#MachineGuns

A Bulgarian investigative journalist by the name of Dilyana Gaytandzhiev has published an article vigorously detailing the activities of the Azerbaijani state run airline Silk Way in providing arms shipments across the MENA region and Africa in the airlines diplomatic capacity. Not only does it appear that U.S. Special Operations Command is using the airline to transport massive amounts of small arms and ammunition from Eastern Europe to groups in Syria, but also such customers as Saudi Arabia, and Kurdish state actors in addition to possibly much more. The majority of the shipments appear to be rocket launchers and associated ammunition, but there are numerous amounts of Kalashnikov variants mixed in among the shipments as well. W e actually had a post on TFB about shipments from Bulgaria to Kurdistan as early as 2008, so the Silk Way connection might not be that far off in this regard.

The  1/6 “Hard” Über Squad that Marine Infantry Gunner (WO5) Wade put into motion some months ago has taken on Golf Six, a live fire range in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. 1/6 is trialing several new pieces of kit, most importantly M27 IARs as a standard squad issued rifle, in addition to suppressors mounted to an entire squad’s weapons. Not discussed earlier but seen here is the addition of new ballistic helmets, squad level communications with every Infantryman, and a new plate carrier separate from currently issued ones. Alongside this Über squad were photographs of other squads that weren’t as lucky to receive all the latest in gadgets and gear.

Canadian machine gunners will be receiving approximately 1,148 7.62x51mm NATO C6A1 FLEX (Flexible) GPMGs to replace current C6s throughout the armed forces in late 2018. Part of this $32 Million contract is to upgrade the components of the machine guns with polymer buttstocks, M1913 Picatinny rails, and adjustable gas tube regulators similar to the U.S. M240 “Golf” models. The other half of the deal is that the current C6s are decades old, still with wooden stocks, a throwback to the pre-Cold War era. The machine guns will be manufactured at Colt Canada’s Kitchener, Ontario facility and as claimed by the Government will add an additional 13 jobs to the plant, while maintaining around 100 jobs through the contract.

News footage from a Kurdistan24 television crew, and overhead drone footage taken from a so-called Islamic State propaganda video both show a so-called IS attack in the Syrian city of Raqqa, where Kurdish SDF forces are battling the rebel group with the support of the United States. Driving heavily armed SVBIEDs (Suicide Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device) into enemy positions is one of the most deadly tactics of the group in the current conflicts of Syria and Iraq. A study from the Combating Terrorism Center at the United States Military Academy at West Point highlighted the fact that the so-called Islamic State was using as many as fourteen SVBIEDs a day in the Mosul fight against Iraqi forces.

Following military trials, especially historical ones, is a wonderful way to learn what not to do for weapons design. While some trails produce a few good offerings like the Garand/Pederson trials, most tend to quickly weed out the inferior designs (like the MHS’s rapid dropping of the Remington RP9 pistol). And sometimes, those trails can pick one of the bad ones… like Italy did with their Breda Modello 30, their LMG going into World War 2.

FightLite has released the new version of their squad automatic weapon, the MCR (Mission Configurable
Rifle). The MCR is based upon the older ARES-16 AMG-2 ™ that has been on the Military/LE market for almost a decade and is an AR based solution to the M249 SAW. Numerous programs have been trying to replace it over the years, one of the most notable is the M27 program. With this version the company has improved various components of the operating system, essentially making the weapon much more durable when it comes to fully automatic fire capabilities. These include changing the feed roller housing to a square shaped design, configuring the feed tray to better accommodate the M855A1 round, changed the charging handle to become more robust, added a new compensator from the companies RipBrake design. Also added is a proprietary method of reducing the chances of cook-off in a closed bolt weapon system. We were able to get a hands on look of the older MCR at SHOT 2017 earlier this year.

FightLite has released the new version of their squad automatic weapon, the MCR (Mission Configurable
Rifle). The MCR is based upon the older ARES-16 AMG-2 ™ that has been on the Military/LE market for almost a decade and is an AR based solution to the M249 SAW. Numerous programs have been trying to replace it over the years, one of the most notable is the M27 program. With this version the company has improved various components of the operating system, essentially making the weapon much more durable when it comes to fully automatic fire capabilities. These include changing the feed roller housing to a square shaped design, configuring the feed tray to better accommodate the M855A1 round, changed the charging handle to become more robust, added a new compensator from the companies RipBrake design. Also added is a proprietary method of reducing the chances of cook-off in a closed bolt weapon system. We were able to get a hands on look of the older MCR at SHOT 2017 earlier this year.

FightLite has released the new version of their squad automatic weapon, the MCR (Mission Configurable
Rifle). The MCR is based upon the older ARES-16 AMG-2 ™ that has been on the Military/LE market for almost a decade and is an AR based solution to the M249 SAW. Numerous programs have been trying to replace it over the years, one of the most notable is the M27 program. With this version the company has improved various components of the operating system, essentially making the weapon much more durable when it comes to fully automatic fire capabilities. These include changing the feed roller housing to a square shaped design, configuring the feed tray to better accommodate the M855A1 round, changed the charging handle to become more robust, added a new compensator from the companies RipBrake design. Also added is a proprietary method of reducing the chances of cook-off in a closed bolt weapon system. We were able to get a hands on look of the older MCR at SHOT 2017 earlier this year.

Red Oktober is a competition very unique in the regard that it caters specifically to the Kalashnikov platform. Debuted in 2016 at a range in southern Utah, it attracted a significant number of collectors, shooters, and builders throughout the country, even coming so far as Alaska or jumping through the hurdles of traveling from California with restricted rifles. In my opinion, the entire scene was something to really behold just due to the dedicated folk that are drawn to the platform. Unlike the AR15, it is much harder to become proficient or even get into one of the Kalashnikov derivatives due to the lesser availability of quality components, the lack of common knowledge and popularity, but most importantly the much more intricate procedures of completing an AK build. Those willing to go down this forbidding path and are serious about it have an adherence to the AK unlike most any you will probably encounter in the AR world.

For those of us so blessed to have served with open-bolt machine guns, we know that clearing malfunctions can be a real chore. Where standard shoulder-fired small arms like the M4 are truly difficult to get to cook-off temperatures, belt-fed weapons can get to those short, fast, and in a hurry. In fact, this is the very reason why (including accelerated barrel wear) that most belt-fed weapons have a provision for quick barrel changes.

We previously discussed the small arms capabilities of the so-called Islamic State-affiliated Maute group, we will proceed to cover the opposing Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) that have been successful in crushing the rebel uprising. Despite this success, there is still a rocky road ahead of the security forces when it comes to their task at hand. A number of these high-quality photographs are from a photo essay by David Sim on the International Business Times.

Mounting Solutions Plus is a Florida-based company that is announcing the release for export of an innovative M240 belt pouch system that is designed to supersede currently issued 50 round belt pouches designed for the 7,62x51mm NATO M240 general purpose machine gun in efficiency. The company also has a similar design specifically for the Rheinmetall MG3 as well. What differentiates this pouch from existing 50 round “contact” pouches is that it curves underneath the machine gun to the right, whereas with the current 50 round pouch, it simply drops off the left side of an M240 and hangs on the left side, thus off-centering the machine gun. The reason why a pouch like this wasn’t designed in the first place was that the 240 ejects spent cases directly down and would thus be ejecting cartridges into the ammunition feeding device. How the Balanced Ammunition Delivery System (B.A.D.S) surmounts this task is through incorporating a ramp where spent cartridges hit the ramp at an angle and then bounce to the 3 o’clock position of the M240. In addition, because of the extra space underneath the machine gun, the entire fixture now allows a 240 gunner to hold 100-125 rounds instead of 50 in a contact belt.

The Government of the Phillippines is engaged in what is increasingly becoming a much harder fight than anticipated in the city of Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao. Numerous security forces are involved in the fight to include Philippine Infantry units, Marines, SF, and most recently U.S. Special Operations are being thrown into the fray. In addition to the local so-called Islamic State group (Maute Group) lead by two brothers, we have had much media attention focused on this entire dynamic and we haven’t taken a look at the Marawi fight yet on TFB. The International Business Times has an excellent slide show where their reporters took a number of high-resolution photographs of the fighting on the Government forces side. We’ll be examining the small arms capabilities of the government forces in a forthcoming post.

Shepard Media has recently reported that the entire Latvian National Guard will soon be receiving a full fielding of 5.56x45mm NATO G36KVs infantry rifles and 7.62x51mm NATO KSP-58 medium machine guns (FN MAGs) from the Latvian National Armed Forces (NAF) to replace former AK-4 rifles (Swedish licensed G3s) within the National Guard. The Latvian National Guard currently already has a mixture of AK-4s and G36KVs, but this new fielding will completely replace AK-4s and ensure that the entire Latvian military contingent has G36KVs and KSP-58s across the board. These rifles come equipped with Aimpoint optics of a similar version to the red dot M68 CCO, mounted on the 12 o’clock picatinny optic rail.

The Georgian Ministry of Defense has released statements and even staged a demonstration wherein the land component of the Georgian Armed Forces will replace the 7.62x54R PKM medium machine guns with FN Herstal 7.62x51mm NATO M240Bs. This will be a gradual replacement over the next year or so as PKMs become switched out with M240Bs within the infantry and mechanized forces of the Republic of Georgia. Because the announcement specifically mentions “U.S. made” M240Bs, we’ve taken that to possibly mean that this purchase is either through Foreign Military Sales programs or that these are at least M240Bs previously in use by the U.S. Army and were replaced by M240Ls in active Army service.