This saw little use, but when they were asked to compete in a contest for an aircrew survival rifle, their AR-5 and AR-7 designs from 1956 saw production use.
A production license was granted to Nederlandsche Wapen-en Munitiefabriek (NWM) of Den Bosch, the Netherlands, but it is doubtful that any AR-18 rifles were actually produced there.
The AR-5 was the basis of the MA-1 aircrew survival rifle, adopted by the US Air Force in 1956, as a replacement for the M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon.
The Armalite AR-5 (MA-1) was approved as a replacement for the M4 but no significant quantities of the AR5 were procured, as there were sufficient numbers of M4 and M6 in inventory to meet USAF needs.