Infantry Weapons

Browning Automatic Rifle

The Browning Automatic Rifle was a U.S. .30-06 selective-fire automatic rifle designed by John M. Browning and manufactured in large numbers by firms including Winchester. In the Battle of Marawi archive it appears as a legacy M1918 BAR identified among weapons captured from IS-aligned militants, showing how old U.S.-origin small arms could persist in local armed-group inventories long after regular military service.

Battle of MarawiIS-aligned militants

Conflict side: IS-aligned militants
Built by: Winchester Repeating ArmsColtMarlin-Rockwell
Built in: United States

Browning Automatic Rifle, Automatic rifle / light machine gun, Infantry Weapons

Image source: Browning Automatic Rifle Cropped.jpg

Profile

Type: Automatic rifle / light machine gun
Conflict side: IS-aligned militants
Origin: United States
Service note: Designed in 1917 and fielded from World War I onward; legacy examples remained in Philippine insurgent and militia circulation into the 2010s.

portableautomatic riflelight machine gunlegacy weaponcaptured

Service History

In service: First issued to U.S. forces in 1918; U.S. service continued through the mid-20th century with later legacy use abroad.
Used by: IS-aligned militants in Marawi, United States Army, Philippine Army and Constabulary legacy stocks
Wars: Battle of Marawi, World War I, World War II, Korean War

Production History

Designer: John M. Browning
Designed: 1917
Built by: Winchester Repeating ArmsColtMarlin-Rockwell
Built in: United States
Produced: 1917-1960 for original military BAR family production
Variants: M1918, M1918A1, M1918A2, FN Model D

Specifications

Caliber: .30-06 Springfield / 7.62x63 mm
Feed system: 20-round detachable box magazine
Operation: Gas-operated, air-cooled, selective-fire automatic rifle
Weight: About 16 lb / 7.25 kg for the M1918; heavier for later bipod-equipped variants
Length: About 47 in / 119.5 cm for the M1918
Cyclic rate: About 500-650 rounds per minute depending on variant

Conflict Usage

Battle of Marawi: Side: IS-aligned militantsRole: Captured legacy automatic riflestrike
An M1918 BAR was identified among weapons captured from defeated ISIS forces after the five-month Battle of Marawi; a separate Marawi image showed a BAR lashed to Philippine vehicle armor, but the source cautioned it may have been a trophy rather than a crew-use asset.

Browning Automatic Rifle Images

Browning Automatic Rifle, Automatic rifle / light machine gun, Infantry Weapons - view 1 — Source: Browning Automatic Rifle Cropped.jpg

Browning Automatic Rifle, Automatic rifle / light machine gun, Infantry Weapons - view 2 — Source: Val Browning M1918 BAR.jpg

Browning Automatic Rifle, Automatic rifle / light machine gun, Infantry Weapons - view 3 — Source: Machine gun BAR 1.jpg

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Sources

Philippines pt.2: WWII weapons used 1946-2018Publisher: wwiiafterwwii | Note: Supports Battle of Marawi direct use context: an M1918 BAR fielded by IS-aligned militants was captured from defeated ISIS forces after the Battle of Marawi, and another BAR was seen on a Philippine vehicle with the caveat that it may have been a trophy rather than a crew-use asset. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 Browning Automatic Rifle M1918Publisher: Imperial War Museums | Note: Supports M1918 BAR object description, Winchester manufacture, .30-06 caliber, magazine count, dimensions, and historical background. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 The Browning Automatic Rifle: A Combat ChroniclePublisher: American Rifleman | Note: Supports background on the BAR's design role, .30-06 chambering, approximate M1918 weight, length, and cyclic rate. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 Browning Automatic Rifle Cropped.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for the primary BAR profile image; file page lists CC BY-SA 2.0 licensing. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 Val Browning M1918 BAR.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for a U.S. Army public-domain image of Lt. Val Browning with an M1918 BAR. | Accessed: 2026-06-21 Machine gun BAR 1.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and licensing page for a public-domain M1918A2 BAR image sourced to U.S. government photo collections. | Accessed: 2026-06-21