“Solving the Riddle of Steel” By Dan Shea “The secret of steel has always carried with it a mystery. You must learn its riddle,…
HORNADY’S NEW 6mm CARTRIDGE Hornady® is proud to introduce the new 6mm ARC (Advanced Rifle Cartridge). Recently tested, selected and fielded by a specialized group…
SMITH & WESSON M&P M.A.G.I.C.® Assisted Opening Liner Lock Folding Knife Smith & Wesson® Large M&P® M.A.G.I.C.® Assisted Opening Liner Lock Folding Knife is…
A Bolt-Action Variant for Every Use and Taste By Oleg Volk The Mossberg MVP line of rifles was introduced in 2012. As of 2020, this…
New Iranian Shoulder-Fired Multipurpose Weapon Exhibited By Yuri Lyamin On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, a large…
Ernest Langdon’s 3-Day Advanced Pistol Skills Class By Alton P. Chiu Since attending the analytically driven 2-Day Tactical Pistols Skills course (see Small Arms…
The 40mm Day/Night/Thermal Program By Jay Bell Sometimes what appears to be a good idea is not as good as it seems. That appears…
CS/LS06 “Chang Feng” Submachine Gun By N.R. Jenzen-Jones The Chang Feng submachine gun (SMG)—known in its latest iteration as the “CS/LS06”—is in service with…
Advance Weapons Technology Offers 1,000-Yard Class By John Bibby I have been very interested in long-range shooting for quite some time. Back when I…
Expodefensa: A Hub Linking North and South America By Julio A. Montes Expodefensa was held for the first time in 2009 at Corferias International…
The Czech assault rifle officially named “7.62mm Samopal vz. 58” (7.62mm model 58 submachine gun) has recently celebrated 60 years since its introduction in duty….
By Kristóf Nagy Introduction The Hungarian-developed and -produced 42M hand grenade and the later 42/48M variant became the primary weapon of its class for the…
Cold War Conflicts and ‘Brushfire Wars’ 1970s–1980s By Robert Bruce In the course of decades of researching various sources including military and museum archives,…
How Multiple Machine Gun Mounts Shaped Wars in Latin America By Julio A. Montes As they overflew the Swan Islands, the 15 C-130s descended to…
Companies Vie for Semi-Auto Pistol and Sniper Rifle Contracts By Jean Huon Via a message dated January 6, 2020, the French Ministry of Defence…
BY DAVID PAZDERA The Model 52 (also known as Vz. 52) self-loading rifle, calibre 7.62x45mm, is perceived by contemporary collectors and shooters as a successful…
By Linda M. Gilbertson Sometimes it is best to train in shooting alone. It allows you to focus on what needs to be practiced and…
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) had depended upon its F88 5.56mm rifle—a Thales Australian-built variant of the Austeyr or Steyr AUG A1—since 1988. Australian “diggers”…
The MCR When ARES Defense Systems first came up with the Shrike belt-fed AR-15 upper, the so-called Assault Weapons Ban was still in effect. Shrike…
Faithful readers of this column are well aware of the on-going efforts to modernize and streamline the current procedures for the export of small arms…
“Specialized weapons need specialized ammunition.” The term Next Generation can mean a lot of things. I recently wrote an article on U.S. Army Next Generation…
In the course of decades of research in various military and museum archives, Robert Bruce has acquired a treasure trove of photos of what might…
Italy’s Show of Shows Located in Milan, Italy, and held twice a year in May and November is the terrific Militalia show. The event is…
CLOSE COMBAT SYMPOSIUM The 2019 Close Combat Symposium (CCS) was held at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom (UK) over July 9 to11, 2019….
Computer-aided design, advanced metallurgy, polymer composites, material forming technology and propellant formulation enable today’s ammunition advances, and that subsequently drives weapon design, not the reverse….
Whilst employed less frequently than the other types of small arms and light weapons covered in this series, grenade launchers and anti-armour weapons have still…
According to previous video issued by Iran’s state broadcasting company (IRIB), Tehran has a top-attack version of its Toophan (“typhoon”) anti-tank guided missile. The Toophan…
In the course of decades of research in various military and museum archives, Robert Bruce has acquired a treasure trove of photos of what might…
27-30 April 2020, Columbus, GA Advancing Combat Lethality Recently the influential and well-known NDIA Small Arms Symposium combined with some sister NDIA groups to add…
LARGEST LANDPOWER EXPO AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FORUM SHOWCASES NEW TECHNOLOGY There is no better place to see today’s defense technology on display than at the…
THE PORTUGUESE ARMY FINDS COMBAT COMFORT IN FN SCAR The Portuguese Army, after decades of struggling to get a new service rifle to replace its…
OSHKOSH DEFENSE JOINT LIGHT TACTICAL VEHICLE WITH REMOTE WEAPON STATION PROTECTOR Remote Weapon Station Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS (KONGSBERG) has sold nearly 20,000 M153…
Variables, Tolerances and Economics All too often, someone buys a firearm because someone else already has that precise make and model, and it shoots really,…
When laser rangefinders (LRFs) first appeared on the civilian domestic market a decade or so ago, they were large and somewhat expensive. And they were…
The collapse of the Soviet Union plunged the new Russian state into chaos, plagued by organized crime and terrorism. To face these challenges, the Ministry…
State-of-the-Art Weaponary Machine guns today are generally defined as firearms that shoot automatically more than one shot without manual reloading by a single function of…
How Cues from Athletic Helmets Can Help Reduce Traumatic Head Injuries For more than 3 decades March has been designated by the Brain Injury Association…
IWI makes superb fighting pistols—the Jericho 941 line with steel or polymer frames. Both types of guns are highly evolved developments of the old Czechoslovak…
The XM17 Modular Handgun System This article begins with a simple fact: SIG SAUER successfully won the military’s coveted XM17 Modular Handgun System (MHS) competition….
It’s just not right. Someone should do something to stop the bullying. The U.S. government fat-shaming ammunition has got to stop. The messages are loud…
Military optics have matured quite a great deal in the 100 years since the First World War. While military optics had been used for quite…
The Stribog SP9A1 9mm submachine gun and its carbine and pistol variants come from the same mind as the advanced Grand Power (GP) rotary breech…
Special Thanks to S&T Motiv and Model Major (Reserve) Hyungchul Moon During the last (almost) 30 years, ROK (Republic of Korea) Army’s squad automatic weapon…
ADEX 2019 was held at Seoul airport from 15 to 20 October. This airport is in fact a military air base of the ROKAF (Republic…
The U.S. Army is on the hunt for a new small arms weapon system to replace its current rifles and light/medium machine guns. Currently they…
The fifth International Military-Technical Forum <<ARMY-2019>> (aka Army-Forum) was held at the Patriot Park exposition centre over June 25–30, 2019. The venue is located some…
Perhaps one of the more elusive Dragunov clones in recent small arms history, the 7.62x54mmR Al-Kadesiah precision rifle is one of only two precision rifles…
IWI US has an excellent reputation for producing efficient “all business” weapon designs. “Hell and back” reliability is a hallmark IWI trait that it will…
In the course of decades of research in various military and museum archives, Robert Bruce has acquired a treasure trove of photos of what might…
INTRODUCTION Although Ethiopia has produced small-caliber ammunition for at least 60 years (and probably 90 or more), little information is publicly available regarding Ethiopian outputs,…
By Dan Shea June 21, 2019, in the Swiss Alps outside of Montreux: “Smoke on the Water” playing on the radio as we drove around…
In the course of decades of research in various military and museum archives, Robert Bruce has acquired a treasure trove of photos of what might…
At the turn of this century, American tactical shotguns were generally tube-fed pumps and semiautos. The few attempts at box or drum-fed scatterguns were squashed…
For a long time, there have been various rumors that IWI (Israeli Weapon Industries) is working on a new 5.56mm rifle. One of the main…
In the mid-1980s, the Soviet Union was engaged in a silent battle. Organized crime and terrorist cells had adopted body armor use alongside its growing…
Have you have ever wondered how effective your barrel cleaning routine is? If so, then the Borecam™ Digital Borescope with Monitor from Lyman® can help….
The 12.7mm (.50 caliber) M2 Heavy Machine Guns (HMGs) are important weapons for the Norwegian Armed Forces and have been for a long time. The…
About a year ago, back in 2018, the Russian Ministry of Defense officially announced results of the “Ratnik” trials in regard to new assault rifles….
Specifications Military designation 24mm tank gun 41 Manufacturer (Swiss) Waffenfabrik Bern Years in service 1941-1945 Overall length 102in Weight 164lb Caliber 24x138mm Feed 6-round magazine…
Nikon Sport Optics has manufactured quality optics for decades. Several years ago, Nikon released the BLACK X1000 series riflescopes. The second focal plane BLACK X1000…
In terms of firearm product development, we live in exciting times. Computers, compact circuitry and manufacturing techniques have opened a Pandora’s box of new items….
THE LAST WORD IN SOF-PROVEN ASSAULT PACKS The Mystery Ranch 3DAP Could Be the Last Bag Warriors Need
What comes to mind when you see the word MIL-SPEC listed in a product’s specs? It seems semi-slick marketing executives throw the word around as…
Ground forces have been using drones, also known as small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS), for years, both in-theater and out. Used for close-area, low-altitude reconnaissance,…
Mistakes happen. Although one may try to minimize the chance of an error, human nature, miscommunication and plain ignorance can result in shipping or receiving…
Christensen Arms has been awarded contract number 4400021290 by the State of South Carolina to produce a version of the Christensen Arms CA-15 G2 model…
Despite their diminutive size, pistols still are important military firearms, and they are even more important as law enforcement weapons. The venerable 9x18mm Makarov PM…
This article presents some S&T Motiv’s small arms at the trade fair for the Defense Industry, Defense Expo Korea, held September 12-14, 2018. S&T Motiv…
The U.S. Military acquires millions of rounds of ammunition every year for everything from training to combat. Despite some performance improvements, the vast majority continues…
Israel Defense and HLS Expo is the country’s largest biennial defense show that is held at the Tel Aviv Expo International Center. The show features…
By Major (Ret.) Walter Christian Håland Since World War II submachine guns or subcompact guns fell out of use in the U.S. Army in…
![Russia’s Threadcutter, the VSS Vintorez A Call to Defeat Body Armor [OR--Russia’s Threadcutter Answers the Kremlin’s Call to Defeat Body Armor]](https://sadefensejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2352_-VSS-photo-1.jpg)
Modern armed conflicts are of a fundamental different character than cataclysmic wars of the last century. Fortunately, full-scale military operations the size of Verdun or…
A Journey Through Russian Special Forces’ History and Future Grozny’s Russian University of Spetsnaz
Tucked away in the opening plains where the Caucasus Mountains finally meet the sprawling, almost infinite, flat landmass of Eurasia, the city of Gudermes…
The defense and sporting firearms communities are bombarded on a near daily basis with articles and advertisements promoting new “game changing” firearms and ammunition. Firearms…
It is no secret that Eugene Stoner’s AR platform is the bestselling rifle in the U.S. with numerous manufacturers jumping on the bandwagon in recent…
In the course of decades of research in various military and museum archives, Robert Bruce has acquired a treasure trove of photos of what might…
Turkey has a longstanding tradition of manufacturing licensed models, then producing evolved domestic variants. The Canik series of handguns started as budget clones of the…
Switzerland, long the neutral party of Europe with a deeply rooted gun culture, was recently confronted with a referendum to align its guns laws with…
Mistakes happen. Although one may try to minimize the chance of an error, human nature, miscommunication and plain ignorance can result in shipping or receiving…
During World War II, the basic weapons of the U.S. infantryman were the rifle, light machine gun and fragmentation grenades. Hand and rifle grenades were…
Eighth Year Sees Increase in Visitors The 8th edition of Enforce Tac was again billed as the “International Trade Fair for Command, Control and Operational…
The 1860s marked a period of Renaissance in firearms development. Muzzle loading rifles and revolvers transitioned to cartridge-firing, breech loading weapons allowing the user to…
Visitors to SOFEX and to the KASOTC Warrior Competition in Jordan now have a new place to visit along with the world famous Wadi Rum,…
On March 3, 2019, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an unexpected statement while visiting the city of Amethi during his election campaign. According to his…
Many have become increasingly interested with the ability to “see” at night albeit via traditional image intensifying night vision or thermal technology for various reasons…
[IWA Outdoor Classics / Enforce Tac 2019] By Dickson Ly This year’s IWA show carried on in the turbulent time of industry slowdown and increasing…
In the past decade and a half there has been a huge leap in the advancement of precision long-range shooting gear. The following covers…
Thomas B. Nelson The name Thomas B. Nelson is synonymous with the small arms community of the last 60 years. Since Tom’s first book, The…
Arrow Tech prodas.com The James Ambrose Award is presented periodically to recognize, in the opinion of the Small Arms Division Executive Board, an Industrial Firm…
In the mid-1980s, the Soviet Ministry of Defense noted an increased need for body-armor-defeating weaponry paired with a diminished sound signature. Its answer, in 1987,…
There has been a resounding boom in popularity of suppressors in recent years. They have become less the stuff of secret agents and more the…
The International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) is a biannual tri-service defence exhibition showcasing the latest products and technologies for Army, Navy and Air Force….
By Lynndon Schooler For a brief 200-year period, the Pecheneg Khanate sprawled from Southern Trans-Carpathia across the Dnieper to Southern reaches of the Volga, occupying…
By Christopher M. Rance The red rim of the sun pushes itself over the distant horizon, as a brown haze of dust kicks up from…
Passing the Torch The ASM Materials Education Foundation By Dan Shea I’m writing this in the first person for a reason; I want to speak…
ABOVE: A representative from Kodiklatad Polytechnic demonstrates the Indonesian version of the “Corner Shot” device, here equipped with a Glock 19 handgun. This is the…
ABOVE: On the range with the Vityaz-SN and a Zenitco suppressor. A High Performance SMG Despite Growing Pains In 1993, the Russian Ministry of Internal…
International Legal Affairs – Export Reform By Jason M. Wong Draft regulations have been published regarding the transfer of USML categories I, II and III…
For a long time, Serbia was a part of the Ottoman Empire; it became self-governed in 1830 but obtained independence only in 1878. Several wars…
By Frank Iannamico The FightLite/Ares Defense Mission Configurable Rifle (MCR®) is an updated and improved version of the Ares Shrike belt-fed upper receiver assembly…
Specifications Caliber 5.56 NATO/7.62x39mm Barrel length 5.5in Overall length 18.75in Weight (empty) 5lbs, 11oz Muzzle brake Maximum Defense HATEBRAKE muzzle booster Trigger ALG Combat…
Vortex Flash Eliminator Report Says Flash Hider Passes All the Tests By Tom Murphy A flash suppressor, also known as a flash eliminator, is a…
By Lynndon Schooler With the Bolshevik victory in 1922 bringing the cold and bloody Russian Civil War to a close, the multitude of Soviet…
As the military and other government agencies look towards unmanned surveillance and gun-toting platforms, Blackwing Holdings, LLC, offers unique state-of-the-art high technology products aimed directly…
ABOVE: Ethiopian AKM, right-side view. An Ethiopian Surprise In the age of Google, Facebook, Reddit and all the AK-47-centered internet forums, you would not really…
This article provides a brief summary of night vision devices (NVDs) known to be in Taliban possession. It draws primarily from open sources and addresses…
A Frankengun in Every Way By Jonathan Ferguson This bizarre craft-produced weapon was acquired by the then-Ministry of Defence Pattern Room in 1996 from another…
By David Pazdera Between September 10 and 12, 2018, Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod held the third Meeting of Professional Journalists. The event, which welcomed about…
Pathway to the Kalashnikov’s Future Development By Lynndon Schooler Vladimir Zlobin, the former director of the AK-12 project, can be characterized as an ambitious weapons…
North America’s Largest Landpower Exposition and Professional Development Forum By Paul Evancoe The annual AUSA meeting and exposition was held October 8-10, 2018, at the…
International Military-Technical Forum ARMY-2018 By Richard D. Jones The fourth International Military-Technical Forum was held at the Patriot Expo Congress and Exhibition Center (Patriot Expo)…
The Fight Against Vehicle-Borne Explosive Devices By Ian McCollum The Kurdish YPG (People’s Protection Units) employ various craft-produced anti-materiel rifles (AMRs), and ARES has obtained…
“Modern Day Warfighter: Ready, Lethal, Adaptable” Story By Robert Bruce, Military Affairs Editor “We’re going to go shopping; we’re going to put gear in the…
Sphinx SDP Compact Sphinx Systems Limited is a Swiss-based manufacturer that produces an evolved CZ 75 design, and while their previous offerings have been rather…
ABOVE: Markings on a PPZR Grom E2 missile launch tube. (Ukraine Military TV YouTube channel) An interesting video was released by the Ukraine Military TV…
The demand for firearms in Libya has brought to light three handguns so far undocumented, at least in the English-speaking world. At least one of…
ABOVE: The RCE is CMMG’s version of a “Recce” or Recon AR. The driving force behind the Recon was to give sniper/observer teams a support…
Nammo Lapua .338 PS The Nordic Ammunition Company, or Nammo, is a familiar name in the defense industry, and their products are well known to…
“Future Soldier Programs” has become a term for many nations, and now Russia has equipped its armed forces personnel with Ratnik (Warrior) Infantry Combat System…
EDITOR’S NOTE: It has come to our attention that the author of this article submitted photos that misidentified which military the soldiers were from. The…
If you’ve ever used an anemometer, or a wind meter, chances are it was a Kestrel. The anemometer is invaluable to anyone seeking to achieve…
Original silk art painting done immediate post World War I during the occupation of Germany. Entitled, “Neuwied Germany, Co. A, 4th M.G., 2nd Div., With…
ABOVE: Dave Walls posing with the rifles he brought into the precision rifle community. The L96 (top) was Accuracy International’s first major contract and brought…
This was the second biannual Gulf Defense & Aerospace show held in Kuwait City, Kuwait. It’s always difficult starting a new show, and the promoter…
ABOVE: Business side of the Full Scale MPIMS Area denial and protection has been a key factor in most combat missions from the beginning. For…
Australia, known as the land down under, is hard for Americans not to think of it without the image of Crocodile Dundee appearing in your…
ABOVE: Where the Dror springs were made. ‘Israel,’ the boss, stands in the doorway. (Carl E. Ekdahl) For reasons never made clear, Slavin took his…
ABOVE: US team ready to go for Precision Rifle. “We have to understand that it is called “international” terrorism, however, we as Special Forces, special…
ABOVE: This Marine corporal from the 1st “Sea Dragon” Marine Division is wearing the old uniform. He is cradling a 5.56mm K1A submachine gun. A…
ABOVE: Beretta’s ARX160 5.56x45mm rifle was on display, and has been purchased for testing by Jordanian Armed Forces. Of course, the ARX160 is available in…
As computing power and speed increases, new weapons and technologies are being developed that employ artificial intelligence (A/I). Within the next ten years, the advance…
Steiner Introduces “Intelligent” Combat Sight (ICS) Steiner Introduces “Intelligent” Combat Sight (ICS) Steiner’s new “Intelligent” Combat Sight (ICS) integrates a laser rangefinder and a ballistic…
M855 – What’s the Big Deal? Pay any attention to American politics, and the reader will know that the ATF recently attempted to reclassify and…
ABOVE: Field expedient firing positions were utilized during GII SASS evaluation at Echo Valley Training Center’s “Jungle Walk” range. DPMS offers one of the broadest…
Australian gold gilt and enameled veteran’s pin for the 2/1 Machine Gun Battalion Association’s 50th anniversary. Enameled grey, black and yellow triangle insignia of the…
Crowd control actions executed by Turkish police in 2013 have showcased the employment of several less-lethal launchers. Aside from a range of medium-calibre riot guns…
ABOVE: After a thorough evaluation, the FNS 9 stands head and shoulder above many other 9mm handguns. A Superior Polymer Pistol The FNS 9 9mm…
Vietnam Wants Arms Embargo Lifted Vietnam wants the U.S. to lift fully an embargo on arms sales that was eased last year, but Washington is…
ABOVE: The direct impingement Modern Musket harkens back to our early nation’s history. It is no secret that the Eugene Stoner’s AR platform is the…
The MLE will exceed every intent and expectation of the combat shotgun. By and large the shotgun has been traditionally regarded as something of a…
Weapons captured from rebel forces in South Sudan. (The East African (forum)) Captured From Rebel Forces in South Sudan Seen in the bottom centre of…
ABOVE: Carl Ekdahl shoulders a Johnson LMG outside the factory. (John Ekdahl) Niagara Falls, N.Y., Monday afternoon, February 24, 1947. Parked by the wintry highway,…
ABOVE: Rheinmetall Vario-Ray SWIR Rheinmetall adds a new offering to its line of electro-optical equipment: the Vario-Ray (LLM-VR). It’s designed to be used on small…
Armed combatants in the Crimean peninsula. One of the GM-94 grenade launchers pictured is fitted with an EOTech-type holographic weapon sight. (Livejournal, original source unknown)…
ABOVE: The original POF rifle in its Gen 1 configuration. The first rifles were chambered in 5.56mm. The upper receiver is a standard forged upper…
ABOVE: 14 March 2014, Alaska, USA. Soldiers on the range engage targets with M16A2 rifles during the 59th Signal Battalion Soldier of the Year Competition….
ABOVE: Weighing 24 lbs., the GD-OTS Light Weight Medium Machine Gun is a full 5.5 lbs. lighter than the M240B, while the .338NM round has…
ABOVE: PD-100T Black Hornet PRS (Personal Reconnaissance System) is about the size of a dragonfly. The focus of the annual AUSA (Association of the United…
SADJ has known and covered the products from U.S. Ordnance in Reno, Nevada for many years. Their US MK43 Mod 0 (M60E4) machine gun is…
Sterling silver U.S. doughboy dog tag holder and locket. The outside of the holder is engraved “2nd Lieut. H.W. Billman 109 M.G. Bn. 28th Division…
Expodefensa in Bogota, Colombia is a bi-annual show that has strong regional attendance. It is heavily attended by the Colombian military groups, and their buyers…
Shipping Hazardous Materials Shipping ammunition within the United States? Easy. Slap a UPS Ground shipment label and ORM-D sticker on it and off it goes….
ABOVE: Some of the locally manufactured vehicles on display at Indo Defence 2014. These are all products of PT Pindad, with Anoa 6×6 armored personnel…
SureFire Releases Its Most Powerful LED Flashlight Ever SureFire Releases Its Most Powerful LED Flashlight Ever SureFire, LLC, manufacturer of high-end illumination tools and tactical…
ABOVE: Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) flagship machine gun, the MG3, is considered to be one of the best made versions of the old high-speed design….
ABOVE: New SWORD Technology Demonstrator. Based on the company‘s patented Network Power Data System, the modular Soldier Weapon & Observation Recon Devices system links the…
Chinese Arms Appear in South Sudan The (new) civil war in South Sudan is a little more than a year old, but it won’t end…
Aimpoint has had a lot of success in the individual weapon categories, with their military and civilian programs. After years of being asked to address…
ABOVE: Norbert Piechota of FB Radom demonstrates the MSBS-5.56B rifle. Note the steadiness of the weapon in full-auto firing: two cases are already flying, the…
ABOVE: T-5000 with night vision adapter. Until recently, Russian small arms were famous mostly for their ruggedness, durability and reliability, even under the harshest of…
ABOVE: Author firing an MD1A1 at Fábrica de Itajubá; the weapon offering a moderate cyclic rate of fire in the region of 550 rounds per…
ABOVE: Jeff Hoffman adjusting his scope on a Lewis Machine & Tool LM8MWS 7.62x51mm rifle as he engages targets out to 850 yards. Notice the…
ABOVE: The P320 in full business attire. The extra-long Picatinny spec rail allows for a multitude of add-ons. SIG Sauer means quality and performance. Their…
ABOVE: This particular example of a scoped Argentine rifle shown in a publicity photo has the cocking handle on the left side and, barely discernible,…
ABOVE: Mexican soldier atop of a Humvee with a RL-83 Blindicide. This is an obsolete AT weapon, but still applicable to the potential threats faced…
ABOVE: The scope mount had to be canted to the left and the carrying handle to the right to locate the handle at the rifle’s…
ABOVE: From left to right: 20x30B K-11; 20x42B PAW 20; 25x40B XM25; 25x59B LW25; 30x29B VOG-17; 35mm CL DFS10. The VOG-17 is genuine; the others…
ABOVE: ISAF Troops returning fire in Afghanistan. Insurgent forces partially overran COP Kahler in Afghanistan in July 2008 in part due to the failure of…
ABOVE: A useful comparison of similarities between the 7.62 NATO caliber HK121/MG5 in front, with its predecessor, the 5.56mm MG4 in the background. The 22…
ABOVE: South Africa’s famous SS77 machine gun from Vektor has a venerable history, replacing the FN MAG as the General Purpose Machine Gun in South…
Combined Systems is excited to announce the expansion of its VENOM Non-Lethal Tube Launched Munitions System product line. In 2014 CSI made the push for…
ABOVE: Steyr STM 556 assault rifle. (Steyr) Eurosatory 2014, the Defence and Security Exhibition was held in Paris Nord Villepinte (near Charles de Gaulle airport)…
American Built Arms Introduces Aluminum Forearm T*Rail American Built Arms Introduces Aluminum Forearm T*Rail American Built Arms Company (A*B Arms), a veteran-owned manufacturer of firearms…
Iran looking to upgrade weapon systems Faced with the arms embargo enforced by the West, China may be Iran’s last hope in upgrading its obsolete…
International Shipping: Why Does Everything Cost So Much? A recent call from a prospective client came in, and went something like this. “I’m in Canada,…
ABOVE: British Machine Gun Corps shoulder patches as adopted for the 101st Machine Gun Company. This rare and unique patch features the image of a…
ABOVE: Police Officer and SWAT Sniper Fabian Rivera firing the H&K USP Tactical. Notice the pistol is in full recoil. His SWAT team carried USP45…
On August 5 and 6, 2014, the F.A.I.R. Trade Group (F.A.I.R.) and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) held their annual Import/Export Conference at the…
ABOVE: Sniper team from CCG 4-3 INF Reg using an Applied Ballistics Kestrel at the Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho VT. “The point is…
ABOVE: Col. Michael Manning (L), Marine Corps Systems Command’s program manager for Infantry Weapons Systems, congratulates Salvatore Fanelli (R) on winning the Donald Roebling Award….
ABOVE: Desert Tech of Salt Lake City, Utah, displayed their new bull-pup rifle, the dual-caliber (.308 and .223) modular Micro Dynamic Rifle, premiered at the…
ABOVE: Right side view of the Type 11 LMG In preparing research for this article it was found that there was no consistent consensus on…
ABOVE: The Avtomat Nikonova 94 The war machine of the Soviet Union has always been a source of intrigue to those interested in the development…
ABOVE: Salvadorian soldiers parade with M67 RCL. The U.S. supplied some 379 M67 RCLs to El Salvador between 1981 and 1992 to arm the soldiers,…
ABOVE: Right side of the Colt LE901 with the Smith Enterprise Vortex flash hider and the folding front sight base. Most of the Black Rifle…
Barrett is known for their innovative approaches in designing rifles. Much of this stems from Barrett’s non-typical background for a firearms firm. Their first product the semiautomatic M82 .50 BMG’s typifies this. Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee was founded in 1982 and centered on Ronnie Barrett’s idea of a shoulder-fired .50 BMG rifle. Barrett’s first conventional military success was the sale of about 100 M82A1 rifles to the Swedish Army in 1989. World events then transpired to give Barrett a major impetus towards success in 1990, when the United States armed forces purchased significant numbers of the M82A1 during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in Kuwait and Iraq. About 125 rifles were initially bought by the United States Marine Corps, and orders from the Army and Air Force soon followed. The success of the Barrett .50 BMG rifles allowed for Barrett to expand its product line to include AR and precision bolt action rifles.
HK Launches New Striker-Fired V9 Pistol Heckler & Koch has just introduced its new striker fired pistol, the 9mm VP9 to the commercial and law…
U.S. Commerce and State Departments Suspend Export Licenses to Russia Effective March 1, 2014, the U.S. Commerce and State Departments have suspended all license applications…
What Is OFAC, the SDN, and Why Can’t Russian Arms Be Imported Into The U.S.? On July 17, 2014, the Obama administration announced additional sanctions…
World War I A.I.F (Australian Imperial Forces) aluminum dog tag. Engraved “92 T. Maxwell, 10 M.G. Coy RC” (Tag #92, T. Maxwell, 10th Machine Gun…
SADJ has been in contact with IDEAS Media Manager Ehtesham Bari for many years, planning to attend the IDEAS show in Karachi. We missed the 2008 show due to some issues with travel restrictions and the 2010 show had been unfortunately canceled due to the flooding tragedy. It was exciting to finally be able to set up at the show, and LMO’s Chief Armorer Instructor Matt Babb, Jason M. Wong from Hurricane Butterfly and I set out for Karachi to man the booth, explore the show, and then travel north to Islamabad and the Pakistan Ordnance Factories at Wah Cannt, and the Khyber Pass region.
TOP: German interwar period paperweight or desk ornament. 6-inch long silver German Maxim MG08 with Z.F. 12 optical sight mounted on a prone sled mount…
The U.S. State Department “Eats Their Own Young:” The Basics of Mens Rea, Specific Intent, and Acting “Knowingly” American criminal legal theory is based upon…
Bullseye Camera System Announce Remote Targeting Viewing The Bullseye Camera System is a unique patent-pending system that allows a shooter to view his downrange target…
ATF Import Permits Officially Changed to 2-Year Period of Validity On February 7, 2014, ATF announced via the Federal Register that it would extend the…
ABOVE: Germans with Maxim MG08. Judging from their cloth-covered spiked helmets, this apparently posed photo was taken early in the war when quantities of their…
SchleTek, a German chemical company operating throughout Europe, has recently offered a line of premium gun care products. Our evaluation of this product was taken on with a degree of enthusiasm – as most things German are expected to be outstanding – and we were not disappointed with the outcome. We only tested four of the nine products offered to get a feel for the performance of these chemicals. We were impressed with the four products we tested and assume that the others we did not test will be equally impressive.
The fourth biannual BRIDEX (pronounced Brih-dex) exhibition was another marked success for this small South East Asian nation on the northern tip of the island of Borneo. While a relatively small regional show, it drew a solid representation of buyers and vendors in the region, reaching all the way to Africa and the Mideast. The U.S. and UK were well represented as were other European nations. In some ways this event was a bit smaller in scale than the last, but the floors were packed with VIPs who engaged with the vendors, and that’s what counts.
Throughout the industry there are numerous combination tools for the AR-15/M16-series rifle. Most of them are not what you would consider to be armorer combination tools. They are mostly combination tools for cleaning such as the eFECT maintenance tool, Multi Tasker and the Samson Field Survivor to name just a few. These will often contain sight adjustment tools, firing pin retainer pin removal tool, carbon cleaning tools, punch, scraper and screw driver for optics. Some also will come with a broken shell extractor as well as cleaning brushes and or cables. None of these were intended for repair but just field cleaning.
The key to reliability with any auto loading firearm is the feeding device whether it is a magazine, clip, belt or whatnot; the buck stops at the feeding mechanism front door. Over the last several years the industry has produced many different magazines for the black rifle. With the popularity of the rifle there simply wasn’t enough to go around as the demand was overwhelming. On the other side, there have been numerous attempts and some successful endeavors to improve greatly upon the standard aluminum GI magazine. Though not the first to produce a polymer AR magazine, Magpul has revolutionized the way we feed the black rifle. Earlier attempts to make a durable polymer magazine met with disaster. Magpul’s introduction of the PMag set a new standard, not only for polymer magazines but for the AR magazine in general.
A large group of friends and family gathered today at the front of the old MOD Pattern Room at Enfield Lock, England, for the dedication of a plaque honoring the life and contributions of Herbert J. “Bertie” Woodend, the former Curator of the famous MOD Pattern Room in England. This is one of the largest collections of military small arms in the world, and starting in 1966 “Herbie” was the driving force at Enfield Lock and later in the 1980s-90s at Royal Ordnance in Nottingham, until the Pattern Room was moved over to the Royal Armouries in Leeds in 2002. The collection is now the core of the National Firearms Centre at the Royal Armouries.
