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His bigger, more powerful infantry weapon is known as the Armalite (for "light armament"). Firing a .308-cal. round, it has the hitting power and range of the Springfield T 44 and the Belgian F.N. but weighs only 6.8 pounds because it is made of lightweight aluminum alloy and plastics, is so soundly constructed that it sacrifices neither accuracy nor sturdiness. Unlike almost any other rifle, the fully automatic Armalite can be manufactured on an assembly-line basis; it discards the traditional drilled steel barrel for a barrel liner made of stainless steel tubing, and swaged, i.e., forced by machine, into the aluminum-alloy barrel.
The Army has begun vigorous tests of the Armalite at Springfield and its Aberdeen Proving Ground. Keeping an eye on the tests. Army Chief of Staff Maxwell Taylor said he would delay a decision on pushing the Springfield T 44.