The Remington Defense version of the M4 Carbine, the Remington R4, has been adopted by the Philippine Army to replace some of their aging M16A2 and M14 rifles. The first of 63,000 carbines have just arrived in the country. The photo above shows one of the first Philippine Army R4 carbines (AFP stands for Armed Forces of the Philippines). The Straits Times reports …

Lieutenant-Colonel Noel Detoyato, the army’s spokesman, announced on Saturday that the M-4s – a shorter and lighter variant of the M-16A2 assault rifle – would arrive on July 19, replacing the Vietnam-era M16As and M14s most Filipino soldiers are still using.

The new rifles are part of 63,000 M-4s worth about 2.4 billion pesos (S$63.4 million) that the Philippines has ordered to modernise its military, one of the least capable in Asia to deal with external threats.

The M16 and M14 will remain the standard service rifles for the foreseeable future. M1 Garands and M1/M2 Carbines are still being issued to the CAFGU (Citizen Armed Force Geographical Units), an irregular auxiliary force made up of Army reservists and who are tasked to protect their locality alongside the regular Army against insurgents.

Thanks to Chester for the tip.