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For the other carbine variants of the M16A2, see its successor, the M16A1
Overview Ghost Recon Ghost Recon 2 G.R.A.W.


The M16A2 is a late Cold War era assault rifle of US origin. It was developed by Fabrique Nationale at the request of the US Marine Corps. The M16A2 is a product improved version of the M16A1. The main improvement is the use of the 5.56x45mm NATO round instead of the older M193 round. When it was introduced in the 1980's the full size M16A2 with iron sights was the main production variant. Nowadays the M4 carbine with the ability to mount optics is considered the main variant.

The areas of improvement include the round that is fired, the iron sights and a burst fire option instead of full automatic fire. The M16A2 fires a redesigned 5.56x45mm round that uses a faster rifling twist rate. This version of the 5.56x45mm round was also adopted as NATO standard. The M16A2 retains the direct impingement design and rotating bolt. Externally the M16A2 looks very similar to the M16A1 and at a glance only the round forearm identifies the M16A2. A carbine version with shorter barrel and retractable stock was also developed. It was fires named the M16A2 Carbine and was later redesignated as the M4. On the latest models the rear sight and carrying handle have been replaced by a Picatinny rail that allows various optics to be fitted.

The M16A2 fires the 5.56x45mm NATO round from 30 round magazines, although various other capacities are available. The M16A2 is a select fire weapon with a cyclic rate of fire of 700 to 950 rounds per minute. Many rifles in US service feature a three round burst fire selector instead permitting full automatic fire. The effective range is 400 meters, although with optics targets out to 600 m can be engaged.

Trivia

Ghost Recon

  • In Ghost Recon, it is misidentified as an M16A2 even though it's an M16A4 denoted by its flat top upper receiver. However, in Ghost Recon 2 it is named simply "M16".
  • In Ghost Recon it is the Riflemen's primary with an optional M203 grenade launcher, but in Ghost Recon 2 the grenade launcher is permanently attached.
  • In the PS2 version of Ghost Recon 2, it is incorrectly depicted as fully automatic, but in the Xbox version it is correctly restricted to 3-round burst.

Appearances

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