The ArmaLite AR-18 is a gas-operated rifle chambered for 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition. The AR-18 was designed at ArmaLite in California by Arthur Miller, Eugene Stoner, George Sullivan, and Charles Dorchester in 1963 as an alternative to the Colt AR-15 design, a variant of which had just been selected by the U.S. military as the M16.

Jun 1, 2015 · ArmaLite would later license the design to Howa in Japan and they produced both AR-18 and AR-180 rifles between 1970 to 1974 as well as Sterling Armaments Company of Dagenham, Essex in England to produce both selective fire as well as semiautomatic only commercial rifles from 1975 until 1983.

Original AR-18 assault rifle, made by the Sterling Armaments of UK. The "reincarnated" AR-180B of recent manufacture. Semi-automatic onlyand with plastic lower receiver with integral pistol grip. Schematic view of the AR-18 (from the original Armalite patent, issued in 1968)

Aug 9, 2018 · ArmaLite was forced to contract the building of the AR-18 and the AR-180 to Howa in Japan, producing 3,927 AR-180s from 1970 through 1974, and later Sterling Armaments of Dagenham, Essex,...

Jun 30, 2014 · Known for their development of the famed AR-15, Armalite's AR-18 was another important tactical trendsetter in the black rifle space. Evolution of the AR-18 In the early ’50s, Eugene Stoner worked on the 7.62 x 51mm AR-10 rifle, and after several years of revision, in 1956-57, the rifle was offered up as Armalite’s entry into the U.S ...

Oct 14, 2021 · Understanding the history and development of the AR18 requires taking a step back. The ArmaLite Company only opened its doors in the post-World War II era. It was a new player in the American gun industry that had been dominated by such companies as Colt, Smith & Wesson, Winchester, and Remington.

the Sterling Armament Company manufactured ArmaLite Inc. AR-18/AR-180, but draw out interesting information gleaned from records saved following Sterling’s closure in the late 1980s.

Apr 8, 2022 · Howa of Japan licensed the design and produced domestic Japanese rifles, as did Sterling in the UK. Armalite rifles found their way into the hands of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and became a mainstay of its armory. However, the …

May 21, 2024 · The AR-18 was designed to provide lower-budget military forces with a modern, easy-to-produce 5.56-caliber assault rifle. The rifle would be cheap to construct and use stampings and welding. It wasn’t as refined as the AR-15 but could provide a modern select-fire 5.56 rifle on the cheap.

Mar 3, 2019 · It was speculated that the Early Howa AR-180’s actually started life as AR-18’s that were first produced prior to 1967. They were blocked from export to the US and that forced Armalite to step up and make them in Costa Mesa.