The Bangkok Post interviewed the man of whom only a few years ago precious little was known. Emphasis mine.

Bout becomes incensed at the suggestion he supplied weapons to Farc or other terrorist organisations.

”No, I didn’t. Never! This is all bullshit,” he says. ”Everything is in the Americans’ minds. They don’t know what to do anymore in the world. During the past eight years the Western media didn’t want even to talk to me because they knew that they would have problems.”

Bout is particularly angry about the 2005 film Lord of War starring Nicolas Cage as Yuri Orlov, which is allegedly based on his life story and details the gruesome trade of weapons-trafficking in Africa.

”The movie is pure fiction, fantasy and fabrication which has nothing to do with me or my previous business. The movie didn’t make much money either. I used to admire actor Cage, but not anymore.”

However, when asked if his air-freight company shipped arms before it went out of business, he replied: ”Some cargo shipped by my air-freight company included weapons, but it doesn’t mean that I am an arms dealer.”

When asked if he was involved in air freighting goods for America’s war in Iraq after 2003, he said ”I can categorically state that I have never shipped anything to Iraq as reported by the BBC and other news organisations, nor did anything for the Americans there whatsoever.”

He added: ”I must condemn reputable news organisations such as the British Broadcasting Commission, the Cable News Network and other Western media for totally distorting the facts about my past activities. I would describe most of what they say about me as lies and fabrications.”

My understand is that nobody ever talked to him because they could not find him. If you consider how much an interview with him would have been worth for the Times or Post, it seems unlikely that they did not try. My understanding is that even photos of him were scarce.

My theory is that Bout will be delivered to whoever is more embarrassed by what he knows. While he disputes it, it is generally accepted that the US made use of him to transport weapons in the Middle East. I am sure the Russians also used his services.

The patent describes a device that looks like a claymore but instead of hundreds of steel balls and C4 explosives, it is armed with over one hundred laser diodes and LEDs arranged to simulate a claymore explosion, including the back blast.

Real Claymore Range


Simulated Claymore Killing Zone

To increase authenticity, the device could be hooked up to a pyrotechnic charge to simulate the light, sound and smoke of a real claymore. In short, it provides everything expect the for horrific mess and mental trauma that is the modern anti-personnal mine. I am sure it will help green recruits learn that “FRONT TOWARD ENEMY” does in fact mean front toward enemy

Many thanks to Daniel E. Watters for telling me about the patent.

The new military magazine manufactured by Brownells

Larry, from Brownells, told me that the follower will unfortunately not be available to the civilian market as part of the contact prohibits them from using the design for any other purpose than the military.

Historical Context

To understand the legal history of the AK-47 you need to understand the intellectual property history of the Soviet Union. Contra to popular belief the communists did not oppose intellectual property (IP). Our Soviet comrades were encouraged to think up inventions, they just has to give the invention to the state! After the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution private ownership in general was abolished but IP was overlooked. This oversight was corrected in 1931 when private ownership of IP was banned and the state automatically inherited all rights to inventions. The inventor received some small remuneration in return, presumably only if the invention was used by the state in some capacity.

AK-47 / AKM clone made in Las Vegas by Arsenal Inc.

The Avtomat Kalashnikova 1947

Fast forward about a decade and a young sergeant named Mikhail Kalashnikov starts designing weapons for the Red Army. In 1946 his rifle wins a competition for the next standard issue rifle of the Soviet Union. During the following year the military began adopting the rifle and it was given the infamous designation AK-47, now a household name worldwide.

The Soviet Union was quite happy to allow other communist states to produce the rifle, with many other state and non-state entities around the world producing clones.

The flag of Mozambique featuring the AK-47 alongside a hoe and a book.

The AK-47 patent. Better late than never.

After the fall of communism the Russian Federation and eight other former Soviet Republics formed the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPC). Izhmash, manufacturer of the AK-74 and AK-10x rifles (AK-47 successors), filed a patent with the EAPC. From the Google Translation of the patent (emphasis added):

Title of invention:
Automatic weapons “Kalashnikov”

Patentovlalelets (ltsy):
Open Joint Stock Company “Izhmash” (RU)

Inventor (s):

Mikhail T. Kalashnikov, Yuri Alexandrov K.,
Bezborodov Nikolai, Viktor Kalashnikov.
Azariah I. Nesterov, Paranin Valery Nikolaevich (RU)

The Eurasian application N: 970145
Priority of invention:

Date of filing of the Eurasian application: July 24, 1997
Date of registration of the Eurasian Patent
in the Register of Eurasian patents: October 10, 1997

The patent was filed over 50 years after the invention! The patent does not mention when the rifle was actually invented. Under United States law patents expire after 20 years. It seems ridiculous that a company can expect to patent an invention half a century after its invention especially at a time when it is so common that people build it by hand in caves!

Ironically the AK-47 is also the weapon of choice for the modern sea pirate.

US Government purchases of AK-47 rifle

Prior to the recent decision to switch the Iraqi Army over over to the M16 and M4, the US Government was purchasing a lot of AK-47 rifles to supply the fledging Iraqi Army. Russia was not happy about the US purchasing AK-47 clones from manufactures who were significantly under cutting Izhmash. From Novinite.com:

The Americans have allowed Bulgaria to built a plant producing the Kalashnikov sub-machine gun to be sold in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Director for Special Assignments of the Russian Rosoboronexport State Corporation Nikolay Demedyuk stated on Wednesday cited by ITAR-TASS.

…

The Russians stated that the “Arsenal” production was undercutting the gun prices on international tenders citing as example a 2003 tender for the supply of 40,000 sub-machine guns for the Iraqi army for USD 65 each won by Arsenal and lost by the Russian “Kalashnikov” manufacturer.

Russia has claimed it loses $2 billion per year from counterfeit production with only 10% of AK-47 rifles being produced under license.

Iraqi Military Policeman Training with AK-47 rifle.

Last Month in Turkey

There was a minor diplomatic incident last month at the IDEF ‘09 defense expo when the Russian delegation discovered that Pakistan Ordnance Factories had AK-47 clones on display. When confronted the Pakistan stated owned defense manufacture refused to remove the display.

Anatoly Aksenov, a senior advisor to the director general of Rosoboronexport (Russia’s sole export intermediary), said in a press release “Russia will ask IDEF-2009’s administration to impose sanctions on Pakistan’s delegation if the counterfeit weapon is not removed from the booth by tomorrow … is piracy and we will struggle against it.”. The Turkish Ministry of Defense, who organized the expo, acted swiftly and the following day the rifles were removed from display.

According to Mr. Aksenov Turkey is looking to purchase Russian short and medium range anti-aircraft systems, which no doubt gave the Russians much leverage with the Turkish Ministry officials.

The Russian media was quick to point out that the World Trade Organization worries itself with Western music, firms and clothing, but not Russian weaponry. From Lenta.ru (Google Translated):

Piracy in the music and film industry, protection of brand clothing manufacturers, food, tobacco and alcohol have long been one of the nabivshih oskominu so when discussing the economy nowadays. Combating concerned authoritative international organizations such as WTO, and thousands of bureaucrats. The trials against the creators of file-networks follow one after another and stable outside the top list of hot news. And the weapons you can not only forge in the huge quantities, but also opened it to show, without fear of any sanctions or condemnation, or loss of reputation.

Will this be resolved?

Russia wants to join the World Trade Organization. Prior to joining the diplomats will have to define the parameters for recognition of patents. It is unlikely the WTO members will want to open themselves to lawsuits from Russian firms over 50+ year old inventions.

About 600 members of the 75th Ranger Regiment will soon take the Special Operations Combat Assault Rifle into battle.

The 600 SCARs are the first of 1,800 that U.S. Special Operations Command began fielding in early April, SOCom spokeswoman Air Force Maj. Denise Boyd told Army Times.

The first photo I saw of the SCAR in the “wild” was when Defense Tech linked to this Navy photo taken last month showing a SEAL with the SCAR replica (see update below) slung over this shoulder.

090415-N-6403R-006 SEAL BEACH NAVAL WEAPONS STATION, Calif. (April 15, 2009) Special warfare combatant-craft crewmen (SWCC) assigned to Special Boat Team (SBT) 12 conduct an equipment check before getting underway for a training exercise at Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua T. Rodriguez (Released)

UPDATE: Turns out that the above photo shows a replica SCAR. From a Wikipedia discussion:

“I received an email from FN confirming that the image appears to show replica weapons (FN mentioned Independent Studio Services, the same company that the earlier editor did). Actual FN SCAR rifle stocks are solid plastic in “Flat dark earth” color – solidly that color throughout, not a paint or coating over a darker black color. The FN employee has some of the ISS replica weapons and confirmed that they are manufactured in a solid black base material then painted the flat dark earth on top of that. He also confirmed that ISS has made replica SCARs for the SBS teams for training, and that SBS and SEALs routinely do use replica weapons in this manner to avoid training wear and tear on actual rifles.”

Thanks to Anon for the link to the Wikipedia discussion.

And let’s not get carried away with the sea state, says DT contributor Joe Buff. A multi-thousand ton destroyer is a pretty stable platform in any but the most tumultuous sea states and makes dialing in a shot on an admittedly tossing life raft more doable — a smart platform for the Team to operate from.

Well sure a big ship is a more stable platform, but that does not make it any less of a feat of marksmanship. Missing could have meant the difference between the American captain surviving and being executed by the frightened pirates.

We also have some information — unconfirmed, though we’re working on it — about how the shots were taken and what was used. Our firearms expert Eric Poole who writes for Tactical-Life posits that the snipers were using the MK-11 .308 sniper system manufactured by Knights Armament Co. This weapon is awesome, by the way (I’ve shot it a few times myself) and, if this is indeed what the shooters used, would mark a major, high-profile departure from legacy thinking about sniping which holds bolt-action rifles as the Gold Standard or marksmanship.

I also said that I though the Mk 11 was the likely weapons system.

Bolt actions and semi-auto’s can both be made accurate enough. Bolt actions can be made more accurate cheaper, but semi-autos give a much better rate of fire. The Army is sticking with the M24 Sniper Weapons System, based on the Remington 700 bolt action, for now because of cost.

Poole figures the DevGru frogmen removed the “overpowered” standard-issue Leupold scopes and opted for the Aimpoint CCO augmented by the PVS-14 night vision monocular. Though the SEAL version of the MK-11 Mod 0 is issued with suppressors, it’s unclear whether the operators used them, but I’d bet a million bucks they did.

Good point about scopes. The range was relatively close, so I don’t think the sound suppression of a suppressor would make a huge difference to the situation, but the decrease in recoil would be advantageous when making followup shots at a moving target. I think it is safe to assume these guys know now their weapons performs when suppressed (unlike video games, in real life suppressors make no change to the external ballistics of the projectile, but it does change the weight balance of the firearm)

One other question (among many) remains open…were there three shots or four? Poole reasons, and Allen and I agree, that someone had to shoot through the lifeboat window first, then fire the kill shots. My limited knowledge of ballistics leads me to believe the snipers could not rely on the effectiveness of the one window shot to actually strike the target where it was aimed based in the potential deflection of hitting that probably plastic (glass) window.

There are a lot of things we do not know.

Thanks to Paul for the link.

U.S. Navy snipers fatally shot three pirates holding an American cargo-ship captain hostage after seeing that one of the pirates “had an AK-47 leveled at the captain’s back,” a military official said Sunday.

…

The three pirates, who were armed with AK-47 rifles, were killed by shooters who were aboard the Bainbridge, Gortney said.

The on-scene commander gave the shooters approval to open fire after seeing that “one of the pirates had an AK-47 leveled at the captain’s back,” Gortney said.

That is some incredible shooting!

Earlier this year a team of Marine Scout Snipers were deployed to the region for counter piracy work. They are armed with the SR-25 (Mk 11) 7.62×51mm semi-automatic, an AR-10 style rifle. They may well have been the men that were deployed to take out the pirates.

A scout sniper fires an MK-11 rifle from a HH-60H Sea Hawk helicopter

Hat Tip: Snow Flakes in Hell

Please take a moment to note important changes set forth by the Defense Logistics Agency:

Recently it has been determined that fired munitions of all calibers, shapes and sizes have been designated to be Demil code B. As a result and in conjunction with DLA’s current Demil code B policy, this notice will serve as official notification which requires Scrap Venture (SV) to implement mutilation as a condition of sale for all sales of fired munitions effective immediately. This notice also requires SV to immediately cease delivery of any fired munitions that have been recently sold or on active term contracts, unless the material has been mutilated prior to sale or SV personnel can attest to the mutilation after delivery. A certificate of destruction is required in either case.

One fired brass military brass being auctioned. Will now require mutilation.

The NRA is aware of the situation and are hoping to have a waiver put in place so that fired brass .50 and smaller in caliber will not be required to undergo mutilation.
Follow any new developments here.

UPDATE: I pulled this blog post pending confirmation due to concern this was just a misunderstanding concerning existing rules/regulations and I did not want to alarm anyone. Unfortunately this is not the case. Andy Byers sent me a twitter message to say that Georgia Arms have confirmed it. From their website:

Due to new government regulations concerning the purchasing of surplus brass, we are removing sales of all 223 and all 308 until further notice.

UPDATE: Cannoneer has more info and links here.

The proposed MILES equipped “explosive’” clothing.

The original MILES system was developed in the 1980’s to provide a realistic force-on-force training system for the US Army. The system utilized an array of sensors on soldiers clothing, equipment and vehicles. When a blank cartridge is fired from a MILES equipped rifle, the laser is activated and transmits information about the shooter, his weapon and ammunition. If a laser hits a sensor, the software calculates if the shot was a kill based on the range and what ammunition was being used. MILES is in use by many armed forces including the Australian, British, Czech, Irish, Israeli, Turkish and Canadian armies.

M4 with MILES gear attached. Camp Shelby Joint Force Training Center.
From Wikipedia.

The patent application, number 20090053679, describes a system where clothing is covered in light generating devices, such as LEDs, that when activated broadcast the appropriate MILES codes for a kill over a wide area. Sensors in the “blast” zone would then calculate the distance from the “explosion” and see if it resulted in a kill. Previous simulation systems for suicide bombers have just generated smoke and sound effects.

The Kill Logic

The system also allows for defensive action against suicide bombers. Sensors would also be placed on the bomber and certain hits would be able to disable the bomb – something the Israelis have demonstrated is possible in real life.

Bomber armed with M16?!?!

The patent goes out of its way to be politically correct. The words “suicide bomber” are only used once. From the patent, emphasis mine:

[0040]In act 112, electrical circuit 18 disables offensive capabilities of military training device 10. In the particular embodiment described above in which multiple integrated laser engagement system 14 includes light generating devices 16a as well as light detectors 16b, light generating devices 16a may be inhibited from further operation until the current military training maneuver is completed. In this manner, a particular trainee simulating a suicide bomber may be disabled from inflicting damage to other trainees.

This is a very interesting system and I look forward to seeing it develop. Providing training with this level of realism can only help the troops stationed in parts of the world where suicide attacks are likely to happen.

Many thanks to Daniel Watters for the information.

They have started to import Glock 19 pistols from Austria to meet the demand. These pistols can be identified by the Austrian proof mark which is an eagle next to the letters NPv (”Nitro Powder proofed”). Austrian guns are proofed with loads that are 30% more powerful that regular loads.

These photos are from a Glock 19 offered for sale at the GlockTalk forum:

The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder said today.

“As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to re institute the ban on the sale of assault weapons,” Holder told reporters.

No surprises.

UPDATE:

From The Hill (Link from Tom and SayUncle):

Attorney General Eric Holder raised the prospect Wednesday that the administration would push to bring back the ban. But Pelosi (D-Calif.) indicated on Thursday that he never talked to her. The Speaker gave a flat “no” when asked if she had talked to administration officials about the ban.

“On that score, I think we need to enforce the laws we have right now,” Pelosi said at her weekly news conference. “I think it’s clear the Bush administration didn’t do that.”

Do you believe that? I think the attorney general tipped his hand it a bit early.

Hat Tip: Sensibly Progressive in Politically Correct America

Horus Vision Leupold spotting scope

I was amazed that the M49, the standard military spotting scope, was designed during WWII!

Picture of M49 from War Department manual TM 9-1556 published in 1944.

In my personal opinion, optics are one of the two major improvements in firearm technology since WWII (the other being ammunition component improvements). While I am sure the current M49’s exceed the mil specs from the 1940s it is only 20x in power and has no reticle.

UPDATE: According to Allen, a Marine vet and analyst at The Columbia Group, The Marines will be using a standard Gen II Mil-Dot reticle, not the Horus reticle described below.

The Horus Vision Leupold, as the name suggests, is made with Leupold optics, and offers 12.7-38.1x zoom. Its main feature is the reticles. Unlike standard mil-dot these show a 2d-grid which allows for precise calculations of holdover and, in the case of a spotter for a sniper, calculating speed of moving objects.

Horus H36 reticle.

This promotion video shows how it works. The video is showing the Horus line of rifle scopes, not the spotting scope, but the idea is the same.

Defense Industry Daily has more info and details of the contact awarded to Horus.

The nine-member sniper team brings multiple capabilities to CTF 151, including its ability to operate from an aerial platform with a variety of different weapons systems. The scout snipers use a Mk-11, which is the 762 sniper rifle; a 50-caliber M107 special application scoped rifle (SASR); and several different sets of optics to aid them in carrying out their mission.

“We have the ability to stand off of a target, visually see what is on the target and report that information to the VBSS teams so they understand — before they’re boarding — the number of personnel, if there are any weapons on board, if there are any type of foulings on the deck, if their hook point is obtainable, and, basically, give them a warm and fuzzy feeling that they’re not out alone out here, that they have snipers watching over them 100 percent of the time,” explained Benkie.

Emphases mine. That must be a good feeling

More here.

The company leased a Pineville facility and estimates 35 to 40 jobs will be filled, mostly in manufacturing and machining.

Para Chief Executive Thanos Polyzos says the company wanted to establish a U.S. headquarters to be eligible for more military and law-enforcement contracts.

How much of its manufacturing, if any, will remain in Canada is not clear.

UPDATE: JR @ Keyboard and a .45 has just point out that this also allows them to get round any import restrictions, now or in the future.

Hat Tip: I can’t remember where I saw this link! If it was your blog let me know

The M110 is the 7.62×51mm semi-automatic sniper system which won the Army’s competition to replace the aging M24 bolt action sniper system. While it will not replace the M24 in the near future, the system is seeing action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The rifle is based on the SR-25, which in turn is based on the Stoners’ AR-10 design.

Knights Armaments have developed a mounting system for the iPod Touch that attaches to a side mounted picatinny rail. The mount attaches to an Otterbox protective case.

Click to expand. Photo ⓒ Chen “SMGLee” Lee. Used with permission.


Click to expand. Photo ⓒ Chen “SMGLee” Lee. Used with permission.

KAC contracted Runaway technologies to build an external ballistics calculator for the iPod Touch / iPhone named Bullet Flight. It is your standard ballistics application. You can set firearm / ammunition profiles, then call up the saved profile and enter your environment information, for example, distance, wind direction, elevation and temperature.

The application is available from the iTunes store for $11.99. It is a lot more expensive than the $4.99 iSnipe application.

We may yet see an iPhone on the battlefield

That works out as $489 per pistol and spare parts.

From the press release:

The contract was awarded along with a first delivery order for 20,000 pistols intended for the Iraqi military. Delivery of pistols against the contract has already begun.

“We are honored to see the quality and performance of the Beretta Model 92FS pistol continue to be acknowledged in this dramatic way,” commented Cav. Ugo Gussalli Beretta, President of Beretta U.S.A. “It is clear that the Beretta 9mm pistol still sets the standard for military users throughout the world.”

Two F-22 Raptor cost about the same as 450,000 Beretta Model 92FS’s!

Click to expand

From Wikipedia:

The Gardner gun was an early type of machine gun. It had one or two barrels, was fed from a vertical magazine or hopper and was operated by a crank. When the crank was turned, a feed arm positioned a cartridge in the breech, the bolt closed and the weapon fired. Turning the crank further opened the breechblock and extracted the spent round.

From “The Machine Gun” By Chinn Naval Bureau of Ordnance Publication

The original Gardener gun could have as many barrels as the customer desired although the two barrel variety is most common. Never used by the US during wartime the Gardener was popular with both the British Army and the Royal Navy.

The SIA “Model of 1885″ .45-70 Gardner Gun is the two barrel, water cooled, variety and is capable of firing 500 rounds/minute. SIA expects to be able to take orders between Feb and March this year. The gun carries an estimated price of $29,950.00.

A while back I wrote about what I would want to carry at sea. I have changed my mind. I want a Gardener gun. If it worked for the Royal Navy I am sure it would work for me

DefenseLink.mil (December 30 2008):

Alliant Lake City Small Caliber Ammunition Co., LLC, Independence, Mo., was awarded on Dec 29, 2008 a $49,236,000 firm fixed price requirements contract for modernization and upgrade of small caliber production equipment. Work will be performed at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, Independence, Mo., with an estimated completion date of Sep 30, 2009. One bid was solicited and one bid received. U.S. Army Sustainment Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (DAAA09-00-D-0016).

ATK is sure doing well!

Since there has been a rash of weapons related incidents recently, the Provost Marshals Office has made it a priortity to emphasize safety among the Marines, Sailors and civilians aboard the Tri-Command area.

According to Randy Walz, the services officer with PMO, numerous weapons to include a Russian AK-47, rifles, shotguns, assorted ammunition and large knives were confiscated during the past weekend.

Photos of the confiscated guns at GunPundit.

FN IAR. Click to expand.

One very interesting features is that it switches automatically from closed bolt to open bolt depending on the chamber temperature. From FNH-USA:

Today FN offers the new Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR), a unique, highly-adaptable, modular selective fire weapon system that fills the roles of both individual battle rifle and squad automatic weapon in one light, compact package. The magazine-fed FN IAR is capable of firing from a closed bolt in both semi-automatic and fully-automatic modes, yet automatically transitions into open-bolt operation in semi-automatic or fully-automatic before reaching cook-off temperature for a chambered cartridge.

I do not think the temperature switch would be electronic. Most likely there is a piece of metal that expands when heated and causes a switch from closed to open bolt.

Again, a bit thanks to Daniel Watters for pointing this out to me.

Package about the 82nd Airborne Division testing new weapons currently being released and prototypes. Provided by 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs.

My take on it: They reckoned punt guns are pretty cool for duck hunting but rifle grenades (fired with a blank round) are even better!

(Just joking)

The reticle tracks up and down as the weapon is raised or lowered. How cool is that? I don’t have a grenade/flare/golf ball launcher but I want one!
More photos at MP.net

The Army plans to begin fielding the first of 71,600 new replacement launchers in February for a cost of about $3,500 each, Audette said. Fielding of the M320 will likely be completed by 2015, Audette said.

..

Each M320 will come with a laser range finder and a sophisticated sight that even lets soldiers know if they aren’t holding the launcher right.

M320 with stock and laser range finder sighting system.

The unit weights 3.57 – 3.89 lbs depending on what rifle it is being mounted on.The stock pictured above adds an extra lb bringing the weight up to 4.8 lbs.

Benefits over the M230 are:

- The barrel swings out allowing larger rounds than the M203. Useful for less than lethal rounds.

- Laser range finder and new electronic sight system which also indicates if the launcher is being held incorrectly.

- Double action trigger

M320 mounted under M4.

M3. Photo from Wikipedia.

Interesting if true.

There is a discussion about it here.

AR-15 Platform (Direct Gas Impingement):

* Colt ACC Monolithic
* Troy Industries M7A1 (can use either DI or piston system)
* Sabre Defense Industries M5
* S&W MP-4
* Precision Reflex PRI (Upper receiver only. Attaches to M4 lower).

AR-15 Platform (Piston):

* LWRC International M6A4 IAR
* H&K 416
* Knight’s Armament SR-15
* Superior Arms S-15
* Barrett REC7 PDW
* Patriot Ordnance P416

Not based on the AR platform:

* Bushmaster/Magpul ACR
* Sig Sauer 556 Classic
* Robinson Armament XCR
* FN SCAR

Sig 556 Classic

I am not sure if this list is complete. The Beretta ARX-160 Carbine is conspicuously missing.

Part of the wearable system. Photo from Defense Update.

If the entire system was ever made small enough to fit into a wristwatch I think it would become an essential hunting tool and could prevent accidental shootings.

Nammo Talley Defense, Inc. in Mesa, AZ received a $15.5 million firm-fixed-price contract for 7,750 LAW M72A7 portable rockets from Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, VA, in order to replenish stockpiles.

The short (unextended length of 0.67 m) low cost and low weight (5.5 lbs) 66mm one-shot rocket system is useful in urban environments against buildings and lightly armored vehicles, such as those found in Iraq/Afghanistan.

M72 LAW

China’s robust arms industry has been able to duplicate U.S.-made, armor-piercing rounds, and the bullets are being found with the enemy in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Two government sources tell HUMAN EVENTS the sniper ammunition is sending alarm bells through the Pentagon as it hurries to keep pace by producing improved body armor for soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors.

The sources said the Chinese munitions are not thought capable of defeating the super-hard ceramic plates that now protect service members against smalls-arms fire, including armor-piercing bullets.

I know very little about AP ammunition. Does anyone know if M948 (7.62mm Saboted Light Armor Penetrator) or M993 (7.62mm AP) can penetrate Type IV ballistic vests and a ceramic plate insert?

AP bullets. Click to expand. Image from DTIC.mil.

Defense Review discusses the implications of this and its potential impact on the mythical XSAPI armor plates that are in development.

Hat Tip: Defense Review

The growing need to equip these new marksmen with accurized rifles prompted the Army to reconsider the role of the venerable M-14 rifle for the war on terror. Back in Desert Storm, armorers from the 10th Special Forces group took M-14s equipped with a match barrels and fitted a gas piston on them for optimal performance, re-designating it the M-25. They replaced the stock with a McMillan M1A fiberglass one, developed a scope mount and added a Bausch & Lomb 10×40mm fixed-power optic or a Leupold Mark 4.

Hat Tip: Murdoc @ GunPundit

This video is the insurgent equivalent of the famously stupid “Girl Shoots Herself in the face” video (youtube has taken it offline).

Hat Tip: Charlie @ Ammo, Guns and War

There is a discussion about the video at MP.net

That’s why the Army, which also uses the M249, has ruled out a soldier version of the Marine IAR.

“We are not considering adopting an auto rifle for the infantry squad,” said Col. Robert Radcliffe, director of the Infantry Center’s Directorate of Combat Developments at Fort Benning, Ga.

…

The plan is to buy 4,100 IARs and reduce the number of SAWs in the Corps from 10,000 to 8,000, Cantwell said.

“We are still going to maintain SAWs in the company,” he said. “Only 2,000 SAWs will be replaced. The reminder will be kept as an organizational weapon for when commanders need them.”

M-24 Sniper Weapons systems have been fielded to the U.S. armed services since 1987. Remington has been maintaining these weapons in Ilion, New York, and will be responsible for M-24 upgrades in the future. Remington’s proposal to upgrade the M-24 sniper rifle would save the federal government nearly $6 million dollars.

No word if the systems 10×42 Leupold Ultra M3A scope will be upgraded to something fancier and more expensive.

Hat Tip: Tactical Wire

But to arm the Afghan forces that it hopes will lead this fight, the American military has relied since early last year on a fledgling company led by a 22-year-old man whose vice president was a licensed masseur.

With the award last January of a federal contract worth as much as nearly $300 million, the company, AEY Inc., which operates out of an unmarked office in Miami Beach, became the main supplier of munitions to Afghanistan’s army and police forces.

Since then, the company has provided ammunition that is more than 40 years old and in decomposing packaging, according to an examination of the munitions by The New York Times and interviews with American and Afghan officials. Much of the ammunition comes from the aging stockpiles of the old Communist bloc, including stockpiles that the State Department and NATO have determined to be unreliable and obsolete, and have spent millions of dollars to have destroyed.

In purchasing munitions, the contractor has also worked with middlemen and a shell company on a federal list of entities suspected of illegal arms trafficking.

Moreover, tens of millions of the rifle and machine-gun cartridges were manufactured in China, making their procurement a possible violation of American law.

It is a long article. Somewhat sensationalist. Looks like some kids (18, 22 and 25 years old) found a source of soviet ammo and sold it. This is the kind of story that they will make into a move.

Read it here.

UPDATE:

This photo from the US Army shows the state of the boxes of ammo they were receiving

Hat Tip: Danger Room

The U.S. Army and Special Operations Command are stepping up efforts to procure a lighter, modernized .50-caliber machine gun more easily transported than the standard 85-pound M2.

The goal is not to replace the M2, a combat fixture for 70 years, but to augment the inventory with a .50-caliber weapon that brings the same firepower at less than half the weight, Army officials said here at the Feb. 27-29 winter convention of the Association of the U.S. Army. Early models of the Light Weight .50-caliber (LW50) are expected to be delivered this year.

More info at Murdoc Online

I have always thought this type of gun would appeal to tin pot dictators like Saddam. Why not just conceal the MP5K under a coat and then have the advantage of sights, trigger control, quick magazine change etc.

More here.

A couple of video demostrations:

Some photos from GlockTalk.com:

It looks very cool!

Compare with other FMG type firearms

The original Ares FMG which was designed by Eugene Stoner:

the PP-90, designed by the KBP design bureau in Tula:

the Ukrainian Goblin

And although very different the Kel-Tec SUB-2000 (this folds for storage, not rapid deployment).

I will update this page as more information becomes available.

UDPATE:

According to this thread, it is called the FMG9 and Magpul do not have plans to put it into production, at this point it is just a prototype… although I am sure James Bond will get his hands on one for his next movie!

UPDATE

Another video demo

UPDATE: From ar15.com:

The advantage to the FMG9 over previous versions are…

1. One button, spring loaded action.
2. Light weight, color coded plastic (can be molded as a non gun color)
3. Closed bolt, safe action (others were open bolt SMGs, ours can be carried with a round in the chamber).
4. Proven Glock action with stock Glock factory magazines and laser systems.

Hat Tip for the update: Cryptic

Without a doubt the most famous and most documented Armalite/Colt M16 in existence, serial no 106 manufactured in 1959 (the 7th production gun) and of course the earliest known gun to exist. Yes, this is the gun that Gen Curtis LeMay shot the coconuts and melons with at the cocktail party and then turned to the Cooper-McDonald rep and said,”I want 10,000 of them and I want them yesterday!”. It is said this gun was also shot by Pres Kennedy (off the Presidential Yacht), Batista, MacNamarra, Diem, and a host of other important people. Traveling to Viet Nam twice, its history is part of America’s History, and I feel there is no other gun in existence as important as this firearm – at least as far as 20th century military firearms are concerned.

The original black rifle was not all that black!

It is listed here.

Read the press release here.

A Soldier displays an M-1 rifle discovered in a suspected insurgent’s home

From MilitaryPhotos.net

After a shocking new study finds U.S. children lag far behind their international peers in subjects like rifle assembly and mine defusing.

“An average Sudanese child can field strip a Type-81 assault rifle by the time he is in seventh grade. An American child could not until he enlisted in the military”

Former World Bank chief Paul Wolfowitz has been appointed head of an influential panel advising the US government on arms control.

Mr Wolfowitz was ousted from the Bank last year over a scandal involving payments to his girlfriend, who was also a bank employee at the time.

More here

From the press release

Beretta has just announced that it has been awarded a multi-year contract by the U.S. Army to deliver M9 pistols to servicemen and women as part of the U.S. Government commitment to ensure the operational safety and readiness of U.S. Armed Services worldwide.

The contract is for 25,403 M9 pistols with deliveries starting in June 2008 and continuing until February 2010. The U.S. Army also reserves the right to purchase additional M9 pistols as needed to meet their needs. All of these M9 pistols will continue to be manufactured at the Beretta U.S.A. facility located in Accokeek, Maryland.