Nathaniel is a history enthusiast and firearms hobbyist whose primary interest lies in military small arms technological developments beginning with the smokeless powder era. He can be reached via email at nathaniel.f@staff.thefirearmblog.com.
Those who take advantage of SIG’s recently announced “voluntary upgrade” may soon be taking home a little piece of the Modular Handgun System program: The company evidently plans to introduce a new trigger design developed for the MHS program as part [Read More…]
The Infantry’s load is at an all-time high, resulting in a high rate of injuries and medical non-deployables. Planners are desperately searching for new ways to lift the burden on soldiers and Marines, before the problem spirals out of control. The obvious and [Read More…]
SIG Sauer – recent winner of the US Army’s Modular Handgun System competition – is being sued by an officer from the Stamford, Connecticut Police Department Special Response Team over an incident he claims was the result of a defect in their P320 [Read More…]
The US Army has released a solicitation for a new 7.62mm infantry rifle to replace the M4. The Interim Combat Service Rifle program, known to be in the works since April of this year, would replace M4 Carbines in use with combat units with a new weapon in the 7.62x51mm [Read More…]
Canadian technology company Mawashi has formally introduced their flagship product: A passive exoskeleton designed to help the soldier carry his heavy load. The exoskeleton is reportedly based on research into how the human body distributes weight, studying obese [Read More…]
An integrally suppressed variant of the AK called the Gopak was on display a recent demonstration at the Goncharivske trial grounds in the Chernihiv area of Ukraine. In two videos released via YouTube this week, the rifle is demonstrated firing and being inspected by [Read More…]
It seems that human augmentation devices have seen their first practical application. Passive exoskeletons – perhaps less glamorously called “full body orthopedics” have been spotted in use by Russian sappers in Palmyra, Syria. The sappers – [Read More…]
In an era of increasingly resilient body armor, new small arms ammunition solutions are required to even the odds between the shooter and shootee. The company Stiletto Systems, based out of the UK, is advertising its new bullet as a possible solution for this problem. [Read More…]
The traditional wisdom goes: Lightweight or “pencil” profile barrels can shoot great – just so long as you don’t get them hot. After a mag or two of heat is dumped into your lightweight build, your point of impact (POI) will probably shift by [Read More…]
What do you get when you take the venerable speedster 7.62 Tokarev, and load it with a muzzleloader-style sabot and 50gr .22 cal projectile? You get one of the most interesting pistol, submachine gun, and personal defense weapon ammunition concepts there is! Today [Read More…]
This is a guest post by Zain from Pakistan The ‘Sporter’ cal .308 Winchester has been designed as a hunting rifle with the firing mechanism of G3A3 in semiautomatic mode. The accuracy of the gun has been enhanced with a freely floating extended barrel and a mil [Read More…]
It has been a little while since we visited the subject of modern personal defense weapon calibers, so to start it off again we’ll be taking a look at a new high velocity round that is only a few years old: Armscor’s .22 TCM. This round was reportedly [Read More…]
Manufacturer Surefire has formally announced a new variant of their successful Warcomp combination flash hider/compensator. The new muzzle device, called the Warcomp 556 CTN, sports a closed six tine “birdcage” style flash hider configuration, versus the [Read More…]
Coke’s slogan is “Taste the Feeling”, but maybe in the Ukraine it should be “the Army’s Rust Remover!” instead. “We use Coca-Cola when the gun is rusty. Coca-Cola takes rust away” says Ukrainian Ground Forces machine [Read More…]
OK, who would win in a race: A soldier, a firefighter, or a knight? What, you’ve never asked yourself that? Well, for those of you who did, you finally have your answer thanks to a video released by Daniel Jaquet of the Centre d’Études Supérieures de la [Read More…]
In a recent article, Guns & Ammo editor Eric Poole gave us our first look at the Army’s new XM17 Modular Handgun System in action. Within the 3:12 runtime of the brief video, Poole gives a rundown of the handgun’s features and advertised benefits vs. the [Read More…]
In the rush to augment the infantry’s firepower with new advanced small arms technologies, we may be on the precipice of crippling their ability to fight wars. The push to equip the infantryman with more powerful rifles and machine guns risks reducing his mobility [Read More…]
The US Army’s newest magazine for the M16 and M4, the Enhanced Performance Magazine (EPM), failed a recent USMC test of rifle magazines, according to a recent Marine Corps SYSCOM document released by National Review. The report shows the EPM coming in last in the [Read More…]
The US Army is currently testing a new full body orthopedic “exosuit” designed to reduce soldier fatigue and injury, according to a press release made by the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) last week. Although similar in concept, the new suit is neither an [Read More…]
According to a recent article at Military.com, US Army spokespersons said in emails with the magazine that the Army would not be re-trying the Modular Handgun System competition between finalists SIG Sauer and Glock. This statement comes on the heels of Glock Vice [Read More…]
The United States House of Representatives has just passed their version of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and included within it is a provision that will mandate the release of all M1911 handguns currently in US Army inventory to the Civilian [Read More…]
In January of 2001, the US Army introduced a new slogan to replace the classic “Be All You Can Be” which young men had recruited under for over two decades. The branch’s new slogan was “An Army of One”, signalling a brand new take on a [Read More…]
The Polish Special Forces support unit Jednostka Wojskowa Nil has ordered a batch of 27 60mm vz. 99 Antos ultralight mortars, following up a previous order earlier this year. MilMag has an excellent article detailing this acquisition and the features of the [Read More…]
Colt’s Manufacturing is in hot water: A lawsuit filed in the District Connecticut court by finance company Prestige Capital is targeted at the gunmaker, with the aim of recouping half a million dollars plus legal fees and interest over what the plaintiff claims [Read More…]
Via a press release published earlier this month, German gunmaker Hecker & Koch announced it had reduced its financial debt to a mere €170 million (~$194 million US), thanks to an equity increase of €50 million via a capital shares increase. With this, the [Read More…]
A concept for an advanced suit of powered personal armor was unveiled late last month at the Moscow Prototyping Center, sporting hexagonal modular armor panels, full face helmet with mocked up information display, and a bullpup rifle. The suit, revealed to the internet [Read More…]
The Israeli Defense Forces are looking at acquiring a drone with a punch, according to news outlet Defense One. Per an article of their website, the IDF is looking at the TIKAD from Duke Robotics; a lightweight aerial drone that is able to be equipped with a variety of [Read More…]
Can a computer pick out and identify guns directly from video footage, without the aid of a human? That’s the technology being demonstrated by a program at the Spanish University of Granada, which earlier this year released a video purporting to show an computer [Read More…]
Alliant Techsystems’ (ATK) spinoff company Vista Outdoor has won a contract worth $52 million for Mk. 311 Mod 3 frangible ammunition to supply the US Army, with a completion date of June 22, 2022, according to the June Department of Defense contracts press [Read More…]
NATO member and ally the Republic of Estonia has released a tender with up to €75 million (roughly $86 million USD) for nearly 20,000 new rifles in both the 5.56mm and 7.62mm calibers, according to reports from IHS Janes’ and other outlets. The new contract is [Read More…]
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