The mainstream media has often been at odds with the firearms community, especially in recent years. Conversations and articles can often be found riddled with highly politicized terms like “assault rifle” and “assault weapon” which often makes [Read More…]
On January 25, Polish media outlet Onet.pl published an article about the MSBS GROT, the new service rifle recently introduced by the Polish Armed Forces. The MSBS Grot is produced by Fabryka Broni “Łucznik” in Radom, part of the Polish Armaments Group, a [Read More…]
Of all the questions in the gun world, What Is An Assault Rifle, seems to be the one answered and used by those least competent to do so. And since TFB is (arguably) the world’s leading resource on firearms, I thought we should take a minute to settle the debate once [Read More…]
With the recent official news that the new AK-12 and AK-15 rifles have been adopted by the Russian Ministry of Defense it’s with interest we with Kalashnikov’s help can take a deeper look into how the rifles were developed and engineered. Nathaniel F [Read More…]
The Russian Defense Ministry has made a decision regarding its next infantry rifle: It will adopt everything, it seems. Not only will Russian Army forces receive the improved 5.45x39mm AK-12 (the new AK-12, not the different previous version), and the 7.62x39mm AK-15, [Read More…]
The Cold War is famous as the squaring off of two superpowers: The United States, and the Soviet Union, and their duel-by-proxy in Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas. The standard rifles of each side, as well, became proxies: On the Soviet side, the famous AK-47 [Read More…]
Several days ago we wrote about the TM-9 pistol of a Montenegrin company called TARA. In this article, we’ll take a brief look at an AR-15 style rifle made by the same company. The rifle is called TARA TM-4. Although being based on the AR-15, it has some [Read More…]
A warning against romanticism in military planning. In the early 1940s, the US Army Air Corps (USAAC) made a fateful decision that would affect the lives of tens of thousands of men over the next decade. Two years prior, the Army had just begun testing her newest [Read More…]
Earlier this month, the Serbian Army debuted a new 6.5 Grendel weapon system, developed by Zastava. The rifle, called M17, is a heavily modified variant of the M70 AK family that has been developed by the company for decades. It incorporates a number of significant new [Read More…]
The Thales EF88 assault rifle has seen its first operational deployment, and the reception is reportedly very warm. According to an article in Defence Connect, the rifles were deployed with Task Group Taji 5 (5th rotation), a battalion of Australian Defence Force [Read More…]
Russian concept arms designer Alexey Tarasenko’s firearm designs have been published in Kalashnikov Gun Magazine several times. In this article, we’ll take a look at the designer’s latest concept of an assault rifle that is designed to solve the [Read More…]
DefenceWeb recently released a video overview of the new Steyr / Rheinmetall RS-556 assault rifle. The rifle, a sort of hybrid between an AR-15 and a Steyr AUG, was submitted to the Bundeswehr’s System Sturmgewehr Bundeswehr trials, competing against both Heckler [Read More…]
Manufacturer SIG Sauer brought along their brand new MCX Rattler ultra compact 5.56mm and .300 Blackout assault rifle/carbine to the 2017 Association of the United States Army annual meeting. The Rattler is an ambitious design intended to bring a reliable extremely [Read More…]
The roller-locked* Heckler & Koch G3 rifles and MP5 submachine guns have become iconic weapons of the Cold War era, being used in conflicts everywhere from civil wars in Africa, to hostage rescues and counter terror operations in Europe, to anti-cartel operations in [Read More…]
Representatives of the German gun manufacturing company Heckler & Koch confirmed today that the company has submitted both the HK416 assault rifle and the new HK433 modular assault rifle to the Bundeswehr’s System Sturmgewehr Bundeswehr (SSB) rifle [Read More…]
At the 2017 Association of the United States Army annual meeting, Heckler & Koch brought out a weapon much talked-about but not seen on a US show floor until now: The HK433 rifle. Designed on the heels of the G36 controversy and intended to add a modern, inexpensive [Read More…]
With the recent push for small arms ammunition with increased range, power and capability, are military customers in danger of being taken for a ride by industry marketeers working to sell rifles in new calibers? Is the primary driving force behind new infantry [Read More…]
The following is an article that was originally written in Russian by TFB contributor Maxim Popenker, and Andrey Ulanov, and translated to English by Peter Samsonov. With their permission, I have replicated the text here, and edited it, for the enrichment of you, our [Read More…]
The G36’s replacement is now known to be one of five guns – or at least that’s the report coming from reputable defense outlet IHS Jane’s. Competing in Germany’s System Sturmgewehr Bundeswehr (Bundeswehr Assault Rifle System) will be the [Read More…]
It’s a blunder so bad it makes you look twice: On the new sculpture dedicated to Russia’s most famous small arms designer, there is an unintentional homage to a weapon of Russia’s hated adversaries during the Great Patriotic War. Behind the tasteful [Read More…]
We have just seen the cancellation of the Interim Combat Service Rifle, which gives me a good springboard to talk about marketing. Specifically, we will be discussing a kind of undercover word-of-mouth marketing that I’ve encountered a number of times over the [Read More…]
The US Army’s program to field a new standard-issue 7.62mm caliber rifle is dead in the water, it seems. Multiple anonymous sources have informed TFB that the Interim Combat Service Rifle program has been cancelled as part of a massive review of US Army small [Read More…]
In one of its recent news releases, Kalashnikov Concern has announced that the Russian government will start testing the new AM-17 and AMB-17 compact assault rifles in 2018. Several Russian special service agencies including the Federal Protective Service (FSO) and [Read More…]
The excellent firearms reference website Modern Firearms is undergoing a major move to a new location, with a much improved interface and look. Although the new site is still in beta, it already appears to include most if not all of the pages from the original, in an [Read More…]
On display at the recent Russian Army 2017 expo was Kalashnikov’s new AM-17 and AMB-17 compact assault rifles. The AM-17 is a 5.45x39mm caliber improved version of the MA assault rifle introduced last year, designed to fill the same role as the AKS-74U compact [Read More…]
The timeline for the replacement of the troubled G36 rifle with a new yet-to-be-selected weapon has been announced by the Bundeswehr. The German System Sturmgewehr Bundeswehr (SSB)program was announced on February 3rd, 2016, with the solicitation itself being released [Read More…]
Suppressor manufacturers, start your engines. The United States Marine Corps Systems Command (MARSYSCOM) has issued a new request for information (RFI) to the industry regarding future suppressors for the M4 and M4A1 Carbine and M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR). The [Read More…]
The United States Marine Corps has issued a new acquisition notice for up to 50,814 M27 Infantry Automatic Rifles (IAR), to be sole sourced from Heckler & Koch. The notice is technically not a solicitation in and of itself, but a pre-solicitation notice, intended to [Read More…]
Yes, the M4 Carbine will be replaced by a 7.62mm Interim Combat Service Rifle, and also no it won’t. Ah, I see I need to explain. This past weekend, I published an article reporting on the ICSR program’s recently released request for proposal (RFP), and [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…]
Your Privacy Choices