Smith & Wesson M&P15 Smith & Wesson M&P15 The Smith & Wesson M&P15 is an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle by gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson. Introduced in 2006, the firearm is designed for police and consumer markets. "M&P" stands for "Military & Police" and is used to pay homage to the Smith & Wesson .38 Military & Police revolver. According to the company, the .38 Military & Police, now known as the Model 10 revolver, has been in continuous production since 1899, and over six million units have been produced." The M&P15 was introduced at the 2006 SHOT Show in two varieties: the M&P15
Smith & Wesson these profitable moves made Smith and Wesson "the envy of the industry" according to Business Week. Despite all of these advantages, however, Smith & Wesson's market share began to decline in the 1980s. As the war on drugs intensified in the United States, police departments all across the country replaced their Smith and Wesson revolvers with European semiautomatics (such as Glock, Sig Sauer and Beretta). From 1982 to 1986 profits at the company declined by 41 percent Company ownership changed twice during the decade. In June 1987 Tomkins plc paid $112.5 million to purchase Smith & Wesson. Tomkins modernized the