Colt Automatic Rifle
A magazine-fed squad automatic weapon derived from the AR-15 family.
The Colt Automatic Rifle, also called the Colt Light Machine Gun, is a 5.56 mm NATO squad automatic weapon that fires from an open bolt and is fully automatic. It was made by Colt Defense and is built on the M16A2/A4 platform. Its look is defined by a square handguard, a vertical foregrip, a carrying handle, and a built-in bipod. This firearm belongs to a family of squad automatic weapons that came from the Armalite AR-15, all using the Stoner bolt and carrier piston system. The name "CAR-15" was created by adding "Colt" to "AR-15," even though the "AR" originally stood for Armalite Rifle. The CAR-15 line included the AR-15 plus five variants, such as the Colt Machine Gun and the CAR-15 Heavy Assault Rifle.
The Colt Automatic Rifle is a current product, but Colt has made several similar weapons since it got the rights to produce the Armalite AR-15 family in the late 1950s. First called the Colt M16 LMG or simply the Colt Light Machine Gun, it was a joint project between Colt and Diemaco, a Canadian company licensed by Colt in 1982 to make M16 variants for the Canadian Armed Forces. In 2005, Colt’s Manufacturing LLC bought Diemaco and renamed it Colt Canada.
The Colt/Diemaco weapon traces back to earlier designs from both Colt and the U.S. military, all meant to replace the Browning Automatic Rifle. The BAR was originally supposed to be replaced by the M15 Squad Automatic Weapon, but instead the M16A1 took its place, with one soldier in a squad using full-auto while others fired semi-auto. Between the M16’s introduction and the M249’s adoption as a purpose-built SAW, several interim weapons were developed and tested to fill the gap.
Between 1964 and 1965, Colt started expanding the AR-15 beyond an infantry rifle by developing light machine guns, resulting in the Model 606 series. Two versions were made: the Model 606A had forward assist devices like those on the Colt 603, and the Model 606B had a four-position selector with a burst-fire option. The M1 model, built for sustained automatic fire, had a heavy barrel. Colt also made a 30-round magazine and a bipod for stability. The M2 model kept the heavy barrel and bipod but added a belt-fed drum mounted on top. In February 1965, Colt submitted the Model 606A for the U.S. Army’s Small Arms Weapons Systems Trials, where it was classified as the GX–5856/Heavy Assault Rifle M1.
Quick Facts
- Is Ranged
- yes
- Origin
- United States
- Design Date
- 1982
- Service
- 1994-present
- Wars
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) / Iraq War / Operation Atalanta / Mali War / Military intervention against ISIL
- Cartridge
- 5.56×45mm NATO
- Action
- Gas-operated, rotating bolt
- Rate
- 600–750 round/min
- Velocity
- 991 m/s (3,251 ft/s; using the M193 round) / 945 m/s (3,100 ft/s; using the M855 round)
- Range
- 600 m
- Weight
- 5.78 kg (Unloaded)
- Length
- 1,000 mm (39.4 in)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Colt Automatic Rifle traces its lineage to a number of weapons developed at Colt and by the U.S. military, all designed to fill the role of the earlier Browning Automatic Rifle. During the 1980s Colt expanded on ideas from earlier WAK and BRL guns, producing a modified M16A1 with a new square handguard, heavy barrel, carry handle, hydraulic buffer assembly, and open-bolt firing. The chrome-lined barrel was permanently fixed to the receiver and could not be replaced in the field. An angled foregrip improved handling, and the weapon fired only in fully automatic mode. Colt initially packaged these weapons with the MWG 90-round snail drum, later replaced with the Beta Systems C-Mag, and used an M60 machine gun bipod before switching to a lighter proprietary design for the Model 750.
The Colt Model 750 was an improvement developed jointly with Diemaco for Canadian Army sales, featuring all A2 parts and a redesigned ribbed vertical foregrip. Diemaco marketed it as the C7 Light Support Weapon (LSW). The Netherlands Marine Corps designated it LOAW, and the Danish military as LSV M/04. Unlike many M16 variants, the LSWs used by the Netherlands and Denmark fire from a closed bolt with semi-automatic and fully automatic modes and a forward assist. The weapon lacks belt feed and quick barrel change options, limiting its rapid rate of fire. Colt and Diemaco further improved the design in the 1990s, adding a flat top carry handle and improved bipod, marketed by Colt as the Model 950 or Colt Automatic Rifle.
Reader's Guide
The Colt Automatic Rifle represents a sustained effort to adapt the AR-15 platform into a squad automatic weapon, filling the gap between the M16 and purpose-built belt-fed designs like the M249. Its development involved multiple iterations—from the Colt Model 606 CAR-15 Heavy Assault Rifle of the 1960s, which suffered from overheating and gas system issues, through the BRL XM106 of the late 1970s, to the Colt/Diemaco LMG of the 1980s. The weapon's significance lies in its use of standard STANAG magazines, allowing ammunition redistribution among riflemen, and its relatively light weight of 5.42 kg. It saw adoption by several military forces, including the Netherlands Marine Corps (as the LOAW), the Danish military (as the LSV M/04), and Honduran forces (as the Colt Model 611). The Dutch LOAW underwent a major overhaul from 2009 onward, receiving dark earth furniture, a retracting stock, ambidextrous controls, an Integrated Upper Receiver with RIS rails, and Aimpoint optics. The Colt Automatic Rifle's legacy is that of a magazine-fed light support weapon that, while lacking belt feed and quick-change barrel capabilities, provided a familiar and logistically compatible automatic fire option for units equipped with the M16 family.
Did You Know?
- The Colt Automatic Rifle fires from an open bolt, necessitating the removal of the forward assist for operating safety.
- The weapon was developed jointly by Colt and Diemaco, a Canadian firm acquired by Colt in 2005 and renamed Colt Canada.
- The Netherlands Marine Corps designates the C7 LSW as 'LOAW' (licht ondersteunend automatisch wapen).
- From 2009 onward, Dutch LOAWs were upgraded with dark earth furniture, ambidextrous controls, and an Integrated Upper Receiver with RIS rails.
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