For anyone interested, Carolina Laser Works has just come out with the small round UID labels used on the M16A2.....


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I would like 1 for my build.  I just completed a balimoy a2 lower.  With a colt/brownells a2 upper.

Does anyone know the cage code for balimoy?

Looks like Balimoy (DSE, Inc.) is 2U894, or at least according this thread on UID’s

If you just completed a Balimoy A2 lower (and you made it clone correct), wouldn't the CAGE code be part of the engraving, and therefore, on your lower?

If your mean the number on the receiver yes.  I guess that's the cage code?

What would be the part # for this rifle?

1005-01-128-9936

The NSN given is a little different than the part number but it should get you there.

The part number is 9349000 per TM 9-1005-319-23&P.

When were these introduced?

'87-'93, never saw this on any of the A2s I handled...

ooops brain fart
thanks for fixing the mistake

The military appears to have been interested in a machine readable system for inventory management going back to the 1980’s and is summarized in a joint services report (MC601R2 / Cost Effective Logmars Marking Of the M16 Rifle) from 1987. The idea was to use LOGMARS basic 1D barcodes which predate the 2D UID system during the fielding of the M16A2.

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The requirement for IUID markings formally came to be January of 2004 for all solicitations via a DOD memorandum


One of the requirements for the M16A2 specifically comes from MIL-DTL-63997D (Detail Specification Rifle, 5.56 Millimeter: M16A2).  It specifies that a UID label shall be affixed to the lower.

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Without seeing the referenced drawing (9349102, Lower Receiver Model M16A2) it’s hard to say what exactly this UID is or looks like.  The other interesting thing here is that this specification was reactivated March of 2019.  I think this requirement infers a contractor or new production requirement in line with MIL-STD-130.

The other requirement is a US Army Material Command requirement for unit level marking of UID required materials.  Thisrequirement is where the round labels come in that Carolina Laser Works is reproducing.  

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Basically the UID requirement for the A2 is fairly recent and in line with making all of their small arms traceable with a machine readable standard system.  I’m not sure if the exact years but it would be interesting to know when the first ones started being ID’d.

To add, here’s a couple examples of these round markings I could find from what appears to be FN M16A2’s.  I’m not sure of the source of these images and if the came from here or the elsewhere on the internet.

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