After the Korean War, the American research office decided to look into a weapon which would shoot rapid-fire, high-speed bullets, which it deemed more effective than heavier calibres. The M16 was born for this very purpose. Since then, there have been more M16s made in the world than there are people in Israel - over eight million. It's incredibly accurate, even at a range of 1000 yards. It's easy to handle, mostly because of it's so light. It's also devastatingly handsome. The M16 rifle has served American forces since the Vietnam War, when troops were told that "if you know it, respect it, and treat it right, it will be ready when you need it". At the time, it suffered from occasional malfunctions. Nowadays, it's one of the best assault rifles in the world, partly thanks to the superb 223 Remington cartridge which you can get by following the link.

In recent decades, warfare has changed dramatically to suit the most recent technologies and tactics.

But despite advances in technology and the ongoing arms race one fact remains - guns are still the defacto means of arming soldiers, and that doesn't look set to change any time in the near future. Many firearms and cartridges can trace their lineage back over a hundred years which just goes to show that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Different countries will always have different views on how to arm their troops - here are just a few that can be seen in a war near you....

Expert soldier Benjamin Willard is given a mission in the forests of Cambodia: to locate and kill Colonel Kurtz, a traitor. With the rest of his crew, including Kilgore and his helicopter unit, Willard heads off down the Nung River. They are persistently attacked by concealed forces hiding in the forest, resulting in multiple casualties. Struggling in the midst of this disastrous assignment, at the moment when all seems lost, Willard is captured and taken to Kurtz's village. The US soldier is tied up, and the bloody head of one of his colleagues is shown to him, much to his disgust. Will he be killed in the same way? "Everyone gets everything he wants. I wanted a mission, and for my sins, they gave me one.

Lieutenant Vincent Hanna is desperate to find Neil McCauley and his group of expert robbers, who have stolen far too much to go unnoticed. Eventually, the police uncover an incriminating trail linking him to a $1.6 million armoured car heist. For the first time, the group has failed, and now the cops are onto them. When the thieves try again, this time with the prospect of a $12 million 'retirement' jackpot keeping them going, the police intercept their messages and prepare an ambush. Hanna is a skilled detective. McCauley is a skilled thief. They are both prepared to do whatever it takes to stop the other person succeeding. But will McCauley and his crew escape, and if so, at what cost?

The Predator is an extraterrestrial life-form far more advanced than anything seen before on the Earth. It trails the special forces under the command of Major "Dutch", on their mission to rescue important hostages from Guatemalan soldiers. Upon arrival, they find a destroyed helicopter and dead soldiers, and locate a rebel base which they then attack. Suddenly, the predator arrives; it hunts each team member, and kills them one by one. The battle between the American forces and the all-supreme Predator is insanely tense. From grenade launchers to shotguns, machine guns to rifles, this movie has it all... and the Predator's plasma gun is more than a match for the human weapons.