The AR-5 was a modular rifle chambered in. Plans don’t last long once the action starts… Upon request from the United States Air Force, ArmaLite develops the AR-5 survival rifle. Sullivan has a super-sized bee in his bonnet about the possibilities of using advanced (at that time) materials like plastics and aluminum alloys in radical new weapons designs. Stone meets George Sullivan, Chief Patent Counsel for Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. The initial business plan called for establishing some success with commercial products, then using that momentum to get into the government and military business.Įugene Stoner, a former marine and independent weapons designer, becomes Chief Engineer of ArmaLite. While most people equate the AR 15 Rifle with military variants, the company was actually founded with the goal of developing civilian market guns using modern materials and manufacturing technologies. 1954 Eugene Stoner responsible for early development of the AR 15 rifle.ĪrmaLite was founded as a division of Fairchild Engine and Aircraft Corporation. Let’s do a quick review of AR15 Rifle history what got us from conception to where we are today. In fact, there were a number of rifles with “AR” names, like the AR-1, AR-5, AR-7, AR-10, AR-16 and AR-17. It is a product naming convention from the company that invented it, ArmaLite. “Hey, will you Xerox the annual report for me?” or “Connor, I’m not telling you again! Don’t blow your nose on your sleeve! Grab a Kleenex!” The AR in AR 15 Stands for ArmaLiteīefore we dive into the history of the modern AR 15 Rifle, we need to look the “AR” part. When a brand name is successful, we regular folks tend to commoditize it. Who in corporate America asks their intern to “make a photocopy of that document using the Canon copier?” Or at home, few parents tell their kids to “grab a Cottonelle nose cloth before you sneeze!” Exactly. And, just as with Kleenex and Xerox, the brand name has been hijacked by the general public to describe a whole class of things. What is an AR-15 really? Technically speaking, AR-15 is a brand name, like Kleenex or Xerox. USA –-( )- According to the news media, an AR 15 Rifle is any gun that someone uses in the act of doing something bad. If you want to hear the real story behind the AR’s history and what it’s intended for, check out the article from AmmoLand below: