The design of the M4 carbine can be traced back to the early carbine version of the M16. They were all developed from the CAR-15 developed by Eugene Stoner, and the M4 is shorter and lighter than the M16A2 assault rifle.
Eighty percent of the parts between them can be shared. Some M4A1s are equipped with thicker and heavier barrels to reduce the heat generated during fully automatic fire, and have thickened aluminum heat insulation layers. All M4s and M4A1s use 5.56mm caliber
SS109 bullet, and still uses the M16's unique gas direct push transmission method.
model
M4/M4A1
The main difference between M4 and M4A1 is that M4 has the "S-1-3" system (safety/single shot/three-point shot) trigger, while the M4A1 has the "S-1-F" system (safety/single shot/full shot).
automatic) trigger, the early model used a fixed handle, and the M4 with only three-point firing has been replaced by the fully automatic M4A1.
M4MWS modular weapon system
The rWeaponSystem version of the M4, referred to as M4MWS (also known as M4E2), is a Colt M925 carbine equipped with an RIS handguard and equipped with a large number of tactical accessories. The Colt 925 was originally equipped with an RIS handguard.
After testing, the carbine was originally designated as M4E2. However, this name was abandoned due to doubts about whether the existing carbine needs to be renamed after installing this handguard. The U.S. Army Field Manual refers to the M-4 series equipped with RAS.
Called the Modular Weapon System (rWeaponSystem) or M-4MWS for short.
M4A1 carbine
The M4A1 carbine is one of the derivatives of the M4 carbine. It is used for special operations and is now the most common version. It is currently mainly equipped with various conventional forces and special forces of the US military, including Delta Force and the US Navy SEALs.
, U.S. Army Rangers and U.S. Marine Corps.
On April 19, 2007, the U.S. Army signed a M4/M4A1 carbine production contract with a total value of US$50.8 million with M16/M4 gun manufacturer Colt. The contract is expected to be fully implemented by July 30, 2008.
complete.
SOPMODBlockI
The M4 carbine modification kit SpecialOperationsPeculiarModification (SOPMOD) Block I developed by USSOCOM for its troops.
Accessories:
KACRIS (Rail Interface System) rail KAC front folding mechanical sight and KAC rear folding mechanical sight M203 grenade launcher that can be quickly installed and removed KAC silencer AN/PEQ-2A laser/infrared indicator Trijicon's ACOG aiming
Mirror reflex red dot sight night vision scope M68CCO red dot sight EOTech reflex sight
SOPMODBlockII
The second generation SOPMOD modification kit (also known as SOPMODII) is an updated and improved version of BlockI. It is now produced by many companies, including KAC (Knight's Armament Company), ARMS (ntic Research Marketing Systems), Lewis Machine & Tools, and DanielDefense produces RIS-II (
New generation tactical guide rail).
M4 carbines produced by different companies have been in service with special forces. Australia's Australian Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) uses Colt's export M4, and the British Special Air Service (SAS) uses Canada's Dimaco SFW.
other
CQBR - is a close combat rifle that replaces the upper receiver and short barrel of the M4 carbine. The barrel is only 10.3 inches (260 mm). CQA carbine - a flat-top imitation version of China Norinco. Dimaco SFW and Dimaco C8 -
Produced by Dimaco in Canada, it is similar to the M4/M4A1 carbine.
With the successful development of the M16A2, the US military also began to consider developing a new carbine firing SS109/M885 bullets for special forces. Just like the M16A2, this new carbine was designed in 1983 based on the needs of the Marine Corps. At that time
The small shoulder-fired weapon officially equipped by the Marine Corps' Force Reconnaissance Company (Force Recon) is only the M3A1 "oil gun" (unofficially used is the XM177E2), and the M4 carbine armored vehicle crew members equipped with the M320 grenade launcher also use the M3A1. The Navy
The Marine Corps believed that these people should be provided with a carbine. The original M16A2 carbine developed by Colt for the Marine Corps basically just applied the changes on the M16A2 to the Model 653 carbine, that is, replaced the 1/7 twist rate 14.5-inch
(368mm) heavy barrel, use the M16A2 flash hider, use 3-round burst fire instead of full-automatic shooting, and use the M16A2 mechanical sight. This M16A2 carbine was designed in 1985, and the Colt company model number is 720
model, and was called XM4 in the military's test plan. However, Congress rejected the Marine Corps' XM4 procurement budget. As a result, the force reconnaissance company had to use the Navy's HKMP5-N submachine gun to replace the old M3A1 submachine gun, while other
The US military special forces began to use the RO727 and other M16A2 carbines in 1988.
The U.S. Army's Test and Evaluation Command (TECOM) resumed development work and Phase 2 testing of the XM4 carbine in April 1986. After further testing and improvements, the XM4 was officially finalized in March 1991 and named "U.S.
5.56mm North Atlantic Treaty Organization caliber M4 carbine" (The United States Carbine, Caliber5.56mmNATO, M4). The most obvious distinguishing feature of the M4 from other M16A2 carbines is that its barrel has a necked shape 25mm in front of the quasi-constellation.
, this was a change made in subsequent tests to mount the M203 grenade launcher. In order to be able to mount the original M203 grenade launcher, the diameter of the barrel of the M16A2 in the handguard is the same as that of the M16A1, but the carbine's guard
The wood is short and the M16A2-style thick barrel is used outside the handguard, so Colt engineers processed this constriction in the middle of the barrel outside the handguard so that the M203 grenade launcher can be mounted and the stock can be fixed.
It can also be installed and used, but it is not common in the US military to do so.
The M4 carbine also changed the telescopic stock that originally had only two fixed positions to four fixed positions, and later changed to six. In addition, although the rear sight of the M4 is M16A2 style, the rear sight can only be adjusted as far as
600 meters instead of the 800 meters of the M16A2. Since the lower receiver is from the M16A2, the shooting mode is semi-automatic and three-round burst. Since the M4 and M16A2 are very similar, in fact 80% of their parts are interchangeable, so initially
Known as the M16A2 carbine. The M4 was first equipped with the 82nd Airborne Division and was used to replace the M16A1/A2 rifles, M3A1 submachine guns and some 9mm pistols used by vehicle drivers. It was officially installed in 1994.
The M4 carbine first participated in actual combat in the Gulf War in 1991. Before the war broke out, the U.S. military suddenly discovered that they were short of new rifles. Many troops were still using the M16A1, while the M16A2 only began to be equipped in 1986, and many troops had not yet completed the replacement.
Due to the need to obtain large quantities of M16A2 and M4 as soon as possible, the U.S. Department of Defense approved the increase of M4 suppliers. Bushmaster Firearms of Maine obtained a procurement contract to supply M4 carbines and supplied 4,000 to the Army.
M4, these guns were used by the 82nd Airborne Division during "Desert Shield" and "Desert Storm". It is said that General Schwarzkopf's guards also used the Bushmaster M4. However, the US military had not yet obtained the production of M4 at that time.
(Because the U.S. government had already obtained the production rights for the M16, it could only award the M16A2 production contract to FNMI that year). Colt threatened to sue the U.S. government for transferring the M4 process files to other companies without permission.
I only got this government procurement contract for the M4.
After the M4 was equipped with the troops, Colt designed a flat-top receiver that used Picatinny rails instead of fixed handles to facilitate the installation of the modular sighting device of the M4 carbine equipped with the XM26 shotgun. In August 1994
In March, this improvement was also accepted by the US military, and this flat-top M4 was officially named "The United States Carbine, Caliber 5.56mm NATO, M4A1" (The United States Carbine, Caliber 5.56mm NATO, M4A1). The Colt company's serial number is
For 927. Since the special forces did not like the burst-fire limiting device of the M4 carbine and used other M16A2 carbines that could fire fully automatically, the M4A1 also used the lower receiver of the M16A1. However, it was found during the test that the barrel of the M4A1 was prone to overheating, and some shooters
After firing six magazines in full-automatic mode, the handguard became too hot to touch directly. Although the M4A1 is a carbine rather than a light machine gun, Colt improved the handguard to solve this problem.
The aluminum heat shield was changed from the original single layer to a double layer, so the diameter of the handguard was correspondingly thickened. This improvement was also later applied to the newly produced M4 carbine, so the guard on the early M4/M4A1
The wood is the same as the previous M16 carbine, while the later M4/M4A1 handguards are thicker.
In 1994, the Marine Corps published "Operational Requirements Document 1.14." (Operational Requirements Document 1.14.), which stated that it took a long-term view of the mission of the force reconnaissance company and adopted the M4A1 carbine instead of the MP5-N submachine gun that fires pistol ammunition.
CQB weapons will be more effective. After some efforts, the Marine Corps finally obtained funds to purchase the M4A1, but mainly to equip special forces. The U.S. Army also officially adopted the M4/M4A1 carbine in August 1994, first to equip special forces and rapid response
force.
Most of the M4 carbines with a limit of 3 rounds are equipped with crew members, crew members, clerks or officers. For example, M1 tank crew members have used four M3A1 submachine guns as self-defense weapons for many years, but now they use two M4 carbines and two
M9 pistol. Since the flat-top receiver is convenient for installing sights, except for the early orders with A2 handles, all M4s purchased by the US military now use flat-top receivers, and the sights are mainly Trijicon's TA11 and
TA31ACOG and AimpointM68CCO. The current government standard M4 series are Colt Model 920 (flat top M4, speed machine is "S-1-3") and Colt Model 921 (M4A1, speed machine is "S-1-
F").
The Colt Model 925 carbine equipped with the KACM4RAS handguard was tested and designated the M4E2, but this designation appears to have been abandoned due to confusion over whether existing carbines needed to be renamed when the handguard was installed. U.S. Army Field Manual
The M4 series equipped with RAS is called the Modular Weapon System (rWeaponSystem) or M4MWS for short.
Although the M4A1 was developed for Special Forces, the Army announced in 1998 that it planned to replace the M16A2 as the standard rifle in regular forces with the M4A1 with RAS handguard, while the original M16A2 was transferred to the Reserve Forces and Coast Guard (Note: Also
Some information indicates that the replacement plan started in November 1997, and it is planned to be completed by the end of 1999). Why does the Army plan to use a carbine to replace the standard assault rifle? The Army's explanation is that the M4A1 is lighter than the M16A2.
And it is enough to effectively deal with targets within a 200-meter range; another explanation is that when the "Land Warrior" system is equipped with troops, the M4A1 can reduce the total weight of the system. But there is actually another rumor that some senior generals within the army still
I am still resentful that FNMI beat Colt to obtain the M16A2 supply contract in 1988 due to its price advantage, because FNMI is a foreign-backed company. If the Army decides to adopt a different model of rifle, there is a reason not to continue to fulfill the contract with FNMI.
The purchase contract is in place.
The procurement of the M4A1 caused a lot of controversy, and when Colt received the Army's production contract, FNMI immediately proposed that they could also produce the M4A1 for the Army. The Army rejected this proposal, so FNMI filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Federal Court, claiming that the U.S. Government
Designating a sole contractor would be unfair. A federal court dismissed FNMI's complaint following Colt's motion, explaining that the technology for the M4 series was proprietary to Colt and was subject to Colt's December 1997 agreement with the Army.
According to the agreement reached in March, the military will not grant the production rights of the M4 series or transfer process documents to other manufacturers until 2011.
The peak of the Army's M4A1 procurement was around 2000. In 2001, the U.S. Army finally decided to equip regular troops with the M16A4 with RAS handguards. This seemed to be evidence of the rumor. The Army still purchased M16A4 from Colt.
Since the shorter barrel results in lower muzzle velocity and greater muzzle noise, and the handguard is more likely to heat up than a long rifle, the Marine Corps has repeatedly debated whether to adopt the M4A1 or retain the M16A2, and finally in September 2002
In March, it was announced that the M16A2 would be replaced by the M16A4 with a RAS handguard, but it was produced by FN. Many infantrymen fighting on foot in the Afghan battlefield complained about the shortcomings of the M4A1's insufficient range, which promoted this decision of the Marine Corps. However,
In the urban combat during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, those mechanized infantrymen who were still using the M16A2 believed that they needed short and powerful light weapons like the M4. This was because the combat distance in the city was much closer than in the mountains of Afghanistan, and even in the suburbs
In combat, members of these mechanized troops do not need to use their light weapons to deal with targets 300 meters away. Most of the troops who complain about the insufficient range of the M4A1 are light infantry who lack heavy weapons support.
Although the effective range of the M4 series is not as far as the long-barreled M16 series, many military analysts believe that infantry light weapons do not need to shoot at 300-meter targets in most cases, as long as they are effective within 150m. The M4 series is due to its compact appearance and powerful
The firepower (only the M4A1 that can be fully automatic) is suitable for CQB and is loved by anti-terrorism troops and special forces. These advantages are also suitable for urban combat. Therefore, in the infantry squads of conventional troops, it has become popular to mainly use M16A4 with a small amount of M4A1.
mode, and among quick reaction forces such as special forces and airborne forces, the M4A1 is the main battle weapon. The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) adopts the M4A1 as the standard rifle.
In recent years, Colt has produced M4A1 or modification kits with thickened inner barrel parts of the handguard. Although the overall thickness of the barrel will slightly increase the weight, it is more heat-resistant and more accurate when firing fully automatically. These
Weapons with heavy barrels also come with a new, slightly heavier buffer called the H2. The standard H buffer has a sliding weight composed of one tungsten and two pieces of steel, while the new H2 buffer has
Two pieces of tungsten and one piece of steel. Currently these weapons are called Colt Model 921HB (Heavy Barrel), but the HB improvements adopted by the military were not renamed, so the government model M4A1 includes 921 and 921HB.
In addition to being equipped in the US military, the M4 series is also exported to other countries, and Colt also provides four models of M4/M4A1, RO777, 779, 977 and 979, to law enforcement agencies.
In addition to the RO977, Colt also provides law enforcement agencies with a long barrel M4A1 with a barrel lengthened to 16.1 inches, called the "Law Enforcement Carbine", product number LE6920. The gun comes with two 20-round ammunition
Of course, users can also buy magazines with other capacities. The LE6920 has two types of receivers: fixed-handle receivers and flat-top receivers. The lower receiver has two shooting modes: three-round burst fire and continuous fire.
Currently, the Colt M4 is restricted to sales to the military and law enforcement agencies. Only under special conditions can civilians be allowed to own the government M4/M4A1. According to the BATF definition, the 14.5-inch barrel is classified as a "short barrel rifle" (
BATF's definition of "short barrel rifle" is "a rifle with one or more barrels less than 16 inches in length, and the total length should not be less than 26 inches), which belongs to the category of Level 3 weapons and is capable of firing continuously.
Weapons (including burst-fire mode) are classified as machine guns. To purchase third-level weapons or machine gun weapons, you must apply to BATF and pay stamp duty, and private machine gun weapons can only be owned and sold before 1986, because federal law stipulates
Since May 19, 1986, U.S. manufacturers and dealers have been prohibited from selling machine gun weapons to civilians (note: civilian ownership of imported machine guns is limited to guns imported before 1968). The only exception is special occupation tax
Upational Taxpayers (SOT), they are dealers and manufacturers who produce, import and export machine guns. There are also private security or military companies, such as security contractors, etc. Only the earliest ones produced before May 19, 1986
The Colt M4 prototype can only be legally owned by a non-SOT civilian.
It is said that Colt's exclusive contract to produce the M4 series for the US government was signed until 2009, but not all M4s exported are Colt products. According to an administrator on SecurityArms, PIERANGELOTENDAS (Italian) told me
According to the information provided, the M4A1 used by the Italian special forces is a Bushmaster product. In addition, among the private sector, there are many manufacturers that produce weapons that are very similar in appearance to the military M4, called M4style rifles (M4 style rifles). Usually this appearance looks like an M4
The weapons all have 16-inch barrels (avoiding the Category III weapon category) and are semi-automatic only. They all imitate the M4 with a constriction in the middle of the barrel, although most of the people who buy these fake M4s will not buy them.
An M203 grenade launcher (a level three weapon and expensive), but just because of the name "M4", I bought this short AR-15 rifle with a necking on the barrel. There are many manufacturers of M4style for civilian use.
Big Viper, Olympic Games, etc. are also more famous.
Colt has been unhappy with the situation because it wants to maintain its exclusive rights to the M4's name and design; other manufacturers have long claimed that Colt is overstating their rights - they say "
M4" is now a collective term for the short M16/AR-15. In April 2004, Colt filed a trademark infringement, trade infringement and trademark dilution lawsuit against HK and Bushmaster, alleging that they knowingly misappropriated the goods
name, and infringed Colt's patent, and adopted unfair competition and deceptive trade methods. HK's appeal was rejected by the court, so HK had to change the shape design of their short-stroke piston HKM4 and renamed it HK416
.However, on December 8, 2005, a federal district court judge in Maine ruled in favor of Bushmaster (similar to FN's situation, which seems to be caused by local protectionism). Due to Colt's treatment of Bushmaster
The lawsuit was equivalent to actually losing the "M4" trademark, so the court simply revoked the M4 trademark patent rights held by Colt.
Improved model
Modified SOPMODM4/CQBWM4 carbine
In view of the fact that many manufacturers that provide various sights, lights and other tactical accessories for carbines have not had a mounting interface mark for a long time, USSOCOM (U.S. Special Operations Command) began to try to develop a set of close-combat carbines in September 1989.
Accessory interface standard, and officially proposed the name of the program called SOPMOD on May 15, 1992. SOPMOD means "Special Operations Improved". The SOPMOD program is sponsored by USSOCOM, Naval Special Operations Forces, Air Force, Army Navy and other special forces
The army jointly proposed it and entrusted NSWC (Naval Weapons Research Center) to be responsible for the research. In May 1999, the Navy and Air Force began to provide SOPMOD with the M4A1 carbine as the weapon platform for testing. Note that this system called SOPMODM4 is in the NSWC
The plan is just to call it SOPMODBlock1.
The main contractor for the production of the first generation SOPMODM4 is KAC (Knight Arms Company). SOPMODM4 is not just a carbine, but a modular assault rifle system based on the M4A1. The main module includes an M1913 with four sections, upper, lower, left and right.
Standard rail RIS handguard, shortened quick-release M203 grenade launcher and sight, a KAC quick-detach (QD) silencer, KAC backup rear sight, a tactical light, and an AN/PEQ-2 visible/infrared laser designator
weapon, as well as Trijicon's ACOG and reflex sights and a night vision scope, but many soldiers have replaced the Trijicon reflex sights with M68CCO or EOTech holographic sights. Currently, SOPMODM4 has been equipped with many special forces including SEALs.
Well, when SOPMODM4 is equipped with some tactical accessories for close combat, it will be called CQBWM4, that is, "Indoor Close Combat Weapon Type M4". In fact, they are all the same thing.
The second generation of SOPMODBlock2 (now named SOPMODII) is currently under development, and there are many different manufacturers competing for this contract, including KAC's URXII system, ARMS's SIR system (Selective Integrated Rail), and Lewis Machine and Tool Company
(LewisMachine&Tool)'s MRP (tform), and other improvements include enhancing the night sighting capability of the M203 grenade launcher, improving or developing new grenade launchers (EGLM plan), and expanding general-purpose silencers (including applications in light machine guns and
other weapons), upgrade/improve various existing tactical accessories, etc. Since the SCAR project has selected FN Company’s prototype gun, SOPMODII’s tactical accessories will be applied to SCAR (SCAR has determined to use EGLM grenade launchers
machine).M4 Carbine
Changed to an M-4 carbine firing 7.62mm NATO rounds
Since small-caliber assault rifles are considered unsuitable for mountain combat and performed poorly on the Afghan battlefield, the U.S. military has developed an upgraded version of the M-4 carbine.
The predecessor of the M-4 carbine is the M-16 assault rifle. This weapon is very suitable for short-range and small-scale combat. It has performed well in street fighting in Iraq.
However, the US military later discovered that the longest shooting distance that the 5.56 mm caliber M-16 and M-4 could achieve was only about 1,000 feet (about 300 meters), which was obviously too far for soldiers fighting in Afghanistan, which is full of mountains and canyons.
Unable to meet demand.
Therefore, the U.S. military developed this improved M-4 carbine with a 7.62 mm caliber and a range of up to 2,500 feet (about 800 meters).