The US Army employs various individual weapons to provide light firepower at short ranges. The most common weapons used by the army are the M16 series assault rifle and its compact variant, the M4 carbine, which is slowly replacing selected M16 series rifles in some units and is primarily used by infantry, Ranger, and Special Operations forces. Soldiers whose duties require a more compact weapon, such as combat vehicle crew members, staff officers, and military police, are also issued the M4. The most common sidearm in the U.S. Army is the 9 mm M9 pistol which is issued to the majority of combat and support units.

Many combat units' arsenals are supplemented with a variety of specialized weapons, including the M249 SAW (squad automatic weapon), to provide suppressive fire at the fire-team level, the M1014 Joint Service Combat Shotgun or the Mossberg 590 Shotgun for door breaching and close-quarters combat, the M14EBR for long-range marksmen, and the M107 Long Range Sniper Rifle, the M24 Sniper Weapon System, or the M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper Rifle for snipers. Hand grenades, such as the M67 fragmentation grenade and M18 smoke grenade, are also used by combat troops.

The US Army employs various crew-served weapons to provide heavy firepower at ranges exceeding that of individual weapons.

The M249 is the Army's standard light machine gun. The M240 is the Army's standard medium machine gun. The .50 Cal. BMG. M2 heavy machine gun is used as an anti-materiel and anti-personnel machine gun. The M2 is also the primary weapon on most Stryker variants and the secondary weapon system on the M1 Abrams. The 40 mm MK 19 grenade machine gun is mainly used by motorized units. It is commonly employed in a complementary role to the M2.

The US Army uses three types of mortar for indirect fire support when heavier artillery may not be appropriate or available. The smallest of these is the 60 mm M224, normally assigned at the infantry company level. At the next higher echelon, infantry battalions are typically supported by a section of 81 mm M252 mortars. The largest mortar in the Army's inventory is the 120 mm M120/M121, usually employed by mechanized battalions, Stryker units, and cavalry troops because its size and weight require it to be transported in a tracked carrier or towed behind a truck.

Fire support for light infantry units is provided by towed howitzers, including the 105 mm M119A1 and the 155 mm M777 (which will replace the M198).

The US Army utilizes a variety of direct-fire rockets and missiles to provide infantry with an offensive and defensive anti-armor capability. The SMAW and AT4 are unguided rockets that can destroy armor and fixed defenses (e.g., bunkers) at ranges up to 500 meters. The FIM-92 Stinger is a shoulder-launched, heat seeking anti-aircraft missile. The FGM-148 Javelin and BGM-71 TOW are anti-tank guided missiles. The Javelin can utilize top-attack profiles to avoid heavy frontal armor. The Javelin and TOW are heavier missiles effective past 2,000 meters that give infantry an offensive capability against armor.

US Army Ammunition

9x19mm NATO:

  • M9 pistol

5.56x45mm NATO:

  • M249 Light Machine Gun
  • M16 rifle
  • M4 carbine
  • M231 FPW

7.62x51mm NATO:

  • M14 Rifle
  • M240 Medium Machine Gun
  • M110 Sniper Rifle
  • M24 Sniper Weapon System

12.7x99mm NATO:

  • M2 Heavy Machine Gun
  • Barrett M82
  • McMillan TAC-50

12 gauge:

  • Mossberg 500
  • Benelli M4 Super 90

25x137mm NATO:

  • M242 Chain Gun

30x113mm NATO:

  • M230 Chain Gun

Hand grenades:

  • M67 fragmentation grenade
  • M18 smoke grenade

Grenade launchers

  • Mk 19 grenade launcher

US Army Weapons

The Weapons of the United States Army can be sorted into three categories: Personal weapons carried and used by one soldier, Support weapons used by teams of soldiers in support roles, and Vehicle-Mounted weapons mounted on Army vehicles. Some support weapons can be mounted on vehicles in addition to their primary ground roles. The army is seeking replacement of the M4 carbine and M16 rifle with the Individual Carbine Competition to select a new army service rifle.

Personal Weapons:

  • The M9 pistol, a semi-automatic handgun with a 15-round detachable magazine
  • The M16 rifle, an assault rifle using STANAG magazines from 20 to 100 round capacities and firing at a maximum rate of 825 rounds per minute.
  • The M4 carbine, a carbine in the same family as the M16 and using identical magazines and with an identical rate of fire.
  • The M231 FPW, a modified M16 for use in the firing ports of the M2 Bradley. It uses STANAG magazines and can fire at a rates over 1000 rounds per minute.
  • The M14 , a battle rifle used as Designated marksman rifle.
  • The M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, a belt-fed light machine gun which can also be used with STANAG magazines, though with a significant rate of malfunction. Rate of fire ranges from 750 to 1000 rounds per minute.
  • The M24 Sniper Weapon System, a bolt-action sniper rifle
  • XM2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle, .300 Winchester Magnum successor to M24.
  • The M110 Semi-automatic sniper system, a semi-automatic sniper rifle.
  • The M82, a .50BMG Anti-materiel rifle. It is sometimes designated M107.
  • The M9 bayonet, which can be attached to the M16 assault rifle or M4 carbine and also be used as a knife. Bayonet tactics are being phased out.
  • The M203 grenade launcher, a 40mm grenade launcher that can be attached under the barrel of a variety of rifles, including the M16 and M4. It cannot be used as a stand-alone weapon.

Support Weapons:

  • Machine guns:
    • The M60 machine gun, a belt-fed general purpose machine gun.
    • The M240 Medium Machine Gun, a belt-fed machine gun that fires 7.62x51mm ammunition. It has three rate-of-fire settings: 750, 850, and 950 rounds per minute.
    • The M2 Heavy Machine Gun, a belt-fed machine gun that fires 12.7x99mm ammunition. Its rate of fire maximizes at 575 rounds per minute, though aircraft-mounted versions can achieve over 1200 rounds per minute.
    • The MK 19 grenade machine gun, a belt-fed grenade-launching machine gun that fires 40mm grenades. Its cyclic rate of fire averages 400 rounds per minute, though its effective rate of fire is between 40 and 60 rounds per minute.
  • Anti-tank:
    • AT4 light anti-tank weapon.
  • Missiles:
    • FGM-148 Javelin 3rd generation fire & forget top-attack anti-tank missile.
    • BGM-71 TOW 2nd generation wire guided anti-tank missile.
    • FIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft missile.
  • Mortars:
    • The M224 mortar fires 60mm shells up to 3460 meters. It is typically distributed at the company level.
    • The M252 mortar fires 81mm shells up to 5935 meters. It is typically distributed at the battalion level.
    • The M120 mortar fires 120mm shells up to 7240 meters. It is primarily used by mechanized battalions, though it can be used to support light infantry operations.

Vehicle-Mounted Weapons:

  • The M240 MK 19 and M2 machine guns can be mounted on vehicles, though not as a primary armament.
  • The M230 Autocannon fires 30x113mm ammunition at a rate of 625 rounds per minute. It is mounted on the AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk Direct Action Penetrator helicopters.
  • The M242 Autocannon fires 25x137mm ammunition at a rate of 200 rounds per minute. It is one of the primary armaments of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and is one of a variety of anti-air and anti-surface naval armaments.

Fire support can be provided by 105mm or 155mm towed howitzers (Vehicles section).

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