Infantry Marine, based in the Midwest. Specifically interested in small arms history, development, and usage within the MENA region and Central Asia. To that end, I run Silah Report, a website dedicated to analyzing small arms history and news out of MENA and Central Asia.
Please feel free to get in touch with me about something I can add to a post, an error I’ve made, or if you just want to talk guns. I can be reached at miles@tfb.tv
The German Army is acquiring a new suppressor for the currently fielded .338 Lapua G29 precision rifle in use by the infantry’s snipers. The device was produced in a joint collaboration between Brugger and Thomet and the maker of the G29 (civilian RS9) C.G. Haenel [Read More…]
We previously discussed the small arms capabilities of the so-called Islamic State-affiliated Maute group, we will proceed to cover the opposing Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) that have been successful in crushing the rebel uprising. Despite this success, there [Read More…]
Mounting Solutions Plus is a Florida-based company that is announcing the release for export of an innovative M240 belt pouch system that is designed to supersede currently issued 50 round belt pouches designed for the 7,62x51mm NATO M240 general purpose machine gun in [Read More…]
Go Outdoors Products is a Chino, California-based gear company that focuses on the shooting accessories and gear that make range trips that much more enjoyable and hassle free. The company has been around for a little while now, and much of their line of products has [Read More…]
The Government of the Phillippines is engaged in what is increasingly becoming a much harder fight than anticipated in the city of Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao. Numerous security forces are involved in the fight to include Philippine Infantry units, [Read More…]
Talon Grips is a Colorado-based company that specializes in specialty grip tape for not just handguns but a number of firearms accessories. This list includes specially shaped grip tape for the Steyer AUG, various AR15 parts, among numerous other rifles and parts. [Read More…]
Safe Intelligent Products (Saintpro) is a Swedish security products company that was founded in 2012 by a Swedish security professional. At ISDEF 2017 in Tel Aviv the company displayed some of their new products (out for almost a year now, but currently spotlighted), [Read More…]
Safe Intelligent Products (Saintpro) is a Swedish security products company that was founded in 2012 by a Swedish security professional. At ISDEF 2017 in Tel Aviv the company displayed some of their new products (out for almost a year now, but currently spotlighted), [Read More…]
Numerous Australian media outlets have reported that the New South Wales legislature is opening up the budget to accommodate patrol rifles within NSW Police Force patrol officers. This would mean that similar to a number of Law Enforcement entities in the United States, [Read More…]
Safe Intelligent Products (Saintpro) is a Swedish security products company that was founded in 2012 by a Swedish security professional. At ISDEF 2017 in Tel Aviv the company displayed some of their new products (out for almost a year now, but currently spotlighted), [Read More…]
Recent news coverage has made it explicitly clear that the U.S. Marine Corps is finally going to upgrade legacy 40x46mm low-velocity M203 under-barrel grenade launchers to the much more mobile and versatile Heckler & Koch M320s that the U.S. Army has successfully [Read More…]
We previously covered 2nd Mar Div’s Combat Camera productions involving Gunner Wade and suppressor Fact or Fiction series, but the 2nd Marine Division Gunner is back at it again, this time he is covering how to properly boresight a service rifle and RCO using an [Read More…]
Every year the Singaporean Armed Forces hosts an Army Open House to allow the public to interact with various components of the military. This is similar to numerous other open houses across the world in which militaries display their wares and showcase abilities. [Read More…]
The Indian Ministry of Defense has reissued an RFI for 44,000 5.56x45mm rifles due by July 15th, and to be completed by this August. We say “reissued” because this is actually based on a previous tender for a similar amount of rifles that has [Read More…]
Shepard Media has recently reported that the entire Latvian National Guard will soon be receiving a full fielding of 5.56x45mm NATO G36KVs infantry rifles and 7.62x51mm NATO KSP-58 medium machine guns (FN MAGs) from the Latvian National Armed Forces (NAF) to replace [Read More…]
This guest post and accompanying photographs are contributed by a guest writer, Alton Chiu. Alton currently writes for Small Arms Review. This is his second article contribution to TFB and is on the merits of using .22 LR ammunition for training. 22LR is well known [Read More…]
The Georgian Ministry of Defense has released statements and even staged a demonstration wherein the land component of the Georgian Armed Forces will replace the 7.62x54R PKM medium machine guns with FN Herstal 7.62x51mm NATO M240Bs. This will be a gradual replacement [Read More…]
The “Izzy” Diplomatic Security Qualification (DS-Q) target is currently in active usage by a number of U.S. Government Law Enforcement entities but is primarily used by the U.S. State Department Diplomatic Security Service (shortened to DS for Diplomatic [Read More…]
In our final installment of looking at the handmade wonders of the gunmaking village of Darra Adam Khel, we finish it off with an in-depth examination of the Krinkov patterned Kalashnikovs produced in the village. Some of them display an excellent resemblance to the original AKS74Us, however others [Read More…]
Daniel Shea, founder of the firearms research magazines Small Arms Review, Small Arms Defense Journal, and the training/supply company Pheonix Defense (formerly Long Mountain Outfitters) has become a recipient of the much respected Chinn Award, thereby honoring [Read More…]
In our third episode about the handmade small arms from the gunsmiths of Darra Adam Khel in the FATA region of northwestern Pakistan, Miles takes a look at some of the Kalashnikov variants produced by these talented craftsmen. With the Kalashnikovs some of the copying begins to show because of the [Read More…]
Wiley X has recently added a new set of eye protection to the company’s 2017 line up. The WX Nash set comes in a number of variants to pick from, with different frame set ups including a bluish tint, and then a grayish one as featured in the press release. The [Read More…]
Special Operations Command recently posted a solicitation on the government ran Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) resource in regards to a need for a domestic U.S. manufacturer to produce exact copies of the Soviet 7.62x54r mm PKM medium machine gun, and the [Read More…]
California-based Strike Industries has released several videos detailing new products the company is bringing to the AR15 accessories market. We previously covered the Viper PDW stock and the cold hammer forged barrels that come in 10.3 and 16 inches earlier. Apart from the stock and barrels, [Read More…]
In a rare break with rigid tradition and military bearing, a recent video series has been released in which Chief Warrant Officer 5 Wade discusses suppressor usage within the Marine infantry, in order to dispel some myths that troops might have when it comes to the practical application [Read More…]
Previously we looked at examples of long guns out of the Pashtun gun-making village of Darra Adam Khel in the FATA region in Pakistan. In this episode, Miles looks at some of the handgun copies that have emerged from the cottage industries there. We compare Makarov and Beretta copies side by side, [Read More…]
Coming across this video of female Indian Army soldiers making excellent time with disassembling their INSAS rifles better with one hand than I could with two was very exciting to watch. I’m not a stranger to seeing or attempting a one-handed weapon disassembly, probably the most impressive [Read More…]
The Firearm Blog has learned that German Sport Guns will be shipping out at least 1,100 of their 9x19mm NATO MP40 pistols to a wholesale dealer in the U.S. Looking at American Tactical’s website, it shows the 9mm pistol available for $649.95, ready for shipping to [Read More…]
Russian presenter Sergey Badyuk has partaken in a very informative discussion on Kalashnikov rifles in use by various Syrian groups within Assad controlled portions of Syria. He is a prior Russian serviceman himself and certainly knows his rifles. Now obviously, we can’t accept the information [Read More…]
In preparation for the 29th South East Asia (SEA) Games being held in Kuala Lumpur, Royal Malaysian Police held Exercise Rimau 2017, a public counter-terror exercise designed to prepare law enforcement for worst case scenarios that could take place during the SEA [Read More…]