Maverick 4 Auto 1 Carbine (M4A1)

The M4 carbine is a family of firearms tracing its lineage back to earlier carbine versions of the M16, all based on the original AR-15 designed by Eugene Stoner and made by ArmaLite. It is a shorter and lighter variant of the M16A2 assault rifle, with 80% parts commonality.[4]

It is a gas-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed, selective fire, shoulder-fired weapon with a telescoping stock. A shortened variant of the M16A2 rifle, the M4 has a 14.5 in (370 mm) barrel, allowing its user to better operate in close quarters combat. The M4 has selective fire options including semi-automatic and three-round burst (like the M16A2), while the M4A1 has the capability to fire fully automatic instead of three-round burst. The carbine is also capable of mounting an M203 grenade launcher, the M203A1 with a 9-inch barrel as opposed to the standard 12-inch barrel of the M203 used on the M16 series.

The M4 carbine is heavily used by the U.S military. It is slated to eventually replace the M16 rifle for most combat units in the United States Army.[5] The winner of the Individual Carbine competition may replace the M4 carbine in U.S. Army service.[6]