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By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com Several weeks ago, DefenseReview had an interesting conversation with Ralph Lermayer, Editor of

By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com Photo Credit(s): Remington Military June 23, 2009 DefenseReview has been following the SOCOM (USSOCOM) Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR) program since we came across a solicitation/sources sought notice and accompanying drafts for it awhile back. The PSR requirement is for a modular, multi-caliber bolt-action rifle that’s “caliber-specific to .338 Lapua Magnum (.338LM, also …

By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com May 29, 2009 While Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ decision to halt production of the costly Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor low-observable/stealth fighter aircraft is perhaps not the best long-term strategic decision he could have made, it’s certainly understandable. Given the U.S. government’s–and thus DoD’s–current money crunch vs. the program’s high cost and lack …

By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com April 13, 2009 Updated on 4/26/09. My good friend and professional contact, prolific infantry small arms/machine gun designer Jim Sullivan (a.k.a. L James Sullivan), has complained to me quite a bit about U.S. military infantry warfighters not having an American version of the Russian RPG-7 / RPG-7V shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade weapon …

By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com February 5, 2009 On January 29, 2009, the Washington Times reported that the U.S. Army is recalling "more than 16,000 sets of ceramic body armor plates that the Pentagon’s inspector general believes were not properly tested and could jeopardize the lives of U.S. service personnel." This came just one day after the …

By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com January 26, 2009 To our knowledge, DefenseReview was the first publication to report on the Ashbury International Group (AIG) Asymmetric Warrior ASW338LM .338 Lapua Magnum Modular Precision Sniper Rifle (MPSR) anti-materiel/sniper rifle, particularly in any detail. Well, the AIG appears to have taken advantage of the last year to develop a more …

By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com January 13, 2009 A number of eco-friendly, green-technology websites have been reporting on aerospace juggernaught Lockheed Martin teaming up with energy storage tech startup EEStor to develop a tactical body armor system with integrated "electrical energy storage unit" (EESU) a.k.a. "electronic storage unit" (ESU) or multiple EESUs/ESUs in order to be able …

By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com December 8, 2008 Back in September, DefenseReview published an article on the Barrett M98B .338 Lapua Magnum bolt-action anti-materiel/sniper rifle. Well, it looks like Barrett may have some competition in the form of the Sniper Weapon System (SWS) .338 Lapua Magnum bolt-action rifle made by H-S Precision, Inc. The SWS became the …

By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com November 19, 2008 Human Events is reporting on the use of Chinese armor-piercing a.k.a. armor-penetrating (AP) bullets by enemy snipers in Afghanistan and Iraq. According to the article, this new Chinese AP rifle ammo is copycatting U.S.-made AP ammo design, and is "sending alarm bells through the Pentagon as it hurries to …

By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com November 12, 2008 A company out of Sheldon, Iowa called JARD, Inc. has introducted a new semi-auto .50 BMG (12.7x99mm NATO) anti-materiel/sniper rifle called the JARD J50. The J50 is a gas-operated direct-gas-impingement (DGI) rifle that utilizes a 9-lug rotating-bolt locking locking mechanism. The combination of the weapon’s DGI operation, 30" free-float …