An Indian reader emailed me an article he wrote about India’s service weapon, the INSAS 5.56mm Rifle. The article is facinating and I highly recommend you take the time to read it. I think it is safe to say the gun was designed by a committee. It has a FNC-styled [Read More…]
I recently blogged about Tony Williams’ presentation at the NDIA Conference in which he argued that that NATO needs a new rifle and machine gun round. Directly after his presentation Per G. Arvidsson, Chairman of the NATO Weapons & Sensors Working Group, gave [Read More…]
The Marine Times reports … The Marine Corps intends to purchase 1.8 million rounds of the Army’s new green bullet in addition to the millions of U.S. Special Operations Command cartridges already downrange as the service looks to find the best replacement for [Read More…]
AccurateShooter reports on the Army’s new 5.56mm ammunition … The 62-grain bullet for the new M855A1 ammo is a completely new design. While it may appear to have a plastic “ballistic tip”, that’s deceiving. The new bullet created for M855A1 ammo has a [Read More…]
The Marine command has been slow to field the new and improved SOST ammunition. Marine Times reports … Marine Times reports “I got mine from a [military policeman] attached to the company, but I haven’t shot them yet,” said a lance corporal who serves as a [Read More…]
Barrett’s REC7 piston-operated AR-15 rifle was previously only available in 6.8mm SPC. It is now also available in 5.56mm NATO. They have also made some minor improvement to the rifle. They are now using a Magpul MOE stock, instead of a standard M4-style stock, [Read More…]
There has been a lot of discussion about the 5.56mm cartridge recently. I highly recommend reading Daniel Watters’s history of the development of the 5.56x45mm cartridge. It is incredibly detailed and continuously updated.
The Marine Times reports that the USMC have adopted the new SOST (Special Operations Science and Technology) 5.56mm ammunition … The open-tipped rounds until now have been available only to Special Operations Command troops. The first 200,000 5.56mm Special [Read More…]
Prepare to be disappointed … the MSRP of the HK416 / MR556 / HK556 / MR556-A5 is $2995. This price is similar to the FN SCAR 16S and the Bushmaster ACR. This price is for the 16″ barreled model. [ Many thanks to ST for emailing me the link. ]
You saw it here first! I had no idea that Sig Sauer were making AR-15 / M16 rifles but my DSEi spy spotted this prototype SIG516 1 PDW at the DSEi 09 expo. It features a 7″ barrel, putting it firmly in the PDW class, and chambers the 5.56mm NATO. I do not know if [Read More…]
Indian soldiers are complaining about the INSAS rifles they are issued. One of the chief complaints is the poor sling design. It breaks easily and its placement on the rifle obscures the front sight! Times of India reports: Also, its sling often snaps while firing, [Read More…]
Benelli, not wanting to miss out, has entered the lucrative black rifle market with Benelli MR1 Carbine, a 5.56mm gas piston operated rifle. Benelli MR1 Carbine The MR1 Carbine is the civilian version of the Beretta Rx4 Storm (which never took off). Benelli, a [Read More…]
The Beretta ARX 160 is the new assault rifle being adopted the the Italians. I first mentioned it on in blog post last October and now thanks to REMOV I have the specs and some detailed photos (copyright Armi e Tiro/Beretta). According to REMOV the R&D cost 4 [Read More…]
Two months ago I blogged that the Norwegian Army suspected that the ammunition used in their new H&K 416 rifles were making soldiers sicks. Chief of Staff Brig. General Rune Jakobsen initiated an investigation after Army HQ received three different reports about [Read More…]
Sig are offering the Sig 556 rifle in a pistol configuration called the P556. It has proved very popular at SHOT Show and looks like a really fun gun! Sig P556 Apart from the 10″ barrel and lack of a stock, it has all the same features of the SIG 556 rifle: Flash [Read More…]
At SHOT magpul have displayed their new EMAG and a 7.62mm PMAG. There is not much information available and some of the forums I have read are saying contradictory things. This is my take on it, I may be wrong and if I am I will update this post with the correct [Read More…]
The FN IAR is based on the SCAR. It has a rate of fire of 650 RPM and weights in at 10.4 lbs. FN IAR. Click to expand. One very interesting features is that it switches automatically from closed bolt to open bolt depending on the chamber temperature. From FNH-USA: Today [Read More…]
GunPundit stumbled across a photo at Marines.mil with a caption that suggests that some Marines are hunting ducks with 5.56mm NATO rounds and/or 5.56mm blanks. My take on it: They reckoned punt guns are pretty cool for duck hunting but rifle grenades (fired with a blank [Read More…]
Earlier this month SIG announced an the new SIG 556 Classic. The design is modeled on the SIG 550. From what I can see the primary difference is the swiss style folding stock and polymer handguard. SIG 556 Classic SIG 550 (Photo from Wikipedia) I am surprised they did [Read More…]
I have previously discussed the Ultimax 100 Mk4. This is the latest iteration of the Ultimax 100 design and is being entered into the IAR competition by General Dynamics, although it designed by Singapore Technologies Kinetics (STK). Photos by SMGLee. Click to expand: [Read More…]
The “Neon”? It looks like Poland is developing their own version of the XM29 OICW concept, according to the MSPO 2008 website. It may or may not be called the “Neon”, Google translate is not great at best of times. What makes the Polish concept [Read More…]
Those lucky Canadians will be able to purchase the Norinco Type 97 later this year. Type 97A. Click to expand. The Type 97 is the civilian export version of the QBZ-97 rifle, which in turn is the export version of the 5.8x42mm QBZ-95. It is chambered in 5.56x45mm and [Read More…]
Military.com reported a few days ago that the entire Iraqi army is moving to the M16A2 and M4. Some Iraqi units have been using M16s since May last year. The move was originally announced last April. So far, the U.S. military has helped the Iraqi army purchase 43,000 [Read More…]
CMMG have announced an .50 Black Powder AR-15 Upper! To fire, the powder charge and bullet are loaded via a ramrod. Using a standard magazine with a single shot follower, an unloaded 5.56 case is loaded into the mag, inserted in magazine well and loaded just like a [Read More…]
Defense Review have written an article about the new SIG 556 SWAT Rifle/Carbine/Subcarbine SIG 556 rifles/carbines at SHOT Show 2006 (photos accompanying this article), and found them interesting. We’ve always been fans of the SIG 550-series weapons, particularly [Read More…]
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