ArmaLite AR-10

Battle Rifle

United States | 1958

"Nearly 10,000 of the AR-10 Battle Rifles were produced by a variety of manufacturers since the late-1950s."

Performance
Performance specifications presented assume optimal operating conditions for the ArmaLite AR-10. Information presented is strictly for general reference and should not be misconstrued as useful for hardware restoration or operation.

1,970 ft
600.5 m | 656.7 yds
Max.Eff.Range

700
Rounds-Per-Minute
Rate-of-Fire

2,700 ft/sec
823 m/sec
Muzzle Velocity

Physical
The physical qualities of the ArmaLite AR-10. Information presented is strictly for general reference and should not be misconstrued as useful for hardware restoration or operation.

1,050 mm
41.34 in
O/A Length

528 mm
20.79 in
Barrel Length

8.82 lb
4.00 kg
Weight

Gas-Operated; Rotating Bolt
Action

7.62x51mm NATO; .308 Winchester (model dependent)
Caliber(s)

20-round detachable box magazine
Feed

Aperture Rear; Fixed Front Post
Sights

Variants
Notable series variants as part of the ArmaLite AR-10 Battle Rifle family line.

AR-10 - Base Series Designation

AR-10B

AR-10A2

AR-10A4

AR-10T

AR-10 LMG - Experimental light machine gun model

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 09/28/2016 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site; No A.I. was used in the generation of this content.

In 1953 the nations of NATO agreed upon common cartridges like the 7.62x51mm for its rifles so there began a notable increase in guns developed to fill the role of "Battle Rifle" - automatic, self-loading systems chambered to fire full-powered rifle-caliber cartridges. Prolific American arms designer Eugene Stoner worked on what became the ArmaLite "AR-10" during the latter half of the 1950s and, seeing introduction in 1960, the rifle managed to see only modest sales and adoption before falling under the weight of competing types.

On the whole, the design was well-thought out and incorporated a "straight-line" barrel-and-stock arrangement for improved full-automatic fire controllability. Additionally, metallic components were completed in aluminum and critical parts were chromium-lined for long-term reliability. All this worked to produce a lightweight rifle and its action was based on the now-proven AR-15/M16 rifle family. Indeed the M16 is a dimensionally smaller form of the AR-10 and fires the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge instead. A muzzle compensator had to be fitted to AR-10 rifles due to the muzzle climb inherent in the lightweight design when firing the full-power 7.62x51mm NATO round on full-automatic.

Despite these qualities, the design arrived too late in the marketplace. Prototypes were had as early as 1955 but serial production ended as soon as 1961 with fewer than 10,000 units completed under the Fairchild ArmaLite brand label. Additional examples stemmed from Colt's Manufacturing Company and Artillerie Inrichtingen before the end but legacy production has continued to deliver additional samples to the world.

The AR-10 was also the basis of a series of prototype designs including the AR-10 LMG, a proposed Light Machine Gun form but only serving at the developmental level and nothing more.

The AR-10 series went on to find a home in the inventories (some police, some militay) of Brazil, Burma, Canada, Cuba, Finland, Germany (West Germany), Guatemala, Italy, Nicaragua, Portugal, Romania and Sudan. Conflicts featuring the rifle included the Vietnam War (1955-1975), the Portuguese Colonial War (1961-1974), the Angolan Independence War (1961-1974), the Mozambican War of Independence (1964-1974), the Sudanese Civil War (1955-1972) and the Portuguese Timor Conflict (1975-1976).

Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

Operators
Global customers who have evaluated and/or operated the ArmaLite AR-10. Nations are displayed by flag, each linked to their respective national small arms listing.

Contractor(s): ArmaLite (Fairchild) / Colt's Manufacturing Company - USA

[ Brazil; Burma; Canada; Cuba; Finland; Guatemala; Italy; Nicaragua; Portugal; Romania; Sudan; West Germany ]

Going Further...
The ArmaLite AR-10 Battle Rifle appears in the following collections:

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