#Dutch

Spuhr is always on the cutting edge with optics mounting and this new setup manufactured for a Dutch government contract is no exception. A brilliant, robust, but lightweight integration of the Aimpoint Micro, plus the Aimpoint magnifier in a QD/swing mount combo, plus a functional backup iron sight and extended, raised Picatinny rail for night vision sighting systems is clever and accessible, as it is also available for pre-order to the civilian market. Another solution from Spuhr that looks as good as it is functional.

The Dutch Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) ensures that military personnel have modern, robust and safe materiel to work with.

During a raid in a warehouse in the small town of Strauch in The Netherlands, the Police found evidence of what they considered being the illegal manufacturing of ammunition.

The Armed Forces of the Netherlands will be receiving an order of 10,000 9x19mm NATO Gen 4 Glock 17s with the latest contract announced by the Dutch Ministry of Defense as reported by the Polish magazine Mil Mag. This comes after an initial purchase of 6,300 Gen 4s in the fall of 2016. Previously the Dutch were armed with the Browning 9x19mm Hi Power up until 1994 when they were replaced with Glock 17s sans a forend mounting rail. Glock 17s destined for Holland are specifically marked “NL” as a serial number prefix.

Earlier on TFB we reported on the transition from MILES to DISE within EUCOM. However, it must be noted that the MILES system is still in use, even if sparingly. In fact, during Swift Response ’16, a multi-national airborne training operation, we have seen some of the most recent usages of the updated versions of the MILES gear. Most of the upgrades appear to be in weight reduction, with soldiers carrying less cumbersome and bulky versions of the personally worn vest. However there is another introduction that has the MILES Small Arms Transmitter taking advantage of the picatinny rail installed on most of the U.S. Army’s weapon systems. From a distance the Small Arms Transmitter could easily be mistaken for a black PEQ15 ATPIAL instead of the training device that it is. Since the 1980s MILES has gone through a number of manufacturers throughout its design phases, however most recently Cubic Global Defense is providing the latest iterations of the design, to include the picatinny mounted Small Arms Transmitter. From Cubic Global Defense-

The mid-late 1950s… Could there be a more optimistic time in United States history? I feel there’s no better rifle to illustrate the industry, innovation, and unbridled optimism of that time than the Armalite AR-10 7.62x51mm select-fire military rifle. Made of aerospace materials, using an advanced operating mechanism, and weighing in at an inadvisably light 7 pounds and change, unloaded, the AR-10 was an exercise in logic of the type best said “we have defeated Germany and Japan, and split the atom, why shouldn’t we do this?”

It’s 1958. You work as an executive for an airline that has just opened a route across the dangerous arctic, where any crash landing means a game of survival. You need a survival weapon, one that is light, versatile, and powerful, and the Army has just adopted a rifle that might fit that bill.

This video shows helmet camera footage of Dutch Marines boarding a cargo ship. The footage is fantastic.

This year the Dutch Police have been trailing new pistols which will replace their current service pistol, the Walther P5.

Earlier this year I wrote about the Gardener gun. Fred emailed me some photos of the Gardener gun in use by the Dutch army at Fort aan Den Ham, one of the 45 forts that make up the Defense Line of Amsterdam, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Fred volunteers at the fort and gave me permission to use the photos on The Firearm Blog.