#Misc

The German Army is acquiring a new suppressor for the currently fielded .338 Lapua G29 precision rifle in use by the infantry’s snipers. The device was produced in a joint collaboration between Brugger and Thomet and the maker of the G29 (civilian RS9) C.G. Haenel GmbH. If the suppressor is ever released to the public or at least to other military/LE entities it will probably only have the capability of mounting to an RS9 because of the proprietary muzzle brake. In order to cut down on weight, the brake is fabricated out of aluminum, an interesting choice given that it will need to withstand high amounts of heat. However, the suppressor did pass the Bundeswehr’s trials of at least surpassing 2,000 rounds shot through it. The Jane’s report highlights the suppressor weight as 628 grams, however the Haenel website highlights it as 580 grams. The difference might be measured with the muzzle brake or perhaps a shroud protecting it that adds additional weight.

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.

Go Outdoors Products is a Chino, California-based gear company that focuses on the shooting accessories and gear that make range trips that much more enjoyable and hassle free. The company has been around for a little while now, and much of their line of products has been out on the market, online, and in numerous gun stores across the nation and possible internationally too. So although they aren’t the next new awesome device or brand, they make products that in my opinion are very well thought out at the budget price you are getting them at.

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.

Talon Grips is a Colorado-based company that specializes in specialty grip tape for not just handguns but a number of firearms accessories. This list includes specially shaped grip tape for the Steyer AUG, various AR15 parts, among numerous other rifles and parts. Earlier this year I purchased a set of Talon grips for my Smith & Wesson M&P Shield in 9x19mm at a local shop in Indiana. The web price is set at $17.99 on the companies website, I think I got it for a little more in the shop. Specifically, the set I purchased was their Granulate texture version. Just a disclaimer, but the grip tape stripe on the slide of the Shield is not included in the Talon Grips purchase.

Safe Intelligent Products (Saintpro) is a Swedish security products company that was founded in 2012 by a Swedish security professional. At ISDEF 2017 in Tel Aviv the company displayed some of their new products (out for almost a year now, but currently spotlighted), and mainly of interest to TFB is their forearm ballistic shield within the Saint Shield X3 series, specifically the DX3 (NIJ standard IIIA TT 7,62×25 MSC Flat) and DX3+ (NIJ III plus AK 7,62×39 MSC Flat) systems. These ballistic shields take a different approach to shield systems in general, being able to be attached to a user’s forearm or kept in a nylon holster that can be mounted to a belt. To be deployed, one attaches the folded panels to their forearm and then rips a velcro latch that instantly deploys the two panels around the center one that is attached. With this system, a user can gain ballistic protection up to 7.62x39mm, within a somewhat more mobile and configurable platform than a full ballistic shield. Similar concepts have been experimented with, but none focusing on such a mobile platform as this one.

Safe Intelligent Products (Saintpro) is a Swedish security products company that was founded in 2012 by a Swedish security professional. At ISDEF 2017 in Tel Aviv the company displayed some of their new products (out for almost a year now, but currently spotlighted), and mainly of interest to TFB is their forearm ballistic shield within the Saint Shield X3 series, specifically the DX3 (NIJ standard IIIA TT 7,62×25 MSC Flat) and DX3+ (NIJ III plus AK 7,62×39 MSC Flat) systems. These ballistic shields take a different approach to shield systems in general, being able to be attached to a user’s forearm or kept in a nylon holster that can be mounted to a belt. To be deployed, one attaches the folded panels to their forearm and then rips a velcro latch that instantly deploys the two panels around the center one that is attached. With this system, a user can gain ballistic protection up to 7.62x39mm, within a somewhat more mobile and configurable platform than a full ballistic shield. Similar concepts have been experimented with, but none focusing on such a mobile platform as this one.

Numerous Australian media outlets have reported that the New South Wales legislature is opening up the budget to accommodate patrol rifles within NSW Police Force patrol officers. This would mean that similar to a number of Law Enforcement entities in the United States, the “cop on the beat” would not only have access to his sidearm, but also a 5.56x45mm NATO rifle in his vehicle if need be. Already picked is an AR15 platform rifle, however who the supplier will be is unknown at the current time. Some articles mentioned acquiring Colt or Armswest LLC AR15s, however, this has to be out of more speculation than anything legitimate. The operational need for these changes was brought into play by the Cafe Lindt siege in late 2014, but was further pushed by events such as the Paris attacks and recent active shooter events in the United Kingdom. Australian Law Enforcement is very similar to their British counterparts in that the patrol officers are not armed with long guns as their standard operating procedure (most British cops don’t even have firearms). Thus, when dealing with an active or barricaded shooter, British and Australian LE officers are often at a threat disadvantage due to the small arms involved.

Safe Intelligent Products (Saintpro) is a Swedish security products company that was founded in 2012 by a Swedish security professional. At ISDEF 2017 in Tel Aviv the company displayed some of their new products (out for almost a year now, but currently spotlighted), and mainly of interest to TFB is their forearm ballistic shield within the Saint Shield X3 series, specifically the DX3 (NIJ standard IIIA TT 7,62×25 MSC Flat) and DX3+ (NIJ III plus AK 7,62×39 MSC Flat) systems. These ballistic shields take a different approach to shield systems in general, being able to be attached to a user’s forearm or kept in a nylon holster that can be mounted to a belt. To be deployed, one attaches the folded panels to their forearm and then rips a velcro latch that instantly deploys the two panels around the center one that is attached. With this system, a user can gain ballistic protection up to 7.62x39mm, within a somewhat more mobile and configurable platform than a full ballistic shield. Similar concepts have been experimented with, but none focusing on such a mobile platform as this one.

Recent news coverage has made it explicitly clear that the U.S. Marine Corps is finally going to upgrade legacy 40x46mm low-velocity M203 under-barrel grenade launchers to the much more mobile and versatile Heckler & Koch M320s that the U.S. Army has successfully been using for a number of years to date. Current numbers indicate that 7,000 are wanted by at least 2019, and at the latest in the year of 2022 for a force-wide issue among both the Active Component in the Fleet Marine Force and in the Reserves as well. Currently an article on Marines.mil is showcasing elements from 2nd Combat Engineering Battalion at Camp Lejeune working with M320s as a test case.

Every year the Singaporean Armed Forces hosts an Army Open House to allow the public to interact with various components of the military. This is similar to numerous other open houses across the world in which militaries display their wares and showcase abilities. However, Singapore is somewhat of a special case because the country is so small, that essentially a good portion of the entire country can get some hands on time with much of what the military has to offer, in one setting. For this year’s Open House, Shepard Media was quick to point out numerous advances in the military’s Special Operations Task Force (SOTF) armament. Specifically identifiable was the addition of Heckler & Koch 4.6mm MP7A1s, and 5.56x45mm NATO HK416s with the SOFT assaulters.  FN Herstal P90s were also present, but these appeared to be regulated to a lesser used role than the MP7A1s. Elcan variable optics and Trijicon RMRs were mounted to the weapons, and a Steiner eOptics CQBL-1 mounted at the 12 o’clock position of some of the weapon systems. Helmet mounted NVGs appear to be one of the MINIE series from Thales Group Angenieux, and a surprising appearance of a MOHOC  helmet-mounted camera system, specfically designed for military operations. The

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.

This guest post and accompanying photographs are contributed by a guest writer, Alton Chiu. Alton currently writes for Small Arms Review. This is his second article contribution to TFB and is on the merits of using .22 LR ammunition for training. 

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.