Alphonse William Vallerand was an American veteran of the Korean War, and a quiet giant in the Class III collector community. He mentored many of us about military weapons. You can read about him in his interview at www.smallarmsoftheworld.com. Bill was one of the founders of Small Arms Review magazine and one of his passions was the study of magazines, belts, links, and other feeding devices. He began studying them in the 1950s and started developing identification systems with Dan Shea in the 1980s. During the 1990s….
World War I era U.S. Cavalry officer’s tunic collar insignia. Worn in pairs, these collar insignia represent the Machine Gun Squadron of the cavalry. From…
On April 24-25, 2013 the Fourth Rheinmetall Infantry Symposium was held in Unterlüß, Lower Saxony, Germany. Once again it was organized by Rheinmetall Defence’s division of Rheinmetall Weapons and Ammunition. SADJ was there with about two dozen defense media writers invited from three continents. This year’s Symposium gathered over 200 participants from several countries, mostly European NATO members and neutral countries….
Eurosatory – the largest military and small arms defense show in Europe opened June 11 – 15, 2012 to exhibitors from more than 60 countries. Representing small arms, medium and large caliber gun systems, vehicles, aircraft, and missiles, the exhibition was well attended by visitors from around the world….
The project to replace the current M4 Carbine, the Army’s standard infantry rifle, started in 2011 with a request for proposals from small-arms manufacturers. An analysis of the proposals resulted in a shortlist of six, with designs from Fabrique Nationale of Belgium, Heckler & Koch of Germany, Beretta of Italy and three US companies: Colt, Adcor Defense, and a joint effort by Remington, Magpul and Bushmaster. The competition reached Phase II – testing the shortlisted carbines – with a decision expected by the end of 2013….
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) returned to China’s bosom on 1 July 1997. As troops of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) rode into the former British colony, it was clear that the sun had finally set on 156 years of British rule. One thing of interest on that day in 1997 was the fact that arriving Chinese troops were wielding a hitherto unseen type of weapon. Known as the QBZ95 (or Type 95) assault rifle, it marked a distinct break with convention for the Chinese military – it was a bullpup design and it introduced a brand new….
In the movies, the scary music always gets louder just before they go around the blind corner. For operators, worrying about what is waiting around the corner can be the worst. The Corner Shot CSM is the tool that takes that worry away, and makes the bad guys worry about what’s coming around the corner for them….
Over the last several years many new calibers have been introduced to the AR-type platform; from the .204 Ruger, 6.8mm Rem SPC, 6.5 Grendel, 7.62x39mm, 5.45x39mm, 5.7mm, .450 Bushmaster, .458 SOCOM, .50 Beauwolf and .499 LWR. These are just for the AR-15 platform; there is a whole other array to the AR-10. Of all those mentioned, the only one who has really done well is the 6.8mm Rem SPC. There are several manufacturers of rifles as well as ammunition. As of this writing this author could not find any ammunition….
SOST: A Way Forward in Contemporary Understanding of the 1899 Hague Declaration on Expanding Bullets
In 2006, the U.S. Special Operations Command’s Special Operations & Technology (SOST) office tasked the Crane Division, Surface Warfare Center, to develop a general combat ball round that would exhibit enhanced internal and external ballistics, and improved consistency in its terminal ballistics. It required a capability to defeat intermediate barriers such as auto glass and doors when fired in a carbine-length weapon system. The ammunition would have to maintain full compatibility with all existing weapon platforms….
There are many hundreds of vehicles across the world in international peace making/peace keeping operations that are not equipped with remote controlled weapon protection systems on the vehicle’s roof that can protect the gunner who could sit in the inside of the armoured vehicle. Many vehicles are only equipped with a machine gun that the gunner has to operate unprotected when he/she is staying in the vehicle’s roof opening. In situations like this, the gunner is exposed to a very dangerous unprotected situation being a target for snipers….
Many years before WWII started, small arms designers of the world noted that in the real world the power of the rifle round was seldom used to the full extent. The late 19th Century saw the extraordinary surge in rifle shooting distance capability. The introduction of smokeless cartridges with small caliber jacketed bullets extended the individual effective range of fire far beyond the limitations of the open sights. At 2,000 yards, where these bullets were still lethal, a man-sized target would hide completely behind even the thinnest….
At SHOT Show 2010, SIG showed their new Model 516 and 716 rifles to the industry. The 516, a short stroke tappet version of the M4 was released to compete in the military and law enforcement markets both world wide as well as the U.S. With the direct gas versus piston operated controversy, SIG decided everyone is making a direct gas gun, why not then make a high quality piston operated rifle to satisfy those who have the piston bug. The 5.56mm SIG 516 is an M4 carbine with the only major differences being….
In December of 2012, the Korean company S&T Motive received a contract with South Korean DAPA (Defense Acquisition and Purchase Agency; an agency who performs all government defense purchasing) to supply 3.2 billion won (close to 3 million USD) worth of K14 sniper rifles with all optics and accessories, including training ammunition. These are for the Korean Army for delivery during 2013. This is the first time the ROK (Republic of Korea) Army has purchased a large number of sniper rifles, and the K14….
Early last June 2012, news from Paraguay indicated that 321 police agents had been dispatched to Curuguaty. The police officers, supported by a couple of helicopters, were there to disband several peasants who had occupied a Ranch owned by a local politician. However, the aftermath of the police raid left 11 peasants and 6 police officers dead. Local reports later claimed that the police reinforcements had been ambushed by elements of a local peasant community organization (Liga Nacional de Carperos), and among those killed….
“May you live in interesting times…” supposedly a Chinese curse, the U.S. arms export trade is currently facing unprecedented challenges and difficulties. Faced with threats from the United Nations via the Arms Trade Treaty, threats of new Federal and State legislation limiting the manufacture of firearms and magazines, and the recent unprecedented consumer demand for firearms have created shortages of nearly all firearms and ammunition. Those involved in the export of semiautomatic firearms from the United States know that sourcing firearms has been challenging since the end of 2012….
Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. reported that third-quarter sales were up 39 percent compared to the same period last year. “Performance gains were driven by continued robust consumer demand for firearms as well as increased sales of our M&P polymer pistols and modern sporting rifles. Based on incremental improvements in expanding our production capacity, which will be further deployed in the fourth quarter, we are increasing our financial guidance for the full fiscal year 2013,” said President and CEO James Debney….
