Meanwhile, additional Army field experimentation was conducted with the lightweight designs at the Combat Developments Experimentation Center, Fort Ord, Calif. Results of that testing, reported in mid-April 1959, indicated that both the Armalite and Winchester high-velocity rifles showed that they “were much more effective than the M14 in terms of volume of fire and number of targets hit. Further, a 5- to 7-man squad armed with the AR15 would be as effective as a 10-man squad armed with the M14.”
Approximately eight months later, Armalite sold the rights to the AR15 to Colt.
Results of that testing, reported in mid-April 1959, indicated that both the Armalite and Winchester high-velocity rifles showed that they “were much more effective than the M14 in terms of volume of fire and number of targets hit. Further, a 5- to 7-man squad armed with the AR15 would be as effective as a 10-man squad armed with the M14.”
The next major military push for the AR15 came in the fall of 1960 from the U.S. Air Force. That service had “inherited” a large number of World War II-era M1 and M2 carbines for use in base defense and security, and service leadership supported a requirement for a better small arm.
A subsequent study by the Air Staff recommended that a total of 85,000 weapons be procured over a five-year period. The Air Force had seen demonstrations of the AR15 dating back to 1958, and by 1960 was coordinating with the Army to conduct additional testing on the AR15 design.
Two U.S. Army soldiers engage the enemy with their M16s during operations in Vietnam. U.S. Army photo
Following those rounds of testing, the Air Force selected the AR15 as the weapon that best satisfied its requirements and identified funding for the procurement of the first 19,000 of the new rifles in that service’s 1962 budget.
But opposition to the Air Force acquisition continued into the summer of 1961, when the Secretary of the Air Force received a memorandum from the Office of the Secretary of Defense “stating that the request for procurement of the AR15 rifle was not approved.”
But the Air Force leadership did not give up, and, after weeks of continuing discussions, on Sept. 8, 1961, the Air Force Chief of Staff sent a letter to the Deputy Secretary of Defense “proposing that the Air Force be allowed to procure 8,500 AR15 rifles for test, training and unconventional warfare.”
Approval of the request was received the same day.
But additional congressional roadblocks continued to present themselves, prompting proposal of a number of altered acquisition approaches.
A weary trooper of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, cleans his M16 during a lull in the battle for the Imperial City of Hue, Feb. 16, 1968. U.S. Marine Corps photo
Finally, by mid-December 1961, after further requests from the Military Assistance Advisory Group – Vietnam and other organizations like the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA – now the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency [DARPA]), permission was obtained and the first 1,000 AR15 rifles were procured.
Supported by some successful firepower demonstrations and early ARPA field reports from Vietnam, early 1962 saw increasing political support for the AR15. With that support in hand, the Air Force had additional rifles under contract by the middle of May.
According to the M16 historical review, “Following procurement of the initial quantity of weapons, the Air Force included 19,000 new AR15 rifles in its 1963 budget. Before the request reached Congress, the final report from the Advanced Research Projects Agency test of 1,000 AR15 rifles in Vietnam was published. It reported the AR15 rifle to be an outstanding weapon with phenomenal lethality. The Air Force plan to procure a total of 80,000 AR15 rifles was recognized and accepted by the Department of Defense and Congress when the FY 1963 budget request was approved. The Air Force FY 1964 and 1965 budgets provided the remaining 52,000 rifles necessary to complete the 80,000 total.”
“This occasion marks the first time that the Air Force has bought a military rifle,” the report added. “More significant is the fact that the Department of the Army and the Marine Corps procured the rifle after the Air Force brought it into the Department of Defense inventory as a standard weapon.”
The AR15 was designated the standard basic weapon for the Air Force on Jan. 2, 1962.