M16

The M16 (more formally Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 rifle fires the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge and can produce massive wounding and hydrostatic shock effects when the bullet impacts at high velocity and yaws in tissue leading to fragmentation and rapid transfer of energy. However, terminal effects can be unimpressive when the bullet fails to yaw or fragment in tissue.

The M16 entered United States Army service as the M16A1 and was deployed for jungle warfare in South Vietnam in 1963, becoming the standard U.S. rifle of the Vietnam War by 1969 replacing the M14 rifle in that role. The U.S. Army retained the M14 in CONUS, Europe, and South Korea until 1970. Since the Vietnam War, the M16 rifle family has been the primary infantry rifle of the U.S. military. With its variants, it has been in use by 15 NATO countries, and is the most produced firearm in its caliber.

=In Game=

Battlefield 2
The United States Marine Corps in Battlefield 2 uses the M16 as it's the primary weapon for the Assault and Medic kit in the game. It has a 3-round burst, with each burst doing a moderate amount of damage. The M16 included in Assault kits comes with a grenade launcher and leaf sight, while the M16 used by the Medic has no attachments at all. Also, the Assault Kit M16 will have 6 extra magazines while the Medic Kit M16 will only have 4.

Battlefield: Bad Company
In singleplayer, it can be found off of dead Mercenaries in the final assault on the Serdar's palace in the mission Par of the Course. In multiplayer, it is an unlockable issued to the Assault kit usable by any faction. Unlike Battlefield 2 the M16 is fully automatic (M16A3 variant) and uses 50 round magazines. It has a low rate of fire compared to other assault rifles, but this is balanced by high damage and low recoil.

Trivia

 * In Battlefield 2 and Bad Company 1, the weapon is reloaded by pulling the charging handle back and then pushing the forward assist. This is incorrect as the M16's bolt catch is used to chamber a new magazine lacking the need to pull the charging handle back. The forward assist's use is also incorrect as it is only used to unjam rounds stuck in the barrel.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
The M16 has been replaced in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 by the M16A2. The M16A2 differs from the original M16 that was used in the first Bad Company in multiple ways:

- A 30 round magazine size instead of the 50 round size

- A three round burst instead of being fully automatic

- Multiple Weapon Attachments (As is the case with most weapons in Bad Company 2)

It requires 47000 Points to unlock, and is the last unlock in the "Assault" kit.

The M16 in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 can mainly be used like the AN-94, especially to fight snipers at long ranges.