Background: There is a large worldwide market for assault rifles. Many armed forces need new weapons when their old cold war equipment starts to break down. Throughout the world today, the development of new variants of assault rifles continues and the defence industries are doing business across the globe. Customers demand low prices and high quality.

Objective: To investigate assault rifles that are currently being used around the world, how they evolved and which factors are important in the development of a future assault rifle, and to compare two widely used assault rifles to explore the differences and determine which one is better.

Methods: A qualitative study of literature combined with a multi-target analysis of two assault rifles from a given scenario in an urban area.

Results: Small arms have been the soldier's main weaponry for hundreds of years, and will continue to be so for many years to come. Development of the future assault rifle will be based on such factors as shooting distance, size of magazine and weight. The AK5C rifle was ranked number one ahead of the G36E rifle in the comparison as it was smaller and therefore easier to use in confined spaces.

Conclusion: Many current rifles are similar in performance and size. Development of the future rifle will not only depend on the rifle itself, but also on the accessories, including ammunition, and the possibilities for customization.