An insurgent in Iraq attempts to destroy a Humvee with an RPG.
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
This video is very intense. The beeping you hear is the ground proximity warning (under 1000 ft). The video player incorrectly states the length, it is only 5 minutes long.
There is a discussion about the video at MP.net
Marine Corps Times has an interesting article on the IAR competition. It seems the Army is not interested in a lightweight automatic rifle.
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.”
Remington will be upgrading the 3000 M24 rifles during 2009 at a cost of $3 million. I was quite surprised to hear this after all the noise about bolt action rifles not being good enough and that semi-automatic was the only way to go. The M24 Sniper Weapons System (SWS) is based on the Remington 700 rifle and chambers the 7.62×51mm NATO.
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
The NY Times (emphasis mine):
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
Murdoc @ GunPundit found a photo of 3rd Infantry Division troops examining a pile of H&K MP5K briefcase guns presumably in Iraq.
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.
Check out the latest Magpul creation. It is a folding carbine. Similar to the Ares FMG and PP-90. It appears to use some glock parts uses the Glock action, magazines and laser systems.
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
GunsAmerica has the 7th production M16 listed for sale. It is listed for $295,000!
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.
Steyr have published a press release, of all things, detailing their history in the US. I think this was nothing more than an attempt at getting some attention during SHOT Show. I am mentioning it as it may interest some readers.
Read the press release here.
From the theonion.com (a satire site):
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 t
he 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
Following the recent purchase of 10,000 M9 pistols by the US Army and Navy, Beretta has announced a new multi-year contact to supply the Army with another 25,403 M9 pistols.
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.
Hi, welcome to my blog! This blog is dedicated to all things firearms related. I hope you enjoy it.
I want this blog to appeal to a worldwide audience and so I will be focusing on firearms and shooting rather than country specific politics. There are already many great blogs defending your rights!
Please feel free to contact me at this address:
- Steve
