M4A1 Carbine

Interest in the M4 Carbine was accelerated after the Battle of Mogadishu, in which Rangers complained that their M16 rifles were "unwieldy", whereas members of Delta Force in the same battle, equipped with the CAR-15, had no such complaints. The M4 Carbine first saw action in the hands of U.S. troops deployed to Kosovo in 1999 in support of the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping force. It would subsequently be used heavily by U.S. forces during the Global War on Terrorism, including in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In the Army, the M4 had largely replaced M16A2s as the primary weapon of forward deployed personnel by 2005. The M4 carbine also replaced most submachine guns and selected handguns in U.S. military service, as it fires more effective rifle ammunition that offers superior stopping power and is better able to penetrate modern body armor..