced with simplicity in mind, utilizing plastic, casings and steel-stamped components throughout. Along with that cost-cutting approach, general operation of the weapon was kept to minimal expectations resulting in a reliable weapons system that was easy to maintain. The AR-18 was chambered to fire the 5.56mm cartridge and came with a foldable plastic butt. Magazines were also offered in 20-, 30- and 40-round counts with the system achieving a cyclic rate of fire of 700-800 rounds-per-minute.
Though success on the world market eluded the AR-18 for quite some time after its arrival, the automatic rifle would find a market niche with the UK-based Sterling Armaments firm to net its first quantitative sales of note. From then on, more foreign outlets began producing the system in more localized forms ensuring that the AR-18 - though perhaps not by name - would live on in other embodiments with various forces around the world.
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Last Updated: 7/10/2009
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