Type 67 was the first Chinese general purpose machine gun, developed to replace earlier Type 53 and Type 57 7,62mm medium machine guns (license-built copies of Soviet SG-43 and SGM respectively). This weapon combined features borrowed from many other machine guns, and went through a number of variations, still serving with PLA (Chinese People’s Liberation Army). Development of a new medium machine gun commenced in 1959, with first prototypes tested in 1963. At that time the concept of a new weapon was broaden from medium to universal machine gun. Adopted in 1967, it was improved with the introduction of the Type 67-1 in 1978. In 1982 PLA has adopted the Type 67-2 GPMG, which was somewhat lighter and used a lighter tripod. Type 67-2 is so far a standard general purpose machine gun of PLA. It saw limited use during closing days of Vietnam war, and few guns of this type also found its way (through the Pakistan) into the hands of Afghanistan mujaheds that fought Soviet army during early 1980s. Read the rest of this entry »

Beretta CX4 Storm carbine is the first in the new line of Beretta’s “xX4 Storm” firearms, which now also include PX4 pistol and RX4 semi-automatic rifle in 5,56mm/.223 caliber. CX4 carbine first appeared in 200x, with intent to provide civilian shooters with compact and handy sporting and defensive weapon in all major pistol calibers. In developing this weapon, Beretta’s designers paid a great attention to both aesthetical and practical aspects of weapon. CX4 Storm carbine has elegant appearance and is comfortable to use; it can be easily adapted for right- or left-hand use (requires a disassembly and probably a visit to gunsmith – at least it is recommended so by manufacturer). Beretta also provides a number of useful accessories for this weapon, such as user-installable Picatinny rails, stock extension pads, etc. Like any other pistol-caliber carbine, it can be fired accurately to ranges of up to 100-150 meters, especially if fitted with low-magnification telescope or red-dot sight. All in all, it is a versatile short-range carbine, with minimal recoil and excellent handling characeristics. Read the rest of this entry »

The AS50 fifty caliber (12.7mm) sniper / antimateriel rifle is the latest development of the famous British company Accuracy International Ltd. First displayed in January 2005 in USA at the ShotShow-2005, this rifle reportedly has been developed especially for US SOCOM users, and is now being tested by the US NAVY Special Operations center. The AS50 is to provide combat operators with highly accurate and rapid aimed fire at extended ranges. To achieve such goal, the AS50 is built around gas operated, semiautomatic action, with “single rear locking” (most probably, this mean a tilting bolt). The two-part receiver is machined from high grade steel, the barrel is free-floated and fitted with effective muzzle brake. Easily detachable buttstock is fitted with recoil-reducing buttpad, as well as with folding rear grip, which also serves as a rear support leg. Read the rest of this entry »

The AICW (Advanced Infantry Combat Weapon) is a joint development of the Australian DSTO (Government operated Defence Science and Technology Organisation), and private companies Metal Storm and Tenix Defence. This development has been carried out since the turn of 21st century, closely following the concept of the American XM29 OICW system. Overall, AICW represents the modular weapon system that combines the 5.56mm rifle/carbine copmponent as a host (basic) platform with 40mm multi-shot grenade launcher (G/L) module and multi-purpose electro-optical sighting system, which can be used to fire either rifle or G/L component, and also can provide recon data to external “consumers” such as tactical computers.
The host rifle component of the AICW is the updated Australian-made F88 rifle, which is a license-built Steyr AUG. However, the basic F88 rifle has been extensively modified to accept other elements of the system – for example, receiver has been upgraded to receive the G/L module at the top, and the buttstock has been enlarged to accomodate G/L electronic fire contol module. Other changes include modification to the safety and trigger arrangements – AICW system has a single trigger for both weapon components (5.56 and 40mm), and a three position (safe – rifle – G/L) safety/selector switch at the side of the pistol grip. Read the rest of this entry »

The Mauser company, established by the two Mauser brothers, established its reputation in firearms making in the last decades of the XIX century, and continued to build a very well thought-out and skillfully built firearms until the end of the World War 2. Some years after the WW2, the Mauser company was restored in the West Germany and continued to build firearms, but mostly a larger-caliber ones, like the aircraft cannons etc. But some of earlier Mauser works became the standards against which all others designs are judged, even after some 100 years after its introduction. One of such designs, is undoubtfully a Mauser model 1898 rifle, also known as Gew. 98 or simply G98 (G = Gewehr, rifle in German). This rifle was designed from the experience, gained on previous Mauser designs, and was first appeared in 1898 as a standard German army infantry rifle. It was carried by Germans through the First World war, along with carbine shortened version, known as K98 (or Kar-98, from Karbiner = carbine). In the 1904 Germans were first to introduce the new, “spitzer” bullet (with pointed tip, instead of the older blunt, round-shaped tip). New bullet had much better long-range ballistic, so all sights were regraduated for new ammunition.

During the interwar period this fine design was slightly altered to became the K98k – Karbiner Kurz, or short carbine – a somewhat shorter, lighter and handier version of the original one. This version appeared in 1935 and was manufactured until the 1945 in large numbers not only by Germans, but also in numerous countries, occupied by Germans. Many versions of this design also were licensed to other countries, which also used to build their own versions of the G98. Most famous of those “foreign Mausers” are Persian Mausers, Turkish Mausers, Czech VZ-24 Mausers, Yugoslavian Mausers and some others. The list of the vast variety of the Mauser-type versions could easily cover a number of pages, but, for the sake of compactness, I will describe only the basic, German model. Read the rest of this entry »

The S.A.F. SMG was developed and is manufactured by Chilean company FAMAE. The S.A.F. design is based on SIG 540 assault rifle, designed in Swiss and manufactured in Chile by FAMAE under license from SIG.

The S.A.F. SMG is in service with Chilean Armed Forces and Police.

Technically, the S.A.F. is a recoil operated select fire gun, firing from closed bolt. The triger/hammer group and floating firing pin design is similar to SIG 540, but the bolt is of new design. The receiver is similar in design to SIG 540, and is of folding type (upper and lower receivers are assembled by two steel pins, much like the M16 receiver does). The S.A.F. has ambidextrous safety/fire selector switch with four settings – safe, single shot, 3 round bursts and full auto. S.A.F. SMGs are manufactured with side-folding or fixed polymer buttstocks. Silenced version, with folding buttstock and integral silencer is available for special forces use. S.A.F. has post front sight, ajustable wor elevation, and aperture rear sight, ajustable for windage. S.A.F. uses 20 or 30 rounds magazines made from transluscent polymer. Magazines had special studs and slots that allowed two or more magazines to be clipped together for quicker magazine change. Read the rest of this entry »

The Arcus pistol was developed by the Bulgarian company Arcus in 1994. It is another FN / Browning “High Power” (GP-35) clone, very well made and with slight cosmetic improvements. Four years later, Arcus developed a derivative of the model 94, called Arcus 98 DA. This model is identical to the 94, but has a Double Action trigger instead of a Single Action, and additional automated firing pin safety. Arcus 94 is made for civilian market and is widely exported. The Arcus 98 DA was adopted by the Bulgarian Army and Police as a standard sidearm, and also sold for export.

Both Arcus 94 and 98 are recoil operated, locked breech pistols that use tipping barrel with two lugs that lock into recesses on the underside of the slide. To lock and unlock from the slide, barrel uses a cam under the chamber, that interacts with the frame. The axis of the slide stop is also used as a takedown pin, and when the slide stop is removed, slide, barrel and recoil spring can be removed from the frame.

Arcus 94 features High-Power style, single action trigger with external hammer, manual safety, mounted on the left side of the frame, magazine disconnect safety, and a slide disconnect, that does not allow gun to fire when slide is not closed completely. The frame and the slide of the Arcus pistols are made from the steel, and different finishes are available, as well as polymer or wooden grip panels. Sights ususally are of fixed type, dovetailed into the slide, with three white dots for better target aquisition. Read the rest of this entry »

Swedish arms designers began to experiment with recoilless antitank rifles in early 1940s. Their first design, a shoulder-fired, single shot weapon, fired a 20mm solid projectile from a rifled barrel. This design has been adopted by Swedish army in 1942 as the m/42, but its small-caliber solid projectile was hardly effective against the new tanks, which emerged during the Second World war. By the mid-1940s, Swedish designers adopted the idea of the shaped-charge HEAT ammunition, and by the 1946 produced their first prototype of the large-caliber recoilless rifle, which fired HEAT grenades. This single-shot, shoulder fired weapon quickly evolved into the “Granatgevär 8.4cm m/48 Carl-Gustaf”, or “Grenade rifle, caliber 84mm, model of 1948″. This simple and effective weapon attracted significant interest and has been adopted by a significant number of military forces around the world. Other than Sweden, Carl Gustaf recoilless rifles were adopted by Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, USA and several other countries. Initial production was by the FFV factories, latter transferred to the SAAB-Bofors Dynamics AB, which is the current manufacturer of both M3 rifle and 84mm ammunition. The ammunition also is manufactured in several countries which use the Carl-Gustaf launchers, including the Belgium and India.
While the Carl-Gustaf recoilless rifle / launcher was initially devised as an antitank weapon, its tactical role was quickly expanded with adoption of various other types of ammunition, such as high-explosive fragmentation rounds, close-defense shrapnel-type rounds, smoke, illumination and several other types of warheads. In fact, the Carl-Gustaf series recoilless rifles / launchers are among the most versatile weapons of the “one man artillery” type, extremely popular and widely used. Their only drawback is the bulk and weight of the launcher itself, which is significantly heavier than its major rival, the venerable RPG-7 antitank grenade launcher. Read the rest of this entry »

The Minimi light machine gun was developed by the famous Belgian company FN Herstal, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Mass production began in 1982 in Belgium, and at about the same time it has been adopted by the US Armed forces as the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW). Since its introduction Minimi has seen widespread service, and numerous variations have been developed. First, the Para (Paratroop) version came out, with shorter barrel and tubular telescoped butt. This gun traded off some of the range and firepower for compactness and maneuverability. Quite recently, an SPW version was developed, which featured a Para-type buttstock, a barrel of intermediate length (between standard and Para models), and a Picatinny-type rail mount, which allows a wide variety of sights and scopes to be mounted. To save weight, the magazine feed option of the standard and para models has been discarded. This version, in a slightly modified form, was adopted by the US Special Forces Command (US SOCOM) as the Mk.46 model 0 light machine gun.

The FN Minimi has an excellent reputation on reliability and firepower, and the latest reports on failures of M249 SAW weapons in Iraq are attributed to the age of the weapons used – most of the current issue M249 in US Army are more than 10 years old and quite worn out. Read the rest of this entry »

Chinese company Hawk Industries produces a line of pump-action shotguns for hunting and security / police purposes, which are based on US-made Remington 870 shotguns. Civilian and certain security-type models of Hawk line-up with tubular magazines are sold outside of mainland China under variety of names, often exported through the NORINCO corporation. It apears that versions of the same shotgun, but adapted for a proprietary detachable box magazines are intended mostly to government export sales, as those were demonstrated on several international Military and Police / Security exhibitions. The version of the tube-fed pump action shotgun appears to be adopted by the Chinese police (PAP) as the ‘18.4mm Type 97-1 Anti-riot gun’ (the 18.4mm is the metric designation of 12 gauge).

Hawk pump-action shotguns are available in three basic configurations: standard configuration with fixed tubular magazine below the barrel, standard configuration with detachable box magazine, and bullpup configuration with detachable box magazine. The last modification is notorious for the fact that it has a massive horizontal forward grip, which is used to cycle the pump action but also contains an integral flash-light at the front. Box magazine fed versions employ proprietary single stack magazines made from steel. Police guns of standard layout (including Type 97-1 guns) feature rifle-type sights with blade front and tangent-type rear blades; bullpup shotgun features fixed sights built into the integral carrying handle. Read the rest of this entry »