As we have seen in one of our previous articles, FSA had serious intentions to benefit from remote-controlled devices: RCWSs and Combat Robots are on the top of the list. In this article, we will shed light on two other devices that are made by FSA and deployed in [Read More…]
Several videos of the 13th Commando Brigade of the Free Syrian Army were revealed on YouTube showing a strange looking AMR. For a moment, I thought it’s a new local made firearm like what they usually make there, but two consequent shots proved the opposite to me. [Read More…]
After introducing several models of locally made remote-controlled weapon stations, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) realized that the time has come to upgrade their stuff. Aside from the magnificent Sham-R3 which can elevate from behind cover and shoot, all the RCWSs had a [Read More…]
The battle of Mosul witnessed various implementations and models of armed UAV attacks done by Daesh (or so-called ISIS). However, the attacks didn’t totally repel the governmental forces though it helped in obstructing them for a while. The models we are discussing in [Read More…]
During my research and follow-up with the locally made arsenal of Syrian rebels (and other armed factions), I’ve found lots of their improvised firearms. There is a wide variety of quality of items, and this article will be a roll-up of the more poorly made stuff. [Read More…]
Welcome to our third installment of FSA Technicals. You can read Part 1: BMP Turrets on Pick-Ups here, and Part 2: SHAM-2 Improvised AFV here. The Free Syrian Army announced a technical called the Sniper Cannon (in Arabic; al-madfa’a al-qannas المدفع [Read More…]
The Islamic Front is a group of factions based on religious ideology -not moderate but not ultra extremist either-, they are more extremist than FSA are less extremist than Nusrah Front, and, of course than ISIS (whom the Islamic Front criticizes for killing innocent [Read More…]
Since the advent of the American made BGM-71 TOW Anti-Tank Guided Missile ATGM with Syrian rebels, it became a game changer, putting Tanks, Fortifications, on-land and low altitude Aircraft and Infantry assemblages in a serious danger with it’s upgraded warheads [Read More…]
In the previous article, we looked at an overview of the FSA’s improvised technical with the BMP-1 turret mounted on it. In this article, we will take a look at their improvised Armored Fighting Vehicles. The general concept is that these are basically a civilian [Read More…]
It was not enough for the Free Syrian Army to improvise small arms and remote control weapon stations, but they developed a number of modifications for vehicles as well. They have not only repaired damaged tanks and put them back in service, but they have also used [Read More…]
In a previous article, we have reviewed three types of the Free Syrian Army improvised Anti-Material Rifles. In this article, we will review three of their improvised hand-held Grenade Launchers. Zip-Action This locally made grenade launcher looks fine from all [Read More…]
Al-Hassan Ibn Ali Battalion (one of the Syrian opposition armed factions) declared that they had locally manufactured a heavy sniper rifle in 20mm caliber. We will spotlight on three variants of this rifle which all had the same name (Al-Hassan 20mm). The early first [Read More…]
In 2012, One of the Free Syrian Army engineers released a video of his own made percussion cap grenade launcher named Forsan-1 فرسان which in Arabic means knights. The design is very simple and improvised blending the ancient concept of percussion cup guns [Read More…]
When you hear a combatant in Arab regions saying “Doshka” or “Dishka” it doesn’t necessarily mean the DShK machine gun itself but it refers to anything related with 12.7x108mm, even an OSV-96 AMR is called a Doshka Rifle because it uses the [Read More…]
Photographs have emerged of a captured Islamic State weapons cache which has an impressive range of firearms. The stockpile of weapons and explosive materials was captured by a rival Syrian group HTS. The cache included a wide variety of pistols, submachine guns, rifle [Read More…]
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) has been taking further steps in making their own tools of war to fill the gap between what they need in the battle and what’s available from their logistical supplies. They made a very sophisticated RCWS system (Sham R3) and they also made [Read More…]
The Twitter analyst Everest65 has shared photographs of some bullpup Kalashnikov experimentation within the arms trade social media groups in Syria. There are a couple of iterations of the design, some appear to be more experimental and might be low in production while [Read More…]
The rebels of the Free Syrian Army have introduced a revolutionary design of a weapon, a shoulder-launched mortar. They simply took the concept of the mortar projectile and made it work on a smaller scale/caliber and then they manufactured a launcher to shoot it from [Read More…]
The craft-modified bullpup PKM design that has popped up in different iterations (albeit sparingly) throughout Syria, Yemen and Libya takes its roots in the Russian 7.62x54mmR Pecheneg PKP GPMG that became popular within the Russian Ministry of Interior due to the need [Read More…]
After a brief hiatus, the infamous Mahama Tactical training team is back in the spotlight again. The group’s former leader, Uzbek national Abu Rofiq was killed a while back and since then the team appears to have lost some key leadership. Since then, a Twitter [Read More…]
Russian media has reported on the recent acquisition of .50 BMG HS .50 patterned Anti-Materiel rifles by the Syrian Arab Army in the fight against the ongoing insurgent groups within Syria. The article claims that the rifles are assembled from Iranian components [Read More…]
This is Marawan M.’s second guest post for TFB. His first guest post is about the Istanbul Military Museum: Small Arms of the Ottoman Empire if readers are interested in reading more from him. In addition, we previously reported on the Sham R-3, but as promised [Read More…]
The Fiscal Year 2019 Department of Defense Budget Proposal has been submitted to Congress and will take some time before we find out if it is approved or denied. But within it there is a specific budget document titled “Counter-Islamic State of Iraq and Syria [Read More…]
Conflict Armament Research has released a report featuring the results of in-person findings of what the so-called Islamic State has been using in the past three years. These findings (40,000 items, 845 small arms) have resulted from personal visits to the frontlines [Read More…]
al Masdar News has recently shared photographs of so-called Islamic State fighters using belt-fed 12.7x108mm W85 (Chinese derivative of the Soviet DShK) Heavy Machine Guns mounted on commercial motorcycles. The machine guns appear to be using a standard pintle [Read More…]
A new remotely controlled weapon system has recently emerged from Syria. The Sham R3 is the third variation of the original Sham series of remotely controlled weapons stations that use a 12.7x108mm DShK Heavy Machine Gun to engage targets from a stationary position. One [Read More…]
A Twitter user has recently posted a video apparently showing members of the Syrian rebel group Tahrir al-Sham firing a Chinese W85 copy of the Soviet 12.7x108mm DShK heavy machine gun from a short mount that is somehow clamped to the back seat of a common motorcycle. The video only lasts a few [Read More…]
A recent propaganda film put out by the al-Rahman Corps (a rebel group currently fighting in the Ghouta suburb of Damascus) showcases an entire industry of craft produced and almost semi-industrial small arms and light weapons production facility. Most of what is [Read More…]
A recent media video following a platoon of the Syrian Arab Army take over of al-Bukamal, a city in the eastern portion of Syria, on the border with Iraq shows a soldier with what appears to be the receiver, trigger guard, and stock of a shotgun (Remington 870 from the [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…]