Introduced in 1959, the M16 is one of the world's most widely used assault rifles. The SAS has been using the M16 since 1963 in conflicts from the Falklands to the Persian Gulf. In Vietnam, American troops used M16s to suppress enemy activity around airfields and at close-quarter combat throughout the jungles. Praised by soldiers for its light weight and high rates of fire, improvements to the M16’s accuracy and lethality came in the form of two upgrades: the M16A1, and most recently, the M16A2. [show more...]

Durable and widely available, the AK-47 is a Russian 7.62mm assault rifle. The AK fires 100 rounds per minute even through extreme conditions such as low temperatures, from moving vehicles, and after being dunked in water, mud, or sand.

One drawback is low muzzle velocity, which makes the relatively heavy round arc at long ranges. Other drawbacks are the jams, dents, and overheated barrels that can make the weapon tough to handle. But the downsides pale in comparison to what the AK-47 offers a fighter: an easy-to-maintain gun that can deliver a high volume of fire. This is why the AK-47 has been one of the most used assault rifles in the world since the early 1950s. [show more...]

A shoulder-fired, muzzle-loaded, grenade launcher, the RPG-7 fires a variety of grenades from a 40-mm launch tube. It's light enough to be fired by one person, but an assistant usually stands to the left of the gunner for protection.

The launcher first ejects the grenade out 10 meters, and then the grenade's internal motor ignites and speeds it toward the target with fins that cause it to rotate slowly. Crosswinds can cut accuracy down by 50% for the gunner's first shot, but the shaped charge in the grenade can punch through all known armored vehicles. [show more...]