The new 2012 Shrike 5.56 – Advanced Weapons System™ is a robust, ergonomic and lightweight upper receiver assembly that is designed to fit MIL-Spec quality AR-15, M16 and M4 type lower receiver assemblies. Once fitted to the host firearm’s lower receiver, the Shrike 5.56™ provides an individual operator with the firepower of a US M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) at one-half the weight of the current SAW.

The patented system fires 5.56mm NATO ammunition and can be user configured for magazine feed only, or dual-feed from standard 30-round M16 magazines and M27-linked SAW ammunition. The Shrike 5.56™features reliable gas-piston operation, a quick-change barrel with fixed headspace and MIL-STD-1913 rail interface for the mounting of current accessories.

The Shrike 5.56 – Advanced Weapons System™ shares a significant part commonality with AR-15/M16/M4 type firearms for reduced logistics and easier training and is supplied as a low-risk upper receiver “performance upgrade kit” to existing AR-15/M16/M4 type service rifles and carbines. Designed for hard use, the Shrike 5.56 – Advanced Weapons System™ delivers performance, quality, reliability and mission flexibility for expert and professional shooters.



























2012 Shrike 5.56 Brochure Front

2012 Shrike 5.56 Brochure Back

ARES-16 Small Arms Family


New Shrike 5.56™ 2012 Features Include:
•  New style MIL-STD-1913 co-planar Picatinny rail handguard whereby the 12 o’clock top rail aligns with the belt-feed top cover for co-witnessing optics with thermal or night vision devices. The 3, 6 and 9 o’clock handguard rails support bipod attachment, vertical grip and laser aiming devices.
•  Front handguard bulkhead includes 3 quick-detach sling mounting points for neutral, left or right hand preference when carrying weapon at fire-ready position.
•  Precision Machined Billet feed tray for enhanced belt-feed performance

Other Advantages:
•  Belt-Feed upper receiver assembly for the AR-15/M16/M4 family of weapons, with no modification required to lower receiver.
•  Quick-change barrel permits rapid mission configurability and also allows the operator to substitute a cool barrel for a hot barrel for heat mitigation during sustained fire.  The barrel can be removed in as little as 1.5 seconds.
•  Self-regulating gas-piston system accommodates a broad range of ammunition and firing conditions, and drastically reduces the fouling prevalent in the legacy AR-15/M16/M4 type direct-gas weapon system. This significantly increases reliability during hard use or operation under adverse conditions. Optional barrels are also available that permit user adjustability for additional operator preference and control.
•  Front handguard bulkhead includes 3 quick-detach sling mounting points for neutral, left or right hand preference when carrying weapon at fire-ready position.
•  Interchangeably accepts either M-27 (SAW) linked-ammunition or standard AR-15/M16/M4 magazines at operator discretion without reconfiguration of any weapon components.
•  The excellent ergonomics of the AR-15/M16 and M4 infantry weapons have been retained with the SHRIKE 5.56 system.  Most operations performed on this weapon system can be accomplished without removing the operator’s hand from the pistol grip.  Overall design of the SHRIKE 5.56 has been accomplished with strict consideration for real-world use.

Included in the box:
Shrike 5.56™ Owner’s Manual
Shrike 5.56™ Bolt Catch
Shrike 5.56™ Buffer Spacer
M27 Links
Padded Hard Rifle Case

Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price is $5,595 and we’ll pay UPS or FED-EX ground shipping and handling charges!

Please note: For items purchased with a personal or company check; ARES Defense will hold shipments until check clears. Items ordered with US Postal Money Order ship when funds are deposited. Credit card orders are not charged until product ships.

Dealer and Distributor inquiries are welcomed. Thank you for your business!

We accept all valid forms of payment to include check, money order or MasterCard, Visa or Discover credit cards.

To place your order:
Call the ARES Defense Sales Department at (321) 242-8410, ext. 1
or fax your order to: (321) 242-8411
or email your request to: [email protected]

ARES Defense Systems, Inc.
PO Box 120789
Melbourne, FL 32912 USA

We refrained from offering this product in the commercial marketspace until the backlog was wrapped up and we're pretty much there. Some standard configurations are in stock and we do allow some customizations to the orders which can cause some delay depending on the item. We strive to ship standard orders by the following day and custom orders in 3-5 days; although up to 14 days when our electroless-nickel feed trays or fluted barrel options get hit hard which has happened a couple of times.

Here are some pics of the assembly line at the height of filling the backlog. We've since overhauled the entire assembly floor for increased efficiency and have gotten away from "batch processing" assemblies and more into a "one piece flow" model that keeps the team focused on the individual order instead of building the batch, and also gives us the flexibility to customize orders on the fly. Stay tuned here for pics of the new assembly floor or like us on our Facebook or Twitter pages for the most up to date information. Thank you for your interest!

On the feed tray questions; we used modified M249 trays for many years. The trays were not easy to work with and the inherent tolerance variation generated by both the stamped part and the subsequent machining and welding was not optimal and did not give the best results for us, and consequently our customers. The machined tray is engineered specifically for the Shrike and ARES-16 AMG products and is optimized for best feeding results when using linked ammunition. The geometry between the standard alloy billet tray and the phosphate and electroless nickel trays is identical; the only differences are the materials and coatings.

The standard alloy tray is a good part and meets the design intent of the product very well. We developed the steel trays in response to customer request; i.e.: it was customer driven. We said then that they wouldn't be cheap due to the time required to machine them; but we actually do strive to give our customers what they want so we produced them and they are available and in stock.

So the bottom line is this: The alloy trays work very well and will provide good service life for the intended product use. The steel phosphate trays work very well and will last longer than the alloy trays. And the electroless nickel plated steel trays work very well and are the one that you will want if you are operating in salt water or other adverse environments and never want to buy another tray for the life of the weapon.

And here's the performance you guys can look forward to with a Shrike 5.56 that no other weapon system in the world can deliver in an 8lb platform. Best of all, it fits right on your lower! Thanks for your interest!

We strive to ship standard model by next business day, custom upgraded orders usually within 3-5 days, but electroless-nickel feed trays and fluted barrel uprgrades can delay shipment up to 14 days if inventory on those parts is low. Thank you.

The Shrike 5.56 uses standard (unmodified) M27 links common to the M249 SAW. It will also digest early XM27 and S63 links used in the Stoner 63/63A LMG. The important thing about belt-feds is that quality links should be used. It's generally fine to use clean and undamaged links and they can literally be used many times over, provided people haven't been tromping around on them and they're not gritty with excess dirt or corrosion.

Jason Patch is the owner of Jason's Ammo in Yorktown, Virginia. He's been providing quality linked ammunition for many years to government and commercial buyers. He typically carries linked M193 and M855 USGI Lake City and he's a great guy. I don't think he has a website but his phone number is (757) 715-4689.

I'll post up some additional link information shortly. Thanks.

Yes, we have some listed at Shrike556.com. Thank you for your interest in our products!

BTW, here's a link to a Shooting Illustrated article by Gary Paul Johnston that provides the reader with some additional information on the Shrike 5.56 - Advanced Weapons System.

Thank you for your interest!

All three of you are speculating. Have you considered that there may be a legitimate reason why someone may not have had their order filled yet?

For example:
1. They never placed an order for one in the first place.
2. They relocated or changed their contact information and we cannot reach them for final invoicing.
3. They were already invoiced and in some cases multiple times, but they have never paid the balance owed.

Conjecture such as we're trying to wait out the early guys due to price is pure BS. We value each and every one of our customers and we have honored our prices and commitment to quality and have never charged a penny more than we agreed to. But guys need to keep us informed of their changes in contact info and pay their invoices when they receive them or they shouldn't complain.