Assault Rifles. Defined.

The Army defines a true assault rifle as: Short, compact, selective-fire (i.e. both semi-automatic and fully-automatic) weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between sub-machine gun and rifle cartridges.

Selective fire is defined as a weapon, which at the user’s selection, can fire semi-automatic or fully-automatic fire. Semi-automatic is defined as a weapon designed to fire each time the trigger is pulled. Fully-automatic is defined as a weapon which will fire continuously as long as the trigger is pulled.

Since 1944, military firearms that fit this general description and general design have sometimes been labeled as an “assault rifle." Some civilian versions of military look-alike rifles have been erroneously labeled as “assault rifles” because they generally fit the description. However, since the civilian rifles have been modified internally to eliminate the selective fire capability, they are not "assault rifles." The United States Army does not designate any of it’s infantry small arms with the term “assault rifle.”

The AR-15 is not an assault rifle. AR stands for Armalite. Not for Assault Rifle. The AR-15 does not offer selective fire and is not fully-automatic.