![]() ![]() These seven models (standard rifle, standard rifle with 40mm grenade launcher, survival rifle, 10-inch “submachine gun”, carbine, magazine-fed LMG and a belt-fed LMG) were then marketed to the US military. Wanting to maintain their momentum, Colt’s R&D team began developing a family of models in the early 1960s based off the original AR-15 operating system. Keep in mind, Eugene Stoner had left ArmaLite and began working with Cadillac Gage on a modular weapon design. They realized other new modern competitive designs could threaten their initial success. This success was a boon to Colt, and accomplished despite the “not invented here” mentality of US Army Ordnance.Īfter thrashing the US Army’s darling M14, Colt didn’t rest on its laurels. The original selective-fire AR-15 Model 601 rifles produced for government sales were eventually successfully marketed to the US military, fielded for testing in Vietnam and later evolved into the M16 and XM16E1. But, it wasn’t an easy road to government and military contracts. Colt’s purchase of the AR-15 design from Armalite in 1959 would prove to be a huge success for this historic American company. ![]()
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