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Polish “Neon” 5.56mm and 25mm / 40mm weapon

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The “Neon”?

It looks like Poland is developing their own version of the XM29 OICW concept, according to the MSPO 2008 website. It may or may not be called the “Neon”, Google translate is not great at best of times.

What makes the Polish concept unique is that the grenade launcher part of the weapon will, at this stage in the design, be able to be removed and swapped for a different caliber, either 40mm or 25mm.

I am going to predict that they will end up with one caliber and not bother with the complexity and cost of multiple calibers.

It has the usual fire control system to program air burst grenades to detonate at a certain distance.

I will be watching with interest to see what happens with this program. Sweden and Singapore are also developing similar weapons and South Korea will be fielding the XK11 Korean New Rifle in 2010.

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XK11 Korean New Rifle

More information here (translated with google)

I have done my best to find accurate information about this firearm on the Polish MSPO 2008 website. I do not speak or read Polish so I had to rely on Google Translate. If I got something wrong, please correct me in the comments.

Posted by Steve on Sep 12th 2008 | Filed in military, rifles, weapons | Comments (5)

Alex Bullpup bolt action rifles

Also on display at MSPO 2008 were the Alex bullpup bolt action rifles. They look awesome. As far as I know they come in three models. The Alex762 (7.62×51mm), Alex -338 (8.6×70mm / .338 Magnum Lapua) and the Alex Sports Tactical (7.62×51mm).

 Users Paulb Desktop Rt1 Zakupy 02-2
Alex-762

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Alex Sports Tactical

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Alex-338

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Very compact

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It is so pretty I could not help posting another photo

The Alex-338 weights 6.5 kg without scope and 7.3 kg with the scope, 0.4 kg more than the Alex-762. It has a 5 round magazine. I can’t read Polish and I am unable to find more useful information on the rifles.

Earlier this year US firm Desert Tactical Arms launched a bolt action bullpup rifle at SHOT.

More information here, here and here.

I have done my best to find accurate information about this firearm on the Polish MSPO 2008 website. I do not speak or read Polish so I had to rely on Google Translate. If I got something wrong, please correct me in the comments.

Posted by Steve on Sep 12th 2008 | Filed in rifles | Comments (8)

RPG-40 Grenade launcher

The RPG-40 was on display at MSPO 2008. The Centre for Research and Development Equipment Mechanics (OBR SM) and Military Technical Academy, which I assume are Polish organizations, have developed the RPG-40. Despite its name it has nothing to do with the Russian RPG-* arms and does not fire rocket propelled grenades, just the standard 40mm variety.

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The RPG-40

It holds 6 rounds and features an oversized chamber so a variety of lethal and non-lethal ammunition can be chambered - limited by how much pressure the weapon can withstand.

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Oversized 40mm chamber

It may be in direct competition with the South African Milkor MGL (M32) that is currently used by the Marines in Iraq. It looks like it has a very similar spring-loaded magazine, which rotates after a shot has fired. I would not be surprised if the MGL technology has been licensed.

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Marine with M32 MGL (MGL-140) in Iraq.
Photo from Wikipedia

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MGL MGL Mk-1

The MGL is a scaled up version of the Striker/Streetsweeper/Protecta rotary magazine 12 gauge shotgun:

Striker
Striker shotgun with 12″ barrel. Photo from guns.ru

More info here (translated in google)

I have done my best to find accurate information about this firearm on the Polish MSPO 2008 website. I do not speak or read Polish so I had to rely on Google Translate. If I got something wrong, please correct me in the comments.

Posted by Steve on Sep 12th 2008 | Filed in military, weapons | Comments (2)

MAG 08 pistol

The other new Polish pistol at MSPO 2008 is the 9mm MAG 08. It is a redesign of the MAG 98 which itself was a redesign of the MAG 95. It looks nice, but I do remember reading complaints about the previous generation MAG pistols somewhere.

The original (from the manufacturers website)

 Specjalna Mag98
MAG 98C

The new pistol

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 Mag-08-500Px 02

From what I can make out the frame is made from aluminum and it takes 15 round and 18 round magazines.

More here (google translation)

I have done my best to find accurate information about this firearm on the Polish MSPO 2008 website. I do not speak or read Polish so I had to rely on Google Translate. If I got something wrong, please correct me in the comments.

Posted by Steve on Sep 12th 2008 | Filed in handguns | Comments (3)

Walther P99 RAD

The P99 RAD was unveiled at MSPO 2008. As far as I can tell it is a standard P99 with a Picatinny rails and a different, but still interchangeable, grip.

The “RAD” part of the name refers to the hometown of the Lucznik Arms Factory, Radom. Interestingly enough “Rad” was the the unofficial nickname of the Polish Vis semi-automatic pistol used in WWII.

The pistol was designed by the Polish military and I do not know if Walther will sell this design to the public.

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More here (this page is English, most of site is not)

I have done my best to find accurate information about this firearm on the Polish MSPO 2008 website. I do not speak or read Polish so I had to rely on Google Translate. If I got something wrong, please correct me in the comments.

Posted by Steve on Sep 11th 2008 | Filed in handguns, military, photos | Comments (7)