Colt MARS
Encyclopedia
The MARS was an experimental, scaled-down variant of the M16 rifle
tested by Colt
as a personal defense weapon
(PDW) in the 1990s. It was chambered for the experimental 5.56x30mm MARS cartridge
. The 5.56x30mm cartridge fired a 55 grain projectile at 790 m/s. The rifle was patented in 1998 (US patent no. 5,827,992).
M16 rifle
The M16 is the United States military designation for the AR-15 rifle adapted for both semi-automatic and full-automatic fire. Colt purchased the rights to the AR-15 from ArmaLite, and currently uses that designation only for semi-automatic versions of the rifle. The M16 fires the 5.56×45mm NATO...
tested by Colt
Colt's Manufacturing Company
Colt's Manufacturing Company is a United States firearms manufacturer, whose first predecessor corporation was founded in 1836 by Sam Colt. Colt is best known for the engineering, production, and marketing of firearms over the later half of the 19th and the 20th century...
as a personal defense weapon
Personal defense weapon
A personal defense weapon is a compact semi-automatic or fully automatic firearm similar in most respects to a submachine gun, but firing an armor-piercing rifle round, giving a PDW better range, accuracy and armor-penetrating capability than submachine guns, which fire pistol-caliber cartridges...
(PDW) in the 1990s. It was chambered for the experimental 5.56x30mm MARS cartridge
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
. The 5.56x30mm cartridge fired a 55 grain projectile at 790 m/s. The rifle was patented in 1998 (US patent no. 5,827,992).