SOFEX 2008

The King Abdullah I Mosque, also called The Blue Mosque, in Amman, Jordan. The call to prayer starts and ends the day, and echoes from minaret to minaret across the city. In the old days, the call was done by climbing the minaret and singing the call. Today, there are large speakers at the peaks of the minarets. (Photo by Dan Shea)

Caracal Pioneering Innovation
The show was almost saturated with the presence of a new company, Caracal. An Austrian firearms designer, Wilhelm Bubits, who combined his skills with those of the members of a newly formed company from United Arab Emirates, has produced this innovative new handgun. The Caracal has the additional ability of having a foregrip and buttstock attached, which in the US would require registrations as either a Short-Barreled Rifle or Any Other Weapon, depending. However, the basic handgun is classified as a pistol only. www.caracal.ae

MKE (Turkey)
MKE from Turkey had a large booth, with several offerings that were of interest. The JNG 90 7.62x51mm Sniper Rifle is a bolt action rifle that weighs 6.7 lbs, uses a 5 or 10 round magazine, has an expected range of 400-1,200 meters, and a free-floating 4 groove barrel that is 660mm long. The overall length is 1,250mm, and the expected accuracy is 0.3 MOA at 100 meters. www.mkek.gov.tr

Cubic
Cubic has delivered more than 125,000 MILES Training Systems worldwide, including a recent delivery of the MILES 2000 system to the Kuwait Special Forces. Cubic was displaying the MILES 2000 as well as the wireless MILES PAN (Personal Area Network) systems and then new US Army next-generation Individual Weapons System (MILES IWS). (Photo courtesy Cubic) www.cubic.com

The RPG-6 is a six shot 40x46mm grenade launcher that is much like the South African designed Milkor launcher, which is in its current incarnation being used by the USMC from a US manufacturer.

Agencija Alan D.O.O.
Agencija Alan d.o.o. is the Croatian arms company that supplies everything from handguns to mortars and rocket launchers. Three items caught our eye during SOFEX, the Ero, the Mini-Ero, and the RPG-6, a 40x46mm six shot grenade launcher. www.aalan.hr/Product-Catalogue.aspx