Turning Our Streets Into War Zones

Table of Contents

Introduction

On May 24, 2022, the quiet halls of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, became the site of a horrific tragedy. A gunman armed with a Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 rifle entered the school and opened fire, killing 19 children and two teachers, and wounding 17 others. The weapon he carried is a civilian AR-15 based on the U.S. military’s M4, a rifle designed for rapid, precise firing in combat situations. First responders delayed confronting the attacker once they learned he had an “AR.” One officer even called it a “battle rifle.”¹

The DDM4 V7 is one of the many military-style AR-15s that Daniel Defense markets and sells to civilians, in addition to numerous larger-caliber AR-10s. Since 2004, the company has also received hundreds of millions of dollars in Department of Defense (DoD) contracts to supply AR-style rifle components to the U.S. military²— something it uses liberally in its marketing materials, like the advertisements below, promising that civilian customers can “use what they use,” even though Daniel Defense does not sell its fully assembled AR-15 rifles to the military, and the military does not actually use its rifles.

Daniel Defense’s practices are not unique in the gun industry. Gun manufacturers commonly leverage taxpayer-funded DoD contracts to produce and market military-grade weapons to civilians.

As this report details, several prominent gun manufacturers, including Colt, FN, Daniel Defense, Sig Sauer, Remington, and Barrett, have received at least $3.5 billion in DoD contracts over the years and taken the same firearms they designed for combat and repackaged them into civilian products that they marketed as being “battle-tested” and “battle-proven,” among other military descriptors, to garner more sales. Smith & Wesson executives referred to this marketing technique — associating products with the U.S. military and police to build their legitimacy for civilians — as the “halo effect.”³

But many of these weapons have also had a devastating impact on public safety, as evidenced by their use in the deadliest mass shootings, raising concerns about the proliferation of high-powered firearms in the United States and their contribution to the gun violence epidemic.

Below is an examination of several prominent contractors, their DoD engagements, civilian offerings, marketing strategies, and associated impacts. Many contract amounts are pulled from USAspending, run by the Treasury Department, dating back to fiscal year 2008 and representing actual spending. However, some DoD contracts are not published on the USAspending website due to classification or security concerns, so they have been supplemented with additional reporting, including press releases and announcements, where applicable. These non-USAspending figures often represent “ceiling amounts,” or the maximum possible value of the contracts.

Colt first began supplying revolvers to the U.S. military in the mid-1800s. The company’s founder, Samuel Colt, used “that government connection to market his six-shooter[s] to pioneers and prospectors,” with advertisements noting that his guns “have no equals in terms of quality and finish” and were “adopted by the Army and Navy of the United States.”⁴ Colt’s company did the same thing with the Model 1911, a semi-automatic pistol that it began selling to the military in 1911 and civilians shortly thereafter.⁵

The West Hartford, Connecticut, company “applied this legacy strategy” to sell the AR-15, which it acquired from ArmaLite in 1959 in the hopes of landing U.S. military contracts.⁶ Colt garnered that first contract in 1963, and the following year, it began supplying the AR-15 to the military — dubbed the M16 in service — and selling a version to civilians called the SP1, an abbreviation for “sporter.” An advertisement placed in Popular Science in 1965 called the AR-15 SP1 a “Hot Combat Rifle for Sport” from the “jungles of Vietnam.” Colt noted that it was “an exact duplicate of the military version except for one alteration: Because machine guns are illegal for civilian use, the action is semiautomatic rather than fully automatic. It fires as fast as you can pull the trigger, but won’t keep firing if you hold the trigger back.”

A Colt AR-15 SP1 ad from the February 1965 issue of Popular Science. — A Colt AR-15 SP1 ad from the February 1965 issue of *Popular Science*.

In practical terms, the only functional difference between the M16 and AR-15 is the former’s ability to fire automatically, though soldiers are trained to use semi-automatic fire, with one shot per trigger pull, for most situations to maintain their accuracy and conserve ammunition.⁷ But AR-15s are also easy to convert into fully automatic machine guns using auto sears and can be fitted with forced-reset triggers, bump stocks, and other devices to mimic automatic fire.

The military slowly transitioned from the M16 to a shorter, more maneuverable version called the M4 carbine, which Colt still manufactures in smaller quantities today. According to USAspending, Colt has received at least $836.8 million in DoD contracts since fiscal year 2008 to produce M4 and M4A1 carbines and related parts, as well as M240B machine guns, for the U.S. and foreign militaries.⁸ One of Colt’s most recent contracts — $57.2 million for additional M4s — was awarded in 2024 as an extension of a previous contract.⁹

Over the years, Colt has used its military pedigree to market and sell a variety of semi-automatic AR-15s to civilians, including those modeled after the M4. The company’s current catalog includes the M4 Trooper and the LE6920 series, which “shares many features of its combat-proven brother, the Colt M4.” The product listing for the LE6920 rifle notes, “Colt’s reliability, performance, and accuracy provide our Armed Forces the confidence required to accomplish any mission.”

Colt AR-15s have also had a profound impact on public safety, especially in terms of mass shootings. A gunman used a Colt AR-15 SP1 to kill 13 people and wound one more in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in 1982. More recently, the perpetrator of the mass shooting in Las Vegas in 2017 — the deadliest in modern U.S. history with 60 fatalities and over 400 wounded — used several AR-15s equipped with bump stocks to simulate fully automatic fire, including three rifles made by Colt. A year later, a gunman used another Colt AR-15 SP1 to kill 11 people and wound another six at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2018.

Once Colt’s patent for the AR-15 expired in 1977, other companies, including Bushmaster and DPMS, started manufacturing their own versions under different names — and many followed in Colt’s footsteps, vying for military contracts while selling clones to civilians. After the federal assault weapons ban expired, gun makers used the Global War on Terror to supercharge their AR-15 marketing, promising that civilians could “use what [soldiers] use.”¹⁰ As the market for assault weapons grew, so too did the number of casualties in mass shootings.

Industry Intel

Understanding Military-Style Features

Many features found on modern military rifles were designed specifically for enhanced lethality on the battlefield. For example, in addition to being select-fire weapons — meaning soldiers can toggle between semi-automatic fire and either fully automatic or burst fire — the M16 and M4 were designed to use high-capacity magazines, allowing soldiers to carry and fire more rounds and reload quickly; pistol grips for better handling in close quarters and control in rapid fire; threaded barrels that can be fitted with flash suppressors or silencers, which help disguise the shooter’s position by reducing the gun’s muzzle flash or sound signature, respectively; and barrel shrouds (or handguards) that make it easier to control the weapon with the nondominant hand and support accessories like forward grips, flashlights, and aiming lasers.¹

Additionally, the M4 carbine features a shorter 14.5-barrel compared to the M16’s 20-inch barrel, as well as a collapsible stock for improved handling in close quarters.² The Army requested similar stocks for M240B and M249 machine guns in 2009 because they shortened the guns and made them easier to use “in urban areas.”³

The M4 carbine has several features designed for enhanced lethality. (Shutterstock Photo)

These same features are common on the semi-automatic AR-15s and AK-47s sold to civilians, making them significantly deadlier than traditional firearms when they’re used in mass shootings.

Fabrique Nationale (FN), a Belgian company with an American subsidiary known as FN America and headquartered in McLean, Virginia, has been a major DoD contractor for decades. In 1988, FN secured a $112.1 million DoD contract to produce M16A2 rifles, undercutting Colt’s bid of $477.50 per rifle by $57.50.¹¹ Over time, FN pulled military sales away from Colt and received more contracts for M16s, M4s, and machine guns. The company also designed the Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) in both 5.56mm and 7.62mm NATO calibers to replace the M4 among U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) personnel. The SCAR was first fielded by the 75th Ranger Regiment and special operation units in April 2009,¹² and the larger-caliber version still remains in limited service today.

According to USAspending, FN has received at least $1.5 billion in DoD contracts since 2003.¹³ In 2020, FN received a DoD contract worth up to $119 million to supply the U.S. Army with M4 and M4A1 rifles.¹⁴ That same year, the company was awarded a $78.7 million contract to supply the U.S. Army with M249 Squad Automatic Weapons (SAWs) — belt-fed machine guns that the company first began producing for the U.S. military in the 1980s.¹⁵ And in 2022, FN was awarded a $50 million DoD contract to supply the U.S. Army with M240L machine guns and titanium receivers.¹⁶

Like Colt, FN has parlayed its success with military contracts into civilian sales. FN first began selling the SCAR to civilians in 2008.¹⁷ By March 2010, FN was advertising three SCAR models on its website as “civilian legal, semi-auto only versions” of USSOCOM’s “newest service rifles.”¹⁸ Over the years, FN grew its commercial SCAR lineup to include 11 different models¹⁹ before eventually discontinuing them in the fall of 2025.²⁰

In 2015, FN launched its “Military Collector” series featuring “commercial variants of FN’s most iconic and historic military designs.” At the time, FN America’s president and CEO, Mark Cherpes, said, “We’re excited to bring these semi-automatic versions of the world’s most iconic products to America’s gun owners.”²¹ The series includes “replica” M16 and M4 rifles, and FN notes that the latter is “made to FN’s, and the U.S. military’s exacting specifications.”

The series also includes semi-automatic versions of the belt-fed M249 SAW machine gun. Why would such a gun have a place on the commercial market? Why would gun owners want them? The National Rifle Association provided a short answer on the cover of its July 2016 issue of Shooting Illustrated: “Because.” The corresponding NRA review said the semi-automatic “M249S is as close to a SAW as the overwhelming majority of us can own. It is a piece of historic militaria” that “you and your family can enjoy shooting to your heart’s content. Just be sure to budget for a whole lot of ammo.”²²

The cover of the July 2016 issue of Shooting Illustrated. — The cover of the July 2016 issue of *Shooting Illustrated*.

Ads for the Military Collector series showcase FN’s “legendary” and “battle-proven” M4, M16, and M249S on their own and in the hands of soldiers.

FN ads published in the NRA’s Shooting Illustrated and American Rifleman. — FN ads published in the NRA’s *Shooting Illustrated* and *American Rifleman*.

FN even describes rifles that it sells outside of the Military Collector series — like the FN 15 Guardian, another AR-15 — as having the same “battle-proven blueprint” as their military counterparts. But once again, these military-inspired rifles have led to bloodshed in peaceful communities. For example, three FN 15 rifles were recovered from the Las Vegas mass shooter’s hotel rooms, and two were equipped with bump stocks.

Additionally, law enforcement have recovered multiple M249S and SCAR rifles during gun trafficking investigations.²³ Transnational criminal organizations reportedly prize the M249S because it can be converted into a fully automatic machine gun using kits sold online,²⁴ giving them superior firepower to overwhelm local police.

Daniel Defense of Black Creek, Georgia, owes much of its success to a 2004 USSOCOM contract for rail systems that allow grips, lights, lasers, and other accessories to be attached to M4 carbines.²⁵ Years later, in 2009, Daniel Defense released its first complete rifle, the DDM4 — modeled and named after the U.S. military’s M4 — to the civilian market.²⁶ Since then, the company has continued to add AR-15s and AR-10s to its commercial catalog while garnering more military contracts. According to USAspending, Daniel Defense has received at least $13.18 million in DoD contracts for component parts since 2007.²⁷ But additional contracts not reported on the USAspending website suggest that Daniel Defense may have received up to $81 million for M4 rail systems and other parts.²⁸

While military contracts remain a part of Daniel Defense’s business, the company’s civilian revenue has far outpaced its defense sales. For instance, Daniel Defense’s revenue from AR-15-style rifles, most of which have been designed to mirror what the U.S. military uses, tripled from $40 million in 2019 to $120 million in 2021.²⁹ While Daniel Defense continues to receive DoD contracts, 90 percent of its sales are to civilians, underscoring the commercial demand for weapons with military origins.

As mentioned, the perpetrator of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde used a Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 rifle. Four Daniel Defense rifles — two AR-15s equipped with bump stocks and two larger-caliber AR-10s — were also recovered after the Las Vegas mass shooting, and another DDM4 was recovered after a mass shooting in Lakeland, Florida, in September 2021 in which four people were shot and killed and another person was wounded.

Weeks after the Uvalde shooting, Marty Daniel, the founder of Daniel Defense, testified before the House Oversight Committee and denied responsibility for selling military-grade weapons to civilians and instead called mass shootings “local problems.” When confronted with one of his company’s “Use What They Use” ads at the hearing, Daniel confirmed that “we market products to civilians based off of our military heritage.”³⁰

USAspending shows that Sig Sauer has received $134.3 million in DoD contracts since 2014,³¹ but this is just the tip of the iceberg for the New-Hampshire-based company. Additional reporting suggests that Sig Sauer has been awarded well over $734.7 million in that time frame, including contracts not published on the USAspending website.

In 1989, the U.S. Navy SEALs chose the Sig Sauer P226 pistol as their primary sidearm, designating it the MK25 and beginning what Sig Sauer calls a “rich history” between the company and the U.S. military.³² Since at least 2004, Sig Sauer has marketed clones of those pistols — complete with Navy SEAL markings — to civilians. Today, the product page for the gun notes, “Once reserved only for an elite few, the MK25 delivers the advanced features that made the P226 the official sidearm of the U.S. Navy SEALs.” A print ad from 2012 boasts that the pistol was “declassified” for commercial sales.

A Sig Sauer ad from the April 2012 issue of American Rifleman. — A Sig Sauer ad from the April 2012 issue of *American Rifleman*.

In January 2017, the U.S. Army chose the Sig Sauer P320 as the winner of the Modular Handgun System (MHS) trials to replace the Beretta M9, awarding the company an initial DoD contract of $580 million. The Army designated the Full-Size and Carry variants of the P320 as the M17 and M18, respectively, and other branches adopted both pistols in May 2017.³³

Not only did Sig Sauer celebrate the adoption in its marketing materials, but the company began selling commercial clones of the guns in July 2018. At the time, the company said it was “proud to bring this P320-M17 to the marketplace to meet the substantial civilian interest, and the high demand, to own the pistol the Army uses as well as the other branches of the U.S. military.”³⁴ Today, the product page for the clones boasts that “[m]ore than 450,000 M17 and M18 pistols are now in service with all branches of the U.S. Military. The M17 and M18 were chosen after one of the most rigorous selections in history, delivering unprecedented accuracy, extreme reliability and unmatched durability demanded by the U.S. military.”

An Instagram post from Sig Sauer showcasing the P320-M17.

In April 2022, the Army awarded Sig Sauer a 10-year, $20.4 million Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) contract to supply the MCX-Spear rifle (designated the XM7) to replace the M4 in infantry, scouts, and combat engineering units, and the SIG-LMG belt-fed machine gun (designated the XM250) to replace the M249, making Sig Sauer the provider of most of the small arms for the Army’s close combat forces.³⁵ But months before it secured the NGSW contract, Sig Sauer released the MCX-Spear to the general public, allowing consumers to purchase what would soon become the Army’s new standard-issue rifle.³⁶

In February 2023, Sig Sauer further expanded its commercial catalog of military-style weapons by releasing a version of the MCX-Spear in the same 6.8x51mm caliber as the military rifles — a high-velocity caliber originally designed to penetrate body armor at a distance. On its website, Sig Sauer describes the MCX-Spear as “achieving the Army’s goal of advanced performance while also exceeding the requirements for durability.” In a September 2024 instagram post, Sig Sauer depicted a soldier holding the XM7 to advertise the “civilian version” and noting that 6.8x51mm hybrid ammunition can travel faster than 3,000 feet per second.

A September 2024 Instagram post from Sig Sauer.

Years before it won the NGSW contract, Sig Sauer marketed an earlier version of the MCX rifle to civilians that it described as an “apex predator” that meets the “demands of the Special Operations community.”³⁷ The MCX is also the gun used in the 2016 Pulse nightclub mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, in which 49 people were killed and another 53 were wounded. A Sig Sauer AR-10 was also recovered after the Las Vegas mass shooting, and the student who killed two fellow students and two teachers at a high school in Winder, Georgia, in September 2024 used a Sig Sauer AR-15.

Remington has an extensive history of supplying firearms and ammunition to the U.S. military, beginning in the mid-1800s with revolvers, like Colt. In World Wars I and II, Remington produced millions of M1903 Springfield rifles, M1917 Enfield rifles, and M1 Garand rifles under contract,³⁸ and more recently the company provided the military with shotguns and sniper rifles.

USAspending notes that Remington received at least $26.3 million in DoD contracts from 2008 until 2020, when the company filed for bankruptcy.³⁹ However, including contracts not reported by USAspending shows that Remington may have received up to $146.7 million in that time frame. For example, Remington secured a $16.2 million U.S. Army contract in 2012 for 24,000 M4A1s,⁴⁰ and a $79.7 million contract in 2013 to provide sniper rifles and 4.6 million rounds of ammunition to USSOCOM.⁴¹ In 2018, Remington received a $24.5 million contract, beating out Colt and FN America, to supply U.S. allies with M4 and M4A1 carbines.⁴²

In 2007, Cerberus Capital Management purchased the Remington brand to create a larger conglomerate first known as the Freedom Group and later renamed the Remington Outdoor Company. Other Freedom Group brands included Bushmaster and DPMS, which used militaristic imagery to market AR-style rifles to civilians. Bushmaster’s now-infamous “Consider Your Man Card Reissued” marketing campaign went even further by promising men that owning an AR-15 would help them reclaim their masculinity. The most memorable print ad from the campaign, shown below, noted in fine print, “If it’s good enough for the professional, it’s good enough for you.” Another Bushmaster print ad stated, “Forces of opposition, bow down.”

Bushmaster AR-15s were used in at least four mass shootings — in Geneva County, Alabama, in 2009; Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012; Antioch, Tennessee, in 2018; and Buffalo, New York, in 2022 — while a DPMS AR-15 was used in the San Bernardino mass shooting as well as the attempt on President Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania.

In February 2022, the families of nine Newtown shooting victims settled a lawsuit for $73 million against Remington and its subsidiary Bushmaster. The lawsuit focused on Remington’s toxic marketing practices, including the “Man Card” ads.

Barrett Firearms, a Murfreesboro, Tennessee, company known for producing .50-caliber sniper rifles, has supplied the U.S. military with weapons for over three decades — first providing the U.S. military with semi-automatic Model 82A1 rifles in 1990.⁴³ Barrett’s .50 BMG rifles were originally designed as anti-material weapons — to penetrate armor and disable military equipment and vehicles at long ranges. According to USAspending, Barrett has received upwards of 117 DoD contracts since 2003, totaling around $87.2 million, for various sniper rifles like the semi-automatic Model 82A1, Model 95, and M107, as well as the bolt-action MRAD.⁴⁴ However, Barrett may have received up to $115 million in additional contracts not reported by USAspending, bringing the total to $202 million.

For example, according to the Pentagon, Barrett received a $50 million DoD contract in 2019 to supply the MRAD sniper rifle to USSOCOM as its new “Advanced Sniper Rifle.”⁴⁵ Additionally, in 2021, Barrett received a $49.9 million contract to provide the MRAD as the Army’s new MK22 sniper weapon system.⁴⁶ In September 2024, the company was awarded a $15 million U.S. Army contract for M107 rifles and variants.⁴⁷

Despite the fact that Barrett sniper rifles are powerful enough to down helicopters, disable vehicle engines, and penetrate armor at great distances, Barrett aggressively markets the same guns to civilians as long-range shooting instruments capable of hitting targets over a mile away. The company’s ads and social media posts often depict Barrett rifles in the hands of soldiers and special operators as a way to legitimize them for commercial sales.

The .50 BMG’s raw power and range has made these rifles attractive choices for criminals and extremists. For example, in February 1993, Branch Davidian cult members fired a .50-caliber sniper rifle at federal agents executing a search warrant on their Waco, Texas, compound, leading to a larger gun battle.⁴⁸ Gunmen have also lured first responders to remote locations and ambushed them with .50-caliber rifles, as happened in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2004, Fon Du Lac, Wisconsin, in 2013, and Yavapai County, Arizona, in 2015.⁴⁹ In February 2017, a Florida man fired a .50-caliber rifle across a busy highway in an attempt to destroy an oil pipeline,⁵⁰ and more recently, in October 2021, a man was arrested after firing a .50-caliber rifle at a construction worker, police, and bystanders on Main Street in Molalla, Oregon.⁵¹ Further, transnational criminal organizations and even Al Qaeda terrorists have acquired .50-caliber rifles to oppose security forces.⁵²

Manufacturer	DoD Contracts
Barrett	$202 million
Colt	$836.8 million
Daniel Defense	$81 million
FN	$1.5 billion
Remington	$146.7 million
Sig Sauer	$734.7 million
Total	$3.5 billion

The proliferation of military-grade firearms among civilians is a direct consequence of the gun industry’s strategic marketing and reliance on DoD contracts. But even companies without DoD contracts leverage the military’s prestige to promote their products. For example, after Glock lost out to Sig Sauer in the MHS trials, the company began selling the pistol it made for the competition to the public as the Glock 19X.⁵³ Product listings for the pistol note that it was made for the MHS program, and Glock boasted that it sold over 100,000 of them in the first six months after its release.⁵⁴

Another example: Smith & Wesson does not currently provide weapons to the U.S. military, but it still uses “Military & Police,” or “M&P,” branding for pistols and AR-style rifles. The company’s M&P-branded AR-15s have been used in several mass shootings, including in Aurora, San Bernardino, Parkland, Poway, and Highland Park. Kyle Rittenhouse also used one to deadly effect in Kenosha, Wisconsin,⁵⁵ and the Uvalde shooter left one in his vehicle before he entered Robb Elementary School to carry out his attack.⁵⁶

A Smith & Wesson investor presentation from December 2011 identified the “Halo Effect from Professional Markets” as a “growth driver.”⁵⁷

In addition to being used in the deadliest mass shootings, military-style assault weapons are also appearing at crime scenes with increasing frequency. ATF data shows a surge in firearms recovered annually from crime scenes in the calibers most commonly associated with AR-15s and other assault weapons — .223, 5.56mm, and 7.62mm — from about 18,000 guns to nearly 30,000 between 2018 and 2023, reflecting a 64-percent increase.⁵⁸

Despite these alarming trends, Congress has not reinstated the federal assault weapons ban, which prohibited the sale of military-style, semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines that hold over 10 rounds of ammunition from 1994 to 2004. Studies have shown that Americans were 70 percent less likely to die in a mass shooting during the federal assault weapons ban,⁵⁹ and that firearm fatalities actually decreased among children while the ban was in place.⁶⁰

State-level regulations vary widely. Currently, 10 states and Washington, D.C., prohibit assault weapons outright, Hawaii prohibits assault pistols, and Colorado, Minnesota, and Virginia regulate their sale. But many other states have embraced policies that prioritize unfettered access to guns over public safety. As a result, law enforcement agencies increasingly encounter these weapons in violent crimes, and mass shootings involving assault weapons have become disturbingly common, turning our grocery stores, shopping malls, schools, movie theaters, and places of worship into war zones.

ATF data shows a surge in firearms recovered annually from crime scenes in the calibers most commonly associated with AR-15s and other assault weapons…from about 18,000 guns to nearly 30,000 between 2018 and 2023, reflecting a 64-percent increase.

While the U.S. grapples with the consequences of widespread access to weapons of war, the gun industry reaps the rewards of military contracts and civilian sales, including panic buying in the wake of mass shootings.

Confronted with the fact that weapons of war pose a significant danger to our communities, the Department of Defense must reevaluate its procurement policies and stop contracting with gun manufacturers who produce assault weapons for civilians and exploit military personnel for marketing purposes. The military’s relationship with firearms manufacturers extends far beyond contracts — it shapes the very landscape of civilian gun ownership — and the Department must act to protect American lives. Because the gun industry has proven that it will keep producing and marketing military-style firearms, regardless of the costs to everyone else.

Turning Our Streets Into War Zones

Introduction

Following the Money with the Gun Industry’s Largest Contractors

Colt

Understanding Military-Style Features

Fabrique Nationale

Daniel Defense

Sig Sauer

Remington

Barrett Firearms

The Consequences of Civilians Owning Weapons of War

Explore more:

Introduction

Following the Money with the Gun Industry’s Largest Contractors

Colt

Understanding Military-Style Features

Fabrique Nationale

Daniel Defense

Sig Sauer

Remington

Barrett Firearms

The Consequences of Civilians Owning Weapons of War

Explore more:

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