M16 Assault Rifle (S/F)

The M16 Assault Rifle is the standard assault rifle for the United States Armed Forces. While the original M16A1 rifle, originally designed to replace the old M14 Battle Rifle, is phased out for active duty, it’s derivatives are still in use.

The M16A1 was originally designed with a 20 round magazine and chambered in 5.56x.45, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) standard. A larger 30 round magazine is used for the M4 series of rifles which have replaced it. It was the sister of the FN-FAL, the so-called ‘Right arm of the free world’ during the Cold War.

The M16 had it’s trial by fire in the Vietnam War, where it was the counterpoint to the NVA’s Soviet supplied AK-47(Avtomat Kalashnikov 1947) assault rifle.  It has become an icon of the modern U.S. Military’s equipment, commonly seen alongside the M60 Machine Gun in pictures and media from the Vietnam War, up to today. While the M16 has undergone changes, the iconic shape has remained for the most part intact.

InGen has a stock of M16 rifles in their firearms cabinet on Isla Nublar alongside the Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun. Due to the brief glimpse of the distinct carrying handle of the M16, no determination of which derivative of this rifle can be made. The M16 was likely chosen over the (then) Soviet AK family due to InGen’s proximity to the United States, as well as the fact that a purchase of Soviet arms could cast eyes on the company’s actions in the Pacific.