M16A2 rifle

The M16A2 was rifled to fire this round, and other NATO armies switched over. West Germany introduced the G41, a 5.56-mm version of the G3, and Belgium replaced the FAL with the FNC.

The M16A2, adopted by the U.S. military in the early 1980s, replaced fully automatic fire with a three-round-burst capability that was intended to increase accuracy and reduce ammunition consumption. The use of aluminum and composite materials rather than wood made the various iterations of the M16…