Many of its products, as conceived by chief designer Eugene Stoner, relied on unique foam-filled fiberglass butt/stock furniture and a composite barrel using a steel liner inside an aluminum sleeve, including the iconic AR-15/M16 family.

However, in 1956, when ArmaLite competed in a contest for an aircrew survival rifle, its AR-5 and AR-7 designs were put into production and adopted by elements of the US military.

While that bid was unsuccessful, the rifle attracted the attention of both Colt and the Dutch company Artillerie-Inrichtingen, both of which acquired licenses to manufacture the AR-10.

[2] The design rights and name were purchased in 1996 by Mark Westrom, who re-launched the company ArmaLite, Inc., headquartered in Geneseo, Illinois northwest of Peoria.

[1] In 2013, Westrom sold ArmaLite, Inc. to Strategic Armory Corps, which owns AWC Silencers, Surgeon Rifles, Nexus Ammo, and McMillan Firearms.

[5] After leasing a small machine shop[6] at 6567 Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, Sullivan hired several employees and began work on a prototype for a lightweight survival rifle for use by downed aircrew.

Several companies have produced the AR-7 and derivative models since their introduction in the late 1950s, including Henry Repeating Arms, of Bayonne, New Jersey on the Bergen Neck peninsula east of Elizabeth.

Based on Stoner's fourth prototype, Springfield Armory tested two hand-built production AR-10s in late 1956 and again in 1957 as a possible replacement to the venerable yet outdated M1 Garand.

[10] While AR-10 production at AI dwarfed that of ArmaLite's Hollywood business, it was still limited as sales to foreign armies proved elusive.

[citation needed] Disappointed with AR-10 sales, Fairchild ArmaLite decided to terminate its association with AI and instead concentrate on producing a small-caliber version of the AR-10 to meet a requirement for the US Air Force.

[14] That resulted in the ArmaLite AR-15, designed by Eugene Stoner, Jim Sullivan, and Bob Fremont, and chambered in 5.56 mm caliber.

Also in 1959, ArmaLite moved its corporate offices and engineering and production shop to 118 East 16th Street in Costa Mesa, California next to Irvine.

[15] Frustrated by what it perceived as unnecessary production delays at AI and poor AR-10 sales, Fairchild decided not to renew Artillerie-Inrichtingen's license to produce the AR-10.

[15] With the AR-10 and AR-15 designs sold to Colt, ArmaLite was left without a viable major infantry arm to market to potential manufacturers and end users.

In response to criticism of the rifle's performance in trials by the military in the United States and Great Britain, ArmaLite made a few minor improvements to the original design but did little else.

ArmaLite manufactured some AR-18 and AR-180 rifles at its Costa Mesa facility and later licensed production to Howa Machinery Company in Japan.

[clarification needed] Today, the AR-180 is best known for its use by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in Ireland, who received small quantities of the rifle from black market sources.

The AR-18 gas system and rotating bolt mechanism served as the basis for the current British small arms family, the SA80, which came from the XL65, essentially an AR-18 in bullpup configuration.

After passing through a series of owners, Mark Westrom, a former U.S. Army ordnance officer and inventor of a 7.62 NATO sniper rifle based on Eugene Stoner's design concepts, purchased the ArmaLite brand name and rampant lion logo in 1996.

In 2013, Westrom sold ArmaLite, Inc. to Strategic Armory Corps, owner of AWC Silencers, Surgeon Rifles, Nexus Ammo, and McMillan Firearms.