ABOVE: A Norwegian sniper with the Barrett MRAD .338 caliber. Simen Rudi/Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) Designated Marksmen and Snipers An infantry squad has traditionally…
ABOVE: A sniper uses a Kestrel 5700 Elite Weather Meter with Applied Ballistics to gauge the wind prior to taking a shot. The sun rises…
ABOVE: To be a good shooter–the Mantra is “train–train–train!” Soldiers from tactical transport troop, on a shooting range outside Mazar E Sharif in Afghanistan where…
New European Union Firearm Restrictions After several rounds of firearm legislation throughout the early 2000s, the European Parliament passed new restrictions on firearm ownership on…
ABOVE: George Salg fires the RAS47 during the semi-automatic testing at the Sportsman’s Club of Franklin County range. Century Arms’ RAS47 & C39V2 Face the…
Aimpoint Announces the CompM5 Optic Aimpoint has announced the addition of the new Aimpoint CompM5 sight to their professional product line. Powered by a single…
ABOVE: The seaman’s book of Colonel Niemöller. He travelled to Yokohama aboard the blockade runner “Tannenfels” and covered as a paymaster. In the course of…
Hand Grenades M-84 KRUŠIK HOLDING CORPORATION Hand Grenades M-84 & M-75 M-84 Hand Grenade Manufacturer: Krusik Holding Corporation Model: M-84 Type: Hand Grenade Discharge Time:…
PHOTO COURTESY ARES Serbian M02 Coyote HMG and 120mm Mortar Projectiles in Syria By Yuri Lyamin with N.R. Jenzen-Jones In recent days, reports have emerged…
ABOVE: The Razor adds little weight or bulk to the Aklys Defense ZK22 bullpup conversion of 10-22 action. Designed in 2012, the Vortex Razor Micro…
ABOVE: YANKEE HILL MACHINE 5.56 Turbo Suppressor YANKEE HILL MACHINE 5.56 Turbo Suppressor The Turbo™ was designed to meet the increasing demand for a quiet,…
In the spirit of bilateral partnership, this summer Tom Kallman (right) invited French President Emmanuel Macron (left) to visit American exhibitors on opening day of…
Primus 8×56 King of the Night & 8×42 Universal Genius Binoculars BLASER Primus 8×56 King of the Night & 8×42 Universal Genius Binoculars Rather than…
ABOVE: A member of the “BGS” (Bundesgrenzschutz = federal border police) armed with a G 1. Note the early training rifle grenade Modell 1957 with…
The CSA45 carbine by Flint River Armory is a gas piston design chambered in 45ACP. In the world densely populated by AR15 derivatives, it’s an…
Biennial Arms Event Attracts 42,000 from Around the World This was the seventh biennial meeting of SITDEF in Lima, Peru. SITDEF has taken place every…
Let’s Go Abroad: Temporary Exports and Foreign Trade Shows For many in the industry, the SHOT Show in Las Vegas may be the firearms trade…
DoD’s “Third Offset Strategy” seeks to ensure that America’s military stays well ahead of its most aggressive competitors. March 7, 2017, Hurlburt Field, FL. 7th…
ABOVE: Pittman Range, Fort Meade, MD, 2016. An Operational Advisor sharpens his M4A1 Carbine skills in CQB shooting. Photo courtesy of Asymmetric Warfare Group Part…
Boko Haram with UAG-40 Automatic Grenade Launcher in Nigeria By the ARES Team In April 2016, Boko Haram (the Nigerian affiliate of the Islamic State)…
Bringing the HK G3 into the 21st Century The HK G3 is still soldiering on more than 50 years after its introduction. Cheap and reliable,…
Possibly the most common classification of an AOW is the smooth bore handgun. According to the legal description of a concealable weapon, the Bureau of…
Chemring Ordnance (COR), an operating company within the Energetic Systems sector of Chemring Group, is a global center of excellence for the design, development and…
The Korean armed forces are armed with Korean-developed K1- and K2-series 5.56mm weapons; the development and evolution story is not well-known outside of Korea, partly…
ABOVE: The above photo is one frame from a high speed video of the second round of a 200-round belt. The camera used was an…
Smith & Wesson Purchases Gemtech Smith & Wesson announced that it will acquire Gemini Technologies, Inc. The Idaho company known as Gemtech manufactures “high quality…
ABOVE: Military Systems Group Inc. is a long-term US Government contractor providing mount solutions. They’re well known in this marketplace and at IDEX were showing…
AK-47 The Grim Reaper (Second Edition), by Frank Iannamico THE GRIM REAPER The Story of the Weapon of Choice for Many of the World’s Armies…
LEWIS MACHINE & TOOL L2B LEWIS MACHINE & TOOL L2B LMT’S M203 Rail-Mounted Grenade Launcher gives your team the arsenal power it needs. With versatility…
ABOVE: General view of one of the three Riocentro Convention Center halls used for LAAD Defence & Security 2017. The 11th edition of LAAD Defence…
GEMTECH TREK Silencer GEMTECH TREK Silencer The NEW GEMTECH TREK Silencer has been redesigned to make it more user friendly especially on short barreled rifles….
ABOVE: James Richard “Jim” Schatz. Dan Shea | SADJ 10 December 1959 – 16 March 2017 The small arms community lost its conscience on 16…
World War I, known as “The War to End All Wars,” had a very improbable beginning. While visiting Sarajevo, Bosnia, on June 28, 1914, Archduke…
Photo credit: Syrian social media accounts A video posted to social media on November 25, 2016, shows Shi’a militia fighters making use of what appears…
There’s nothing quite like visiting a foreign country–experiencing different food, smells and cultures adds to the travel experience. Attending a foreign trade show, where products…
ABOVE: Photo credit: Kurdish social media Between August 16 and 23, 2016, the People’s Protection Unit (Yekîneyên Parastina Gel; YPG) and Syrian government security forces…
ABOVE: China’s Poly-Technologies presented a first viewing of the “Shoulder Launched Rocket–with Low Collateral Damage.” The display and accompanying brochure call this a rocket, but…
ABOVE: The HK433 has fully ambidextrous operation for both right- and left-handed shooters. Its non-reciprocating charging handle can be switched from one side to the…
ABOVE: K2C with BUIS, with stock fully extended. This gun is Cerakoated. As many of our readers know, the K2 rifle and K1A “SMG” are…
“Unlocking Africa’s Aerospace and Defence Potential” Africa at times is a continent stewing in discontent and danger, rapid government changes, with outsider influences inflaming ancient…
Photo credit: Nigerian Armed Forces A Nigerian Army operation targeting armed bandits suspected of cattle rustling killed 18 individuals near Dansadau in Nigeria’s northwestern state…
Various thermal imaging sights and imaging devices are available to both commercial and military markets that claim near miraculous capabilities. Manufacturers’ technical explanation of thermal…
Government forces in Yemen employing a Chinese Type 67-1 GPMG. Photo: Reuters/Stringer ARES recently reported on the presence of the uncommon North Korean Type 73…
The venerable HK G3 family is a reliable warhorse that canfeel dated in its ergonomics and accessory interface. With an AIM Sports handguard, however, one…
18-21 April, 2016, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia The 15th edition of the DSA show was held at the Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur in…
DRD TACTICAL LLC Aptus is a multi-caliber, quick-change barrel weapon system that allows you to go from PDW to DMR in less than 1 minute….
ATK Awarded MK44 Bushmaster Chain Guns to Lithuanian Infantry Fighting Vehicles Orbital ATK announced that the company’s MK44 Bushmaster Chain Gun was selected by the…
[Photo credit: ?????] A Russian news segment, released September 28, 2015, contains rare footage of Syrian government special operations forces (SOF). The Vesti reporter follows…
In the German armed forces pistols have always been in short supply, even though the serial production of the most common pistol, the P38 in…
Sadad 102 thermal imager. In August 2015, ARES documented the appearance of Iran’s RU-series thermal weapon sights on the Iraqi battlefield and their use by…
The question in June 2016 was “Who will supply the French Army’s next assault rifle?” The French Army’s standard assault rifle, the bullpup 5.56 mm…
ABOVE: ASh-12 rifle with tactical sound suppressor and 10-round magazine. Photo: KBP, Russia ASh-12 assault rifle is one of the most mysterious Russian small arms…
The Vietnam War witnessed new weapons and munitions on the battlefield, such as U.S. cluster bombs and its small caliber high-velocity (SCHV) 5.56×45 mm M16…
Exporting by Hand–Moving Controlled Items in Person Major imports and exports typically take place via ocean or air cargo. Shipping a container of goods between…
ABOVE: A soldier fires his issued M9 handgun while in training in the United States. Throughout the Gulf War to the current operations in Iraq…
All one needs to do to suffer complete confusion is walk down the aisle of any gun store where the gun lubricants are shelved. Then…
ABOVE: A combat group of 2e Régiment d’Infanterie de Marine (2e RIMa) equipped with FÉLIN. The 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment (2e Régiment d’Infanterie de Marine,…
At far right, the image above appears to show a Belgian FN CAL (Carabine Automatique Légère; Light Automatic Carbine) rifle in the hands of fighters…
ABOVE: Modular turret weapon station from Dillon, the MMC-R.(Multi-Mission Compatible Rapid) The 24th MSPO (International Defense Industry Fair) in Kielce, Poland was as large as…
ABOVE: The AT4 CS HE with Aimpoint FCS51. With regards to impact/airburst: The gunner chooses impact or airburst on the sight with 1 button. Photo:…
An image posted to Twitter on October 20, 2015, appears to show a Jabhat al-Nusra fighter in Syria wielding a United States-made M240 series general-purpose…
FN USA INTRODUCES NEW FN M249S™ PARA The FN M249S™ Para, a semi-automatic version of the M249 Para light machine gun, was originally developed by…
Case of Mistaken Identities? Following Iran’s ballistic missile test, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced new sanctions on Iran. The sanctions targets, Abdollah…
Members of the Libyan 11th “Lightning” Battalion (center) armed with Arsenal AR-M9F self-loading rifles assist with traffic police duties, May 2013. Since 2011, Bulgarian Arsenal…
The Russian army has made several attempts to develop and introduce a replacement for the “Kalashnikov Automatic Rifle model 1974”—AK-74. The “Kalashnikov Automatic” epoch began…
Multiple videos shared by pro-Houthi media channels during October 2015 show Houthi rebel fighters employing Barrett Model 82A1 (M82A1) anti-materiel rifles during fighting in Yemen….
DX (Defense Expo) Korea is, literally, a defense exposition held bi-annually in Korea. Originally, there was one major international defense expo in Korea; it has…
ABOVE: The .40 S&W Taurus CTT40C is the semi-auto-only version of the SMT40 subgun, and has entered service with PMERJ–Polícia Militar do Estado do Rio…
“Bolstering Defence Industry Cooperation: Achieving a Global Maritime Fulcrum and Secure World” November 2-5, 2016, Jakarta Indonesia: This was the 7th Biennial Tri-service event in…
ABOVE: Pistola Ametralladora P.A.M. In the Second World War Argentina was officially neutral. However, from the beginning, the government was sympathetic with the German Reich…
Over the past two decades, the 9 mm SMG has all but died in the law enforcement and military roles in favor of the 5.56…
This was the Sixth biennial meeting of SITDEF in Lima, Peru. SITDEF occurs every two years and has since the start of the show. The…
ABOVE: Combat proven. More than 40 nations have Carl-Gustaf in their armed forces inventory. U.S. Special Forces soldiers fires a Carl- Gustaf grenade during a…
The 2016 exhibition of Eurosatory was held from June 13 to 17, at Paris-Nord Villepinte, covering 50 acres and having 1,571 exhibitors. During the exhibition,…
ABOVE: Fort Copacabana There is considerable military lineage in this beautiful Brazilian City—invisible to most and yet, clearly present all over. For instance, international flights…
ABOVE: The author ran the gun through some CQB drills with the excellent Innovative Arms Grunt-M suppressor attached. The suppressor is hearing safe even indoors…
ARES has documented Houthi fighters with two models of anti-materiel rifle (AMR) manufactured in Canada and the United States of America, but more images posted…
Arms Exports Under a Trump Presidency During the run up to the 2016 US Presidential election, candidate Trump made frequent comments regarding exports and trade,…
ABOVE: It saves hours of time and does a better job. Soosung Defense Industries is offering large bore automatic bore cleaning robots. They operate by…
Iran May Have Violated UN Arms Embargo The United Nations has expressed concern that Iran may have violated an arms embargo by providing weapons to…
ABOVE: NEW FIREFIELD SIEGE MONOCULARS NEW FIREFIELD SIEGE MONOCULARS Whether scanning for game animals during serious hunting, spotting for target shooting or observing wildlife for…
ABOVE: The B+T Universal Service Weapon with folded stock, light, Nano sight and ‘+2’ magazine, left and right side The recent terrorist threat to Europe…
President Trump Should Use Executive Authority to Improve the Regulatory Environment for the U.S. Firearms Industry The election of Donald Trump as our country’s forty-fifth…
Closing of the MOD Pattern Room 2002: L to R Warren Wheatfield, Dr. Philip H. Dater, Dan Shea, William Vallerand, Dolf Goldsmith, P. Burke Fountain,…
There are many political and legal challenges facing America’s small arms industry. Their future could be in jeopardy should highly restrictive legislation be enacted. Since…
Machine pistol seized in Manchester, England in March 2014. Photo credit: GMP Along with the documented ‘R9-Arms’ pistol, another previously unknown 9 mm submachine gun…
A pro government combatant poses with a VHS-D1 rifle. Photo credit: Ivan Sidorenko The Convoluted Path in Formation Flows Photos posted to Twitter show a…
SOFEX 11th Edition 2016: Networking for Global Security The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is host to the SOFEX military trade…
Photo credit: Ajnad Alsham A video posted to YouTube on October 29, 2015 shows two Russian-made MRO-A rocket launchers and a Soviet or Russian RPO-A…
Paratus: DRD Tactical & the Covert Arms of the Free World Dan Shea Features, Reviews, Volume 9, V9N1 ABOVE: With the Paratus, VCOG, Harris Bipod,…
ABOVE: Marine Zone. Marine Corps Systems Command’s impressive presence in Tent B anchors what is commonly called the “Marine Zone,” a concentration of exhibits showcasing…
The NFA world is a difficult one (dealing with Title II firearms). The landmines in regulations are frequent; seemingly common sense business decisions can often…
Export Regulation Recap: 2016 Changes and Amendments Export Control Reform Avid readers of this column will recall that export control reform has been underway since…
ABOVE: Combined Tactical Systems 40mm Impact+ Baton COMBINED TACTICAL SYSTEMS: Product Name: 40 mm Impact+ Baton Product Description: An impact projectile that is spin stabilized…
I’ve mentioned many times in our magazines the trade shows and other events I personally consider to be critical for both interested parties and vendors…
CLOSE COMBAT SYMPOSIUM – 19-21 July 2016 The Close Combat Symposium held over July 19-21, 2016 is a follow-on Symposia to the former Small Arms…
ABOVE: The Sniper Weapon & Observer Reconnaissance Device (SWORD) is seen here fitted to a rifle at the Colt stand. This Android-based application gives snipers…
THE SNIPER RIFLE OF “THE AMERICAN” Agent 2257 is having her big day off and is sitting in a upper class hotel lobby waiting for…
ABOVE: FIME Group FM-AK-47-11 Rifle FIME Group Introduces the FM-AK-47-11 Rifle FIME Group of Las Vegas, Nevada, introduces the latest member of the Molot family…
Judge Strikes Sandy Hook Lawsuit Against Remington “A Connecticut Superior Court judge struck decided in favor of Remington Outdoor companies, Camfour Holding, and Riverview Sales,…
