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TheFirearmBlog.com – Managing Editor
OvertDefense.com – Managing Editor
Matt is a British historian specialising in small arms development and military history. He has written several books and for a variety of publications in both the US and UK. He also runs Historical Firearms, a blog that explores the history, development and use of firearms. Matt is also co-founder of The Armourer’s Bench, a video series on historically significant small arms.
Here on TFB he covers product and current military small arms news.
Reach Matt at: matt@thefirearmblog.com
Over the past month or so we’ve seen an increasing number of photographs of M14s appearing in Ukraine. Developed in the 1950s and chambered in the brand new 7.62x51mm cartridge the M14 rifle entered US service in early 1960. They’ve since seen service around the [Read More…]
A Ukrainian company, the Kharkiv Plant of Individual Means of Protection (HZISZ), which operates under a number of trade names including RAROG, have developed disintegrating plastic machine gun links for various Soviet/Russian-pattern 7.62x54mmR chambered belt-fed [Read More…]
CZ have announced a new edition of their new 457 line of precision rimfire rifles, the 457 Varmint Precision Trainer MTR that comes with the 457 Varmint Precision Chassis MTR. The new .22LR rifle has a Luth-AR adjustable stock with orange accents and a cold hammer [Read More…]
Holosun have introduced their new SCS-MOS solar charging pistol reflex sight. We first reported on the SCS-MOS back at SHOT Show 2022, with Nick C. taking a look at the new sights. In April, Holosun announced that the SCS-MOS was coming soon in Green only due to [Read More…]
Mauser have introduced a new addition to their M18 line of hunting rifles. The M18 Savanna has a Savanna tan stock, a threaded barrel and is available in a range of chamberings including .223 Rem, .243 Win, .270 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, 7mm Rem Mag, .30-06, .300 [Read More…]
The Bundeswehr launched their program to select a new service rifle to replace the G36 in the spring of 2017, since then there has been a hard-fought selection process followed by court proceedings but it appears there may finally be an outcome. Following a ruling by [Read More…]
This week at Eurosatory 2022, Rheinmetall showcased a surprise, not their first tank the KF-51 or their unmanned ground vehicle that can launch loitering missiles, but the Squad Support Weapon or SSW40. It appears that the SSW40 is a matured version of the Hydra, [Read More…]
Ever wanted to combine your love for card games, guns and the Cold War? Well, at last, you can with Helios House Press’s Covert Cards: Weapons of the Cold War. The project is the brainchild of Justin Baird, the talented designer behind the new Armax journal, [Read More…]
Australia’s Lithgow Arms have established a new research and development hub for Australian defense industry companies with a new small arms collaboration and cooperation center. C3, as the hub is called, is housed inside the Thales-operated Lithgow Arms small arms [Read More…]
Winchester Ammunition have been awarded a contract modification by the US Department of Defense for continued production of 5.56x45mm, 7.62x51mm and .50 caliber ammunition. The work is set to be carried out at Winchester’s Oxford, Mississippi facility. Oxford is [Read More…]
FN America have announced the introduction of a new addition to their FN 509 series of polymer-framed pistols. The FN 509 Midsize Tactical comes in black and FDE with FN’s ‘Low-Profile Optics-Mounting System’ and weighs in at 27.9 oz. FN America @ TFB: [Read More…]
Back in January 2022, B&T USA announced the arrival of the SPC9 – Special Purpose Carbine. Well, now they’ve introduced the SPC9 PDW SD. The new SPC9 PDW SD is a 9x19mm pistol caliber carbine. Essentially a short-barrelled rifle (SBR) with an integrally [Read More…]
FN America have announced the introduction of their new FN 15 DMR3 rifles. Chambered in 5.56x45mm, the new DMR3 has an 18-inch hybrid profile barrel with a 1:8 twist and is available in matte black anodized, factory Cerakote flat dark earth (FDE) or tungsten gray [Read More…]
New Ultralight Arms, LLC, manufacturers of lightweight bolt action hunting rifles, will be joining Wilson Combat’s family of companies. The transition will see the production of New Ultralight Arms rifles move from West Virginia to the Wilson Combat plant in [Read More…]
Lone Star Future Weapons have lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (the GAO) against the US Army’s selection of SIG Sauer’s Next Generation Squad Weapons submission. On 19 April the US Army announced the selection [Read More…]
SIG Sauer is set to be awarded a contract to fulfil US Special Operations Command’s requirement for a commercial, off-the-shelf, personal defense weapon (CPDW). A notice of intent from SOCOM to award a five-year Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract was shared on 19 [Read More…]
Henry Repeating Arms are well known for their special edition rifles and raising money for great causes. Their latest is a fundraising drive, in partnership with Baron Engraving and Davidson’s Inc. for the Cody Firearms Museum in Cody, Wyoming. The Cody Firearms [Read More…]
Florida-based SCCY Firearms have announced new frame color options for their DVG-1 series pistols. At SHOT 2022 we reported on the new options coming to SCCY’s line including optics plate cut slides and a plethora of frame colours. For anyone looking to display [Read More…]
Two bullpup rifles have been frequently seen during the war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian designed and produced IPI Vulcan, a bullpup based on the AK platform and Fort-22 series Tavor. The Fort-22 series Tavors originates from Israel’s IWI. Introduced in the early 2000s [Read More…]
Beretta have unveiled their newest pistol, the APX A1 FS, evolving their APX platform and making some important improvements including new slide serrations, new trigger and springs, an MRDS optics cut and improved ergonomics. The APX A1 full size follows the APX A1 [Read More…]
On 19 April the US Army announced the selection of SIG Sauer’s entries into the Next Generation Squad Weapons program. Despite an official announcement and a media event to unveil the weapons to the press, details on weight, loadout and capabilities have been [Read More…]
X-Vision Optics have announced the introduction of their TR1 Thermal Reflex Sight. The sight has a range of around 1,000 yards and X-Vision say it “captures sharp thermal images and smoothly tracks rapid motion in the distance.” The TR1 has 1-4x [Read More…]
Nevada-based Mesa Tactical have introduced their latest shell carrier combined with an RMR mount. Machined from 6061-T6 aluminum, which is then anodized, the carrier can hold four or six shells and comes mounted with a Trijicon RMR. The mount is available [Read More…]
Century Arms have announced a partial recall of BFT47 rifles after the discovery of some ‘durability issues’ which might ‘affect proper feeding and or chambering of ammunition’. Check out Century Arms’ notice below for further details and a [Read More…]
The announcement of the winner of the US Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapons program means the Army can now ramp up preparation for mass production of the ammunition to feed the new weapon systems. Lake City has previously provided the 6.8mm GP projectiles for [Read More…]
The Department of Defense has announced that Massachusetts-based FLIR Systems and Florida-based Leonardo DRS have been awarded firm fixed price contracts worth over $500 million to provide Family of Weapons Sights-Individual thermal imaging systems. FLIR have been [Read More…]
On 19 April, the US Army announced that SIG Sauer had won the Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) competition with its 6.8mm hybrid ammunition, MCX Spear and LMG-6.8 selected to equip the US Army’s close combat forces. The Department of Defense held a Media Round [Read More…]
Yesterday, the US Army announced the selection of SIG Sauer’s weapons and 6.8 hybrid metallic cased ammunition as the Next Generation Squad Weapons System (NGSW). Read the US Army’s selection announcement and our round-up of the NGSW program in full here. [Read More…]
Ohio-based HM Defense have introduced their Stealth MS5, an integrally suppressed AR-15 with a patented monobloc barrel. Chambered in 5.56×45/.223, the Stealth MS5 weighs in at 7lbs 14oz (without a magazine). The rifle features HM Defense’s ‘Battle [Read More…]
We, here at TFB, have been closely following the US Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon program since it began back in 2018. Today, it has been announced that SIG Sauer have won the contract to provide both the NGSW-Rifle and NGSW-Automatic Rifle. An initial [Read More…]
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