CAR 816
| Caliber 5.56 mm, CAR 816 | |
|---|---|
CAR 816 assault rifle with mounted aiming optic and vertical forward grip | |
| Type | Assault rifle, Carbine, Personal defense weapon |
| Place of origin | United Arab Emirates |
| Service history | |
| In service | 2014–present |
| Used by | See Users below |
| Wars | Saudi-led intervention in Yemen |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Caracal International PC 816 V1: Pindad |
| Produced | 2014–present |
| Variants | See #Variants |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 3.4 kg (7.50 lb) 406 mm barrel 3.3 kg (7.3 lb) 368 mm barrel 3.05 kg (6.7 lb) 267 mm barrel 2.92 kg (6.4 lb) 191 mm barrel |
| Length | 925–840 mm (36.42–33.07 in) 406 mm barrel 887–802 mm (34.9–31.6 in) 368 mm barrel 778–694 mm (30.6–27.3 in) 267 mm barrel 709–627 mm (27.9–24.7 in) 191 mm barrel |
| Barrel length | 406 mm (16.0 in) 368 mm (14.5 in) 267 mm (10.5 in) 191 mm (7.5 in) |
| Cartridge | 5.56×45mm NATO |
| Caliber | 5.56 mm (.223 in) |
| Barrels | 1 |
| Action | Short-stroke piston, rotating bolt |
| Rate of fire | 800 rounds/minute |
| Muzzle velocity | 850 m/s (2,789 ft/s) 406 mm barrel |
| Effective firing range | 550 m (601 yd) 406 mm barrel |
| Feed system | 30-round detachable STANAG magazine |
| Sights | Iron sights or various optics |
| References | [1] |
The CAR 816, also called Caracal Sultan[2] 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.
History
The Caracal CAR 816 shares lineage to the Heckler & Koch HK416.[3][4][5][6]
On 5 March 2021, Caracal International LLC and PT Pindad Indonesia signed a partnership for joint-production of CAR 816 for the Indonesian military.[7]
Design
The CAR 816 is based on the AR-15 platform ergonomic architecture, but uses a short-stroke gas piston operating system (unlike the AR-15's piston-operated gas impingement system) with a user-adjustable gas system.
Feeding
The CAR 816 features a Draft STANAG 4179 compliant magazine well and is fed with STANAG magazines with a standard capacity of 30 rounds.
Other STANAG compatible box and drum magazines can be used.[1]
Operation
The CAR 816 uses a proprietary bolt carrier and a special tungsten granules containing buffer to manage bolt carrier bounce and soften recoil.
The CAR 816's chamber is modified, so the rifle is over-the-beach capable to let the rifle fire safely as quickly as possible after being submerged in water.[8]
With the help of the three position regulator (normal, adverse conditions and suppressor/silencer settings), the gas system can be adjusted to function reliably with various propellant, projectile, fouling, operating environment and configuration specific pressure behavior.
The CAR 816 uses a mil-spec direct trigger.[1] The selector settings are: safe, semi-automatic fire and automatic fire.[1]
Ergonomics
The CAR 816 handguard features four Picatinny rails, allowing direct accessory attachment onto the mounting points, and can be removed without tools.[1]
The CAR 816 basic version features rail mounted flip up rear and front iron sights. The integrated rail on the upper receiver and its continuation on the handguard at the 12 o'clock position allows for the adaptation of various aiming optics.[1]
The shoulder stock is a telescoping 6 position type stock which is adjustable for length of pull.
Interoperability with M4
The CAR 816 shares most components with the M4 arms family, with a few exceptions.
The M4 carbine profile hammer forged chrome lined barrel has a 178 mm (7.0 in) twist rate and features a standard A2-style flash suppressor at its muzzle end. All lower receiver components are interchangeable with the M4 arms family.
The amount of movement between the upper and lower receiver is minimized by a tension tube.[6]
Due to their complete manufacture in the United Arab Emirates, the arms are not subject to United States’ imposed International Traffic in Arms Regulations, whilst sharing most components with the M4 arms family extensively used by the US Armed Forces.
Users
Current users
- Ethiopia - carbine variant used by the Republican Guard.[9]
- Indonesia - PC 816 V1 in used with Kopassus,[10] Kostrad[11][12] and the Indonesian Marine Corps[13][14]
- United Arab Emirates - 80,000 assault rifles for the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces[15]
Failed bids
- India: 93,895 carbines ordered in September 2018. The order was cancelled in September 2020 in favour of domestically developed carbines under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.[16] Later that month Caracal offered to manufacture the weapons in India.[17][18] In 2022, Caracal responded to a tender for procurement of 4.25 lakh carbines for Indian Armed Forces.[19][20]
- South Korea - Considered by Dasan Machineries as a candidate to replace the Daewoo Precision Industries K1 used by the Republic of Korea Army Special Warfare Command.[21] Instead, Dasan Machineries submitted the DSAR-15PC as a domestic design became a tender requirement.[22][23][24]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Caracal CAR 816 SPECIFICATIONS" (PDF). caracal.ae. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
- ^ "Is the Malaysian Army on the Verge of Adopting the CAR 816 Rifle ??". Defence Security Asia. 23 July 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
- ^ "Caracal Wins India 5.56mm Rifle Contract". Small Arms Solutions, LLC.
- ^ "Global Arms: Car816 assault rifle – UAE's lethal desert killer". israelifirepower.com. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
- ^ "The Sig MCX Multi Caliber Carbine: A Proper Way to Design an External Piston AR - Small Arms Review". September 2016.
- ^ a b "Caracal Wins India 5.56mm Rifle Contract - Small Arms Solutions". October 2018.
- ^ Pindad (March 2021). "PT. Pindad (Persero) - Disaksikan Menhan, Menkomarves & Menteri Energi dan Infrastruktur UEA, Pindad Tandatangani Perjanjia". www.pindad.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ^ "The Caracal CAR816: The New Desert Assault Rifle". sadefensejournal.com. 2016-09-02. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
- ^ Mitzer, Stijn; Oliemans, Joost (4 October 2021). "Emirati Small Arms in Ethiopia". Oryx Blog.
- ^ "Hunk47 (@Hunk471) on X".
- ^ Farmer, John (30 August 2025). "Garuda Shield holds it's [sic] annual exercise between the Indonesian National Armed Forces and U.S. Military". dvidshub.net. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ Yarborough, Justin (26 August 2025). "Super Garuda Shield 25- Airborne Jump into Baturaja, Indonesia". dvidshub.net. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ^ "Gladi bersih HUT ke-80 TNI | ANTARA Foto". antarafoto.com (in Indonesian). 3 October 2025. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
- ^ "BRIGADE MARINIR TNI AL RAIH JUARA III PARADE DAN DEFILE PADA UPACARA HUT KE 80 TNI". pasmar1.tnial.mil.id (in Indonesian). 5 October 2025.
- ^ "UAE firearms manufacturer Caracal sees huge growth potential". Gulf News. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ Pubby, Manu. "Carbines, Anti Air Systems for Indian Army to be made in India after MoD cancels import". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
- ^ Arun, Matthew. "UAE's Caracal Offers to Manufacture CAR 816 Assault Rifles in India". DefPost. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
- ^ Pubby, Manu. "UAE firm selected for carbines in talks with Indian defence majors to set up plant". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
- ^ "Can the Govt's Latest Effort to Acquire Crucial Carbines Pay Off After Multiple Failed Attempts?". thewire.in. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
- ^ "UAE based Caracal back in race, responds to Indian Army tenders". Financialexpress. 2022-11-08. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
- ^ 생산제품
- ^ office_zzam (2020-06-16). "South Korea Special Forces select Dasan Machineries DSAR-15P as future". www.armyrecognition.com. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
- ^ "DASAN MACHINERIES CO., LTD". www.da-san.co.kr. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
- ^ Hong, Heebum (11 December 2023). "Show Report: ADEX 2023 – Small Arms Defense Journal". sadefensejournal.com.