Imagine loading your M2 Browning .50 caliber heavy machine gun, as you hear the rotors of the heavy CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter increase in intensity as you take off above the South China Sea. You’re the door gunner! Sometimes it might be worth getting [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…]
There are too many photographs to keep records of, but there can never be too many with a machine gun spitting fire. Here we try to collect and share them in our Photo Of The Day. Today we have Special Forces Training in Germany. There are U.S. soldiers from the 10th [Read More…]
Dusting off the Underground Arms Watch series after a dormant start to the year, we return with a look at some recent examples of ‘ghost guns’. First up, here’s a curious Tokarev TT33 which appears to have a non-standard frame. It was seized along with [Read More…]
A Norwegian soldier with the FN Minimi in Bamako, Mali. One of the purposes of TFB’s Photo Of The Day is to broaden the audience for the excellent work done by professionals in combat photography. A perfect picture may take everything from a split second to months of [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…]
Ukraine is converting salvaged Russian PKT machine guns for ground use. There appears to be a car repair shop in Kyiv which is taking in captured and salvaged Russian tank machine guns and adapting them for ground use with an ad-hoc stock and pistol grip assembly. [Read More…]
When normal people hear the word “smart gun”, the first thing they usually think of is the guns that require either a fingerprint or some sort of wrist band that allows only that user to shoot it (in theory). However, when cinephiles and hoplophiles hear the [Read More…]
The US Army is yet to officially announce the winner(s) of the Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) program but we know how many weapons they’ll be ordering between October 2022 and September 2023. The US Army’s weapon system program acquisition costs for [Read More…]
Generally, there isn’t much information about Sudan’s military industry in general and their small arms in particular. The country has been sanctioned and isolated from the international community for a long time as a result of bloody civil war, genocide, [Read More…]
On March 24th the ATF released an open letter to all Federal Firearms Licensees in regards to the purchase, selling, and possession of Forced Reset Triggers or FRTs. Although this probably doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone, the letter is quite clear in its [Read More…]
It’s now three weeks since Vladimir Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine. We have seen the Ukrainian Armed Forces put up an impressive fight while Russia’s forces have stalled since their initial attempts at a lightning advance failed. While images of burnt-out or [Read More…]
The US Army has released a sources sought notice for a 6.8mm conversion kit for the M240B and M240L machine guns. The kit will convert the weapons from 7.62x51mm to the 6.8mm round which wins the Next Generation Squad Weapon program. The move is essentially market [Read More…]
Maxim Defense is a fairly well-known company within the firearms industry and they are probably most well known for their development of suppressors, and more recently, their development of short-barreled rifle ammunition which tumbles upon impact to increase terminal [Read More…]
The Canadian government has confirmed that shipments of ‘lethal’ military aid will be shipped to Ukraine as the crisis with Russia continues. The military aid will take the form of small arms and ammunition and will follow earlier non-lethal equipment which [Read More…]
FN America have announced a $50 million contract with the US Army to provide M240L GPMGs and titanium receivers. The new award is in line with the June 2021 contract worth $92 million to produce M240 series general purpose machine guns. The titanium receiver is the [Read More…]
![[SHOT 2022] Get My Belt! The FN M249S Returns For All Your Crew-Served Needs](https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/BB8D1EF4-E8F2-4F86-9DD0-688D4976097E-660x260.jpeg)
At the last four SHOT Shows I have longingly fondled the FN 249S semiautomatic belt-fed rifles. I have made wishes while blowing out birthday candles, on shooting stars, and on pulled wishbones. In 2020 I even asked Santa (publicly) for an FDE Para version and the [Read More…]
In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves is at Steyr USA’s HQ in Alabama talking with the head instructor of the Steyr Academy, Brian Marshall, about the AUG LMG or light machine gun – the Steyr AUG HBAR. James and Brian go over the features of this unique full auto and even subject it to [Read More…]
The UK’s Royal Navy have been testing a new mount for their .50 caliber defensive guns. The Agile, Small-deflection, Precision (ASP) is made by Oregon-based Flex Force. The ASP stabilizes the gun using gyroscopic stabilization which will make longer range, more [Read More…]
It’s 1968, the Cold War has gone hot and you’re a British soldier somewhere in northwest Germany. The 3rd Shock Army is coming straight at you and you’re trying to decide if the Soviet motor rifle regiment infantry attacking your defensive position is [Read More…]
Following the tragic shooting death of the cinematographer of the movie “Rust“, Alec Baldwin Tweeted “Every film/TV set that uses guns, fake or otherwise, should have a police officer on set, hired by the production, to specifically monitor weapons [Read More…]
A while back we sadly reported that the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot would have its final dates set for October of this year. Having never been to one previously, I really wanted to get out there and attempt to get the full experience. As most of you know, the Knob [Read More…]
If there was a French version of the movie Apocalypse Now (1979), perhaps this would be one of the scenes. I guess the action of the FAMAS wouldn’t rock any kind of canoe, but I wonder how much the recoil of that machine gun would make the boat go in the opposite [Read More…]
The UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment Sales Authority recently released a booklet containing arms and equipment which is to be sold off and disposed. This includes SIG Sauer pistols, FN light machine guns, aircraft, armoured vehicles and a large ship! The [Read More…]
Last week TFB travelled to the UK’s largest defense exposition, Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI), where we took a look at some of the newest small arms technology – including FN Herstal’s new EVOLYS. Officially unveiled in May, DSEI [Read More…]
The Norwegian Armed Forces just awarded FN Herstal with a multi-year contract to supply up to 4,000 FN MINIMI 7.62 Mk3 Light Machine Guns. In association with this order is also a supply of spare parts over a 7-year period and maintenance and support equipment over a [Read More…]
While in the last 20 years many European firearms industries faded into obscurity (just look at France, Spain, and Portugal), other countries seem to successfully expand their industries. At the recent IDEF 2021 exhibition in Istanbul, Turkey, I came across several new [Read More…]
Photo Of The Day: Above you have the new German MG6. The MG6 is a Dillon Aero M134D Gatling Minigun. It is chambered in 7.62x51mm and has a firing rate of over 3000 rounds per minute. During the summer, TFB had the pleasure to examine and play around with some of the [Read More…]
The recent and hasty withdrawal of the United States Armed Forces from the country of Afghanistan has been somewhat of a controversy. Many say that the withdrawal of US forces was irresponsible while others are lauding the decision as a step towards a more peaceful [Read More…]
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