Armalite AR-18 assault rifle (USA)

original AR-18 assault rifle, made by the Sterling Armaments of UK

the "reincarnated" AR-180B of recent manufacture. Semi-automatic only and with plastic lower receiver with integral pistol grip

Schematic view of the AR-18 (from the original Armalite patent, issued in 1968)

Caliber: 5.56x45 mm (.223 Remington M193)
Action: Gas operated, rotating bolt
Overall length: 940 mm (738 mm with folded stock)
Barrel length: 464 mm
Weight: 3.09 kg with empty 20 rounds magazine
Magazine capacity: 20, 30 or 40 rounds

The AR-18 rifle had been developed by the Armalite company (USA) by the George Sullivan, Arthur Miller and Charles Dorchester in the early 1960s. This rifle was designed for the international military market as a replacement for the AR-15 project, which had been sold to the Colt in 1959 by the Armalite's parent company, Fairchild Aircraft and Engine Corp. The AR-18 was designed as a competitor to the AR-15, which could be made at much less expenses and on simplified machinery, with the view to sell the manufacturing licenses for AR-18 to the third world countries. The AR-18 was a really successful design from a technical standpoint, but it come out too late to compete with both officially accepted and adopted AR-15/M16 rifle of American origin and already widespread AK-47 rifle of the Soviet origin. The Armalite company by itself made very few specimens of this rifle. The manufacturing license was consequently sold to the British company Sterling Armaments Co and to the Japanese company Howa Machinery co, but all three companies produced hardly over 20 000 rifles total, and the production of the AR-18 was ceased circa 1979 for some 20 years. It was originally available in the military AR-18 (selective fire) and AR-18S (selective fire, with short barrel) versions, and in AR-180 semi-automatic only version. But in the year 2001 the Armalite company resurrected the AR-180 design, in somewhat modified form.