The US Army’s ‘Third Arm’ is designed to redistribute some of the weight soldiers carry in their arms and shoulders to their abdomen. This could make carrying heavy equipment and weapons over long distances much easier, lowering the short and [Read More…]
In a recent propaganda video released by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Report Number 190 to be precise), a 7.62x51mm NATO MK 17 SCAR was spotted over the course of the propaganda video. Of course, there is nothing new about this development, we’ve covered [Read More…]
A recently released Marine Corps Times article covers a discussion with a MARSOC spokesman who confirmed in no uncertain terms that the command was not interested in an M27 IAR procurement program. The reasons stated involved the Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures [Read More…]
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army have all but abandoned the venerable Type 79 Submachine Gun in favour of the newer QCW-05 bullpup personal defence weapon. It seems, however, that the Type 79 remains popular with China’s SWAT teams. Photos of upgraded [Read More…]
We recently wrote about Enhanced Tactical Arms with their new grip design at SHOT 2018. But during the show, we were able to get a behind the scenes look at the small companies efforts to replicate the developmental history of the M4 carbine from the early beginnings [Read More…]
The FLIR T50 ACTS is a thermal weapon sight that is almost a decade old. But it does not feel out of date and has some interesting features that many modern day thermal sights do not have. The T50 is a clip-on thermal weapon sight designed for military and law [Read More…]
While still under the effect of the strong wake created by the flood of new, eye-catching SHOT 2018 products, this old scribe was somehow motivated to once again write on older, lesser-known stuff. The chosen subject was the INA submachine gun. Very well known in [Read More…]
Beretta’s Intelligent Rail emerged out of a previous U.S. Military solicitation for a “Powered Rail” on rifles and carbines several years ago. One specific contract was the Precision Sniper Rifle competition that SOCOM held, requiring competitors to [Read More…]
Sometimes the simplest ideas turn into really good ones. Tactical Application Group (completely unrelated to the gear line) is a very small conglomerate of veterans based in the Las Vegas area that has put forth a product that is designed to make the operation of a [Read More…]
At the 2018 SHOT Show, Kinetic Research Group – known for their high quality chassis for Remington 700 and Tikka T3 rifles – displayed something totally new: A complete precision bolt action rifle they called the “SOTIC”, after the Special [Read More…]
Recent media shared on a pro-Azeri Armed Forces group called Polygon Azerbaijan has provided details on an anti-material rifle that has been in development by the Azeri Ministry of Defense Industry since at least 2009. In 2009 the Azerbaijan Minister of Defense [Read More…]
Checking in with Yankee Hill Machine at the 2018 SHOT Show, we found a solid set of new products for shooters of all types.The YHM RESONATOR silencer is the 7.62mm sibling of the 5.56mm Turbo released last year. This is a no-nonsense can with a proven and popular [Read More…]
The Army Marksmanship Unit’s .264 USA – a medium-sized 6.5mm round in-between the 6.5mm Grendel and 6.5mm Creedmoor in size – is not yet dead, it seems. The round, about which little had been heard in official channels for a couple of years, is the [Read More…]
Hang S. has contributed this post to TFB covering the history of the K2 rifle and various attempts at upgrading it from 2005 until today. This is Hang’s first post for TFB. Failure of XK-8 In 2003, S&T Motiv (previous known as Daewoo Precision) started to [Read More…]
Commemorative Air Force (CAF) has squadrons around the United States dedicated to preserving and flying warbirds. Manned by volunteers and funded by donations, they bring many iconic WWII aircraft into flight worthy conditions for air shows and rides. The author had an [Read More…]
A relative newcomer to the field of small arms, Turkish company Satek Arge has recently shown a working prototype of a rotating six-barrel machine gun design with variants in 4 different calibers (7.62x51mm, .50 BMG, 20x102mm, 25x137mm). The company was most [Read More…]
Two important decisions by the Army have stood out among the recent news of the M17 handgun starting to replace M9s throughout armories service-wide. First, is the news that within the Army Infantry, the handguns will be issued down to team leaders. Second, is [Read More…]
Taking drones down with so-called “soft measures” has so far been the fruit of most efforts to counter enemy UAVs. From using Picatinny rail mounted devices to interfere with signals to the enemy UAV, to using 40x53mm ammunition fired out of an automatic [Read More…]
Prelude to a war, an opportunity for inventory: In the last days of 1895, a contingent of mounted Rhodesian Police headed into the South African Republic (ZAR), also known as the Transvaal. Their goal: to initiate an uprising of “Uitlanders”-foreign [Read More…]
The ability to execute complex operations in conditions of low light or complete darkness has been an asset unique to NATO militaries since the 1990s when fighting against local insurgencies. Often within planning sessions for OIF, OEF, or the current Resolute Support [Read More…]
Flashlights are awesome gifts – useful, practical and for the most part, politically neutral. Of course, if you want to turn it up a notch, weapon lights, lasers and infrared devices offer advanced capabilities. While I’m currently shopping for a Surefire M600U [Read More…]
Those who own MP5 or variants roller delayed guns may go through a decision process regarding sights and optics. Stay with the classic drum sights, add a claw mounted rail, or have a builder weld on a rail section for optics mounting. But because of the side charging [Read More…]
The first holster to be issued with the US Army’s new Modular Handgun System, including both the M17 and M18 pistols, will be a variant of the Safariland 7TS holster, featuring both ALS and SLS locking systems. The holster is the first of at least three holsters [Read More…]
Following its long bi-national design-origin experience with Italy (Beretta) and Chile (FAMAE) in the manufacture and marketing of submachine guns, Forjas Taurus finally decided that it was high time to go ahead and walk alone. The whole thing appears to have started in [Read More…]
Our last episode with Col. Dillon, the infantry officer discusses U.S. small arms and some of their finer points of employment within the Vietnam War while on his two tours there as a battalion field grade officer. The Colt 1911? Great for shooting off locks. The M16A1? Dillon actually credits that [Read More…]
Silencer design, manufacturing processes and materials have come a long way in just the last ten years. Once saddled with sealed cans and and limited options, shooters can now pick from a handful of industry-leading silencers that can be disassembled and cleaned with [Read More…]
The United States Marine Corps is following in the US Army in the procurement of the Saab M3A1 MAAWS (Multi-Role Anti-Armor/Anti-Personnel Weapon System) recoilless rifle. The M3A1 is a lightweight multipurpose explosive projector weapon which can engage targets at [Read More…]
I consider my SilencerCo Saker 762 to be an ‘end-of-the-world’ rifle silencer. It is simply a beast, capable of eating high pressure rounds on short barrels. And if need be, the Saker can pull double duty as a blunt force weapon, hammer or a jack stand. However, it [Read More…]
An entrepreneur in Seattle has developed a bayonet mounting attachment that is specifically designed for AR15s with standard front sight gas blocks. Currently, the U.S. Infantryman of today doesn’t have an option for mounting a bayonet on an M16A4/M4 that has [Read More…]
It seems that the red dot on handgun debate is raging as hard as the caliber debate. Proponents argue that the red dot is more “accurate” or at least allows for more precise shots. Opponents would state that it is slower to get shots on target due to the time [Read More…]
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