CAR 816 Emirati 5.56mm Assault Rifle
CAR
The CAR 816, also called Caracal Sultan or simply Sultan, is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed assault rifle that is produced by Caracal International in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The rifle is also called Sultan in memory of the Emirati Colonel Sultan Mohammed Ali al-Kitbi who was killed in action in Saudi-led intervention in Yemen. The Caracal CAR 816 shares lineage to the Heckler & Koch HK416. The principal firearms engineers for the CAR 816 were Robert Hirt and Chris Sirois. Hirt was instrumental in the development of the HK416. Following his time with H&K, Hirt was recruited by SIG Sauer to work with then SIG engineer Chris Sirois on an improved version of the HK416: the SIG Sauer SIG516. Hirt and Siriois were then recruited by Caracal to develop a rifle that was superior to both the HK416 and SIG516. From this, the CAR 816 was created. The CAR 816 is the primary infantry assault rifle of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces.