M4A1 (military index and name - Carbine, 5.56 mm, M4, manufacturer's factory index (for assault rifles manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company) - Colt Model 920) - an automatic carbine created in the USA based on the M16A2 rifle and originally intended to arm combat crews machines and crews of weapons and military equipment.The main differences between the M4 and the M16A2 are the shorter barrel and the retractable telescopic stock. The M4A1 variant differed from the M4 in its firing mode: SAFE/SEMI/AUTO; in all other parameters it was completely identical to the M4.Typically, the M4 is stated to be an M16 rifle with a shortened barrel and a shortened telescopic stock. In reality, the situation is somewhat more complicated: although the M16 is based on the AR-10, and the M4s are indeed based on the same basic model, the AR-15 rifle, their differences are not limited to barrel length and stock design.