In the last 30 years, we witnessed how easy it is for a country to lose its firearms manufacturing capability: the UK, France, Portugal, and Spain are prime examples. And building such a capability from scratch is extremely difficult, and UAE and “Caracal” [Read More…]
Last week we reported that the German government had allotted funds for the Bundeswehr’s procurement of its new rifle – the G95A1. Heckler & Koch have now released a statement and some photographs of the Bundeswehr’s new rifles. The new The [Read More…]
On 14 December the German government’s Budget and Defense Committees convened and the initial funds for the procurement of the German Army’s next service rifle were granted. This clears the way for the initial procurement of the HK416A8 as the G95A1. [Read More…]
It is time for another project from German GunWorks, the Zero Compromise Optics ZC527 Jaguar. The basis for this rifle is a Haenel RS9 long-range rifle in .338 Lapua Magnum. More or less everything was revised by the Swabian company, for instance, they replaced all the [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…]
The Duty RDS sight is the latest product announcement from the Swedish company Aimpoint, with just days until SHOT Show 2022 opens. As the name indicates, the target customer group is Law Enforcement in need of a budget-friendly, yet durable sight. The Duty RDS has a [Read More…]
Designed in Switzerland with discretion in mind, the new B&T SPR300 PRO comes tailored for the U.S. market. The new PRO model now accepts STANAG pattern magazines, comes chambered in 300 Blackout, and accepts AR-pattern accessories. Thanks to B&T, I was able [Read More…]
Over the years, German GunWorks have enriched us with various interesting projects, and it’s now time for a TFB exclusive: The Widder Project, which is German for Aries/Ram. Here you can see a JPR-1 Nordland Scout rifle made by Unique Alpine transformed by [Read More…]
Despite the ongoing dispute between Heckler & Koch and Haenel which has ground the Bundeswehr’s G36 replacement program to a halt the next optic to be mounted on Germany’s future service rifle has been selected. The Bundeswehr began their search for a [Read More…]
After a lengthy Form 3 delay, the new B&T SPR300 PRO finally arrived this week. This new version of the B&T SPR300 may look like the old but represents a total overhaul of the original design. Let’s take a look at what’s new on the Brugger & [Read More…]
Few things in life are as universally loved as integrally suppressed firearms. From the MP5SD to guns like the Maxim 9 and AS VAL, there is just something unique and fascinating about integrally suppressed arms. That is why B&T is excited to announce the [Read More…]
Those who have been around TFB for a few years will surely remember the G29 Viper project from German GunWorks. They made an exceptional Haenel RS9 in .338 LM. German GunWorks has its roots in various conversions of firearms, which formed the basis of the company even [Read More…]
It’s often been asked “why don’t GLOCK make rifles?” and time and time again we’ve heard rumours and even had a few hoaxes about a GLOCK Assault Rifle entering the market. But last month a couple of interesting new patents from GLOCK were [Read More…]
Just shy of thirty years ago, in May of 1991, Karl Brügger and Heinrich Thomet established a company to produce suppressors for their domestic Swiss market. Though Thomet has since moved on, today Brügger and his team are still working to manufacture what they believe [Read More…]
Germany’s rifle debacle continues with the German government looking set to award the Bundeswehr rifle contract to the only other contender – Heckler & Koch. With Haenel disqualified after infringements of Heckler and Koch’s patents (for the magazine [Read More…]
This time last year TFB and TFBTV cast and crew were busy making any last minute plans for SHOT Show 2020. With the COVID-19 shutdown of our favorite show, TFB and TFBTV set into motion what would become the event of a lifetime. Actually, it was just a bunch of guys [Read More…]
There is so much going on in Germany and their attempts to renew the small arms for their Army at the moment. If you think it’s confusing, you have our sympathies and full understanding. First, it was announced that the Haenel MK556 had won the tender to replace [Read More…]
The German Federal Ministry of Defense (BMVg) have revealed further details on the tender as well as the future timeline for the procurement of the Bundeswehr’s next service rifle system. Almost a year ago, in November 2019, the benchmark testing between the [Read More…]
Back in 2018, the Indian Army began its latest effort to modernise its small arms. A tender for 5.56x45mm carbines was awarded to UAE-based Caracal. The tender called for 93,895 CAR 816 carbines but news of the contract has been scarce ever since. Now it seems that the [Read More…]
What is the German Navy doing in this snowy environment? They were also part of the Cold Response 2020 exercise in Norway, earlier this year before we knew what the Coronavirus was. How soon will it be before we know which firearm will take over the HK G36? Will it be [Read More…]
It probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone that the decision on which supplier that will deliver the next standard assault rifle for the German Army has reportedly been delayed once again. According to several German news outlets the program has once again [Read More…]
There are a lot of things going on in France at the moment. Apart from the French Army ordering 75,000 Glock 17 Gen 5s (some suppressed) and 2,600 FN SCAR-H PR DMR rifles (again suppressed, by B&T) with high-end accessories like Schmidt & Bender scopes, thermals [Read More…]
Fire from above in this Picture Of The Day, as a German Kampfschwimmer (“Combat Swimmer”) aims his G28 rifle towards the ground. He’s riding an H145M LUH SOF battlefield support helicopter. According to Airbus, it’s “a medium-sized military [Read More…]
Since the late 1990s, the Heckler & Koch G36 is the standard rifle of the German Bundeswehr. Already in the 2nd quarter of 2017 it was made official that the Bundeswehr were going to procure roughly 120 000 assault rifles with accessories, to replace the G36. In [Read More…]
The online edition of the German newspaper Die Welt, reports that H&K management demands the company workforce to work 2.5 to 3 unpaid hours per week. This wage cut is apparently part of a company-wide cost cutting plan. Quite surprisingly this happens in a period [Read More…]
During the third week of February, Abu Dhabi, UAE, hosted the biennial event of IDEX (International Defence Exhibition & Conference). This is an expo where manufacturers of military-related items come from all over the world to display their production, possibly to [Read More…]
In 2017 Beretta acquired the Victrix Armaments brand from the Italian firm Rottigni. Together with the better known American company Barrett, the two companies will be sharing an order of about 6 000 sniper rifles “along with Telescopic Sights and [Read More…]
Accuracy International Ltd. (AI) based in Portsmouth, UK, announced an order to upgrade and retrofit the G22 sniper rifles of the German Armed Forces through its German representative POL-TEC. The G22, or Gewehr 22 (Rifle), is an AI AWM-F (AI-Arctic Warfare Magnum) [Read More…]
Germany’s Federal Police, the Bundespolizei, are seeking contractors to fulfil major orders for various accessories to modernise their MP5 submachine guns. The large scale procurement was announced via a contract notice posted on the EU’s Tenders Electronic [Read More…]
A year ago TFB reported about German Gunworks’ exceptional G29 Viper project, and some of us saw it in real life at the German EnforceTac exhibition this spring. Neither of the times was it fully finished, but I kept in contact with the owner of the company Mr. [Read More…]
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