Whatever the next infantry small arms configuration is, I hope it does away with the failure that is the belt-fed Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW). Why? Let’s talk about it. On the surface, the idea of augmenting the firepower of a rifle squad with a belt-fed machine [Read More…]
At a recent Independence Day parade held in the capital of Turkmenistan, a Chinese Norinco NSG-127 12.7x108mm anti-material rifle was spotted being carried in the procession of Turkmen troops. In multiple clips we see the rifle being held by Turkmen soldiers while [Read More…]
Select-fire 5.56x45mm NATO Beretta ARX-160 rifles have been adopted en masse by the Turkmen armed forces, most recently seen in the media through the 26th anniversary of the country’s Independence Day parade held in the capital of Ashgabat. Replacing previous AKM [Read More…]
The bloody battle for the Syrian city of Raqqa has been since been won by the Kurdish Peshmerga with U.S. support. But while it was raging, we wrote about the Polish volunteer fighting with the Peshmerga with a public name and Facebook book title of Archer. After [Read More…]
The US Army’s embattled CSASS program has moved forward slightly with a sources sought notice posted to the Fed Biz Opps website, seeking manufacturers who can make many of the accessories that equip the M110A1 rifle. The notice isn’t itself for a contract, [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…]
In the world of “might-have-been” small arms, a world of .276 Garands and NATO-standard EM-2s, none flew so high nor fell so far as the Heckler & Koch G11 caseless hyperburst assault rifle. Designed to out-match any contemporary small arm in a Cold War [Read More…]
Texas company True Velocity, LLC, has released the first images of their advanced lightweight polymer composite cased ammunition design via Instagram. Training company BAT Defense sent out an image of what appear to be 12.7×108, .50 BMG, and 5.56mm rounds made by [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…]
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…]
Today is November Twenty-Second, and just so happens to be the birthday of Eugene Morrison Stoner, born in the year 1922. The designer has since passed away in 1997, but had he been alive today he would be 95 years old. Inventor of the AR10, co-inventor with Jim [Read More…]
Colt’s M5 Enhanced Carbine recently drew much interest and speculation at the formidable company’s latest entry into the AR15 market. However, we’ve recently learned more about the origins of the M5 and how it came to the U.S. market, oddly enough from [Read More…]
We earlier released a post detailing the new K2C-2 development by Korean S&T Motiv, and recently showcased at ADEX 2017 in Seul. However what we didn’t mention is the apparent development of the K2C-1 which appeared in images of the show but not in any [Read More…]
Col. Greg Dillon sat down and talked with us about the small arms that himself and the men he was commanding were faced with during the course of his two tours in Vietnam during the conflict in the 1960s. Everything from AKs, B52s, and RPGs are lightly discussed in this informative episode. Although [Read More…]
Looking for a new car? Want something… Different? How about, say, an armored car? Well among their catalog of AK clones, AR-15s, pistols and other assorted firearms, Atlantic has recently listed for sale a Fox armored reconnaissance vehicle. Of course, [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…]
With Level IV armor rising in availability, calls for “overmatch”, and the increased presence of urban warfare, will designers be able to meet the requirements for future small arms? Forumgoer Poliorcetes raised this question in a discussion at the Military [Read More…]
Norwegian ammunition company Nammo has come up with a solution to the anti-drone predicament. The company’s answer is to develop 40x53mm high-velocity grenades using programmable components that allow soldiers to lase the distance to an enemy UAV, transmit that [Read More…]
Turkish security outlets on social media have recently been posting numerous photographs of Turkey’s law enforcement special operations, the PÖH armed with Sig Sauer 516 Patrol rifles or variants thereof. At TFB we’ve been slowly following the New Hampshire [Read More…]
Last month drawings of MKEK’s domestically produced FN MAG were released to the public, along with a 5.56x45mm NATO design. Through that and the specification pages on the companies website, we know that the company is finally coming out to the public over [Read More…]
Turkish owned, Kazakh manufactured, and soon to be Malaysian based subsidiary of Aselsan recently demonstrated a Remote Weapons Station based around the 7.62x51mm NATO Dillon M134 Minigun at Defense & Security 2017 held in Bangkok Thailand. The design [Read More…]
The United States Special Operations Command (US SOCOM) is looking for a new variable-power rifle optic to allow users to engage targets out to 600 meters, while still preserving close-in capability. The solicitation, released last week on Fed Biz Opps, announces a [Read More…]
The US Army’s latest improvement to the soldier’s gear has finished its final round of field testing. The testing was conducted in mid-October by soldiers with the 71st Ordnance Group and the 10th Chemical Hazardous Response Company, at Fort Carson, [Read More…]
If we can make a round that is significantly better than the existing 5.56mm or 7.62mm ammunition, shouldn’t the military just bite the bullet and switch, to the benefit of the servicemen and women in harm’s way? What’s stopping the powers that be from [Read More…]
From the entire TFB Team, we wish to thank service men and women of all nations who have stepped up and answered the call to national defense, especially in times of war. We owe all of you an extreme level of gratitude and appreciation. Although we have Veterans Day in [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…]
We’ve covered the story of the Dillon AK on TFB previously on the blog and due to the efforts of a faithful reader that actually put us in touch with Col. Dillon we were able to actually sit down and interview him about his service in the 1st of the 7th Cavalry, infamous for heroic […] [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…]
Previously, we compared the Russian 9x39mm subsonic sniper round to its Western counterparts, including the .300 AAC Blackout and the .45 ACP. As it stands now, the 9x39mm is a subsonic round only – no supersonic loads exist for it currently. But… What if [Read More…]
During the battle of Mosul that recently ended with Iraqi security forces declaring the entire city to be cleared of insurgent elements, Conflict Armament Research discovered an anti-personal IED that the so-called Islamic State was using to drop from drones as a sort [Read More…]
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