5.56×45mm NATO
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The 5.56×45mm NATO is a rimless bottlenecked centerfire intermediate cartridge family developed in the late 1970s in Belgium by FN Herstal. It consists of the SS109, L110, and SS111 cartridges. On 28
5.56×45mm NATO with measurement, left to right: Bullet, case, and complete cartridge
The 7.62×51mm NATO and 5.56×45mm NATO cartridges compared to an AA battery
Service rifle cartridge cases: (left to right) 7.62×54mmR, 7.62×51mm NATO, 7.62×39mm, 5.56×45mm NATO, 5.45×39mm
5.56×45mm NATO cartridges in a STANAG magazine
M4 carbine
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The M4 carbine is an assault rifle developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensively used by the U.S. military, which decided
5.56×45mm NATO
…twist. In 1980, STANAG 4172 defined the 5.56×45mm NATO chambering and its accompanying 1:7 twist rifling. The shorter 14.5-inch (37 cm) barrel of the M4 carbine (with a STANAG 4172 conform 1:7 twist and M855/SS109 5.56 rounds^) generates significantly lower muzzle velocity, reducing the likelihood that the…
A 10th Special Forces Group soldier with an M4 carbine during an exercise in July 1995
A U.S. Army 82nd Airborne soldier holds an M4 carbine in Vitina, Kosovo, in January 2000 during the NATO-led KFOR mission, the first operational use of the M4 by U.S. troops
M4 with M68 Close Combat Optic and AN/PAQ-4
M4 with the newer, redesigned telescoping stock