Developed in the 1950s and considered as a successor to the M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle, the Armalite AR-10 rifle was a weapon ahead of its time, with a number of features that would grow to become industry standard in later years. While rejected in trials with the American and Nicaraguan governments, the AR-10 found buyers in Sudan and Portugal, and also wound up in the hands of the French Foreign Legion, Chad and Cuba, being sought out for it's light weight and accuracy. In response to a later U.S. contract solicitation, the AR-10 would be retooled as a 5.56mm weapon, resulting in the M16 Rifle and setting the course of American military small arms until the present day. This example was manufactured by Artillerie-Inrichtengen in the Netherlands and features a three-prong flash hider and bayonet lug at the muzzle, fixed blade front and elevation adjustable peep rear sights, with an ambidextrous charging handle inside the carry handle, a right handed three-position selector switch and "Patents pending/ArmaLite/AR10/Mfd by (AI logo) Nederland/003092" on the magazine well. A small "crown/T" stamp is present on the upper receiver, and the bolt and carrier are chrome plated. Fitted with a brown plastic pistol grip and a gray plastic forearm and buttstock, the former ventilated with an aluminum heat shield and grooves for a bipod (not included) and the latter fitted with a steel buttplate and trapdoor compartment. Magazine not included.