By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com November 28, 2008 DefenseReview has known about the Caracal high-capacity semi-auto multi-caliber pistol for quite some time, even before it was shown at IDEX 2007. Designed and developed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Caracal F and Caracal C lightweight 9mm semi-auto pistols are striker-fired (with a cocking indicator), carry a …
Read More »DefRev Photo Analysis: U.S. Secret Service PPD CAT Operator Tactical Hardware
By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com November 24, 2008 Updated on May 6, 2009 Ever since he won the presidential election, the press has been following President-Elect Barack Obama around Chicago like a bunch of hungry (and annoying) puppies. Whether he’s going to his transition office in the Kluczynski Federal Building in the Loop (dowtown Chicago professional district, …
Read More »Chinese Armor-Piercing (AP) Sniper Rounds and XSAPI Body Armor
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 …
Read More »Springfield Armory XD-45ACP Tactical and LE Service Model .45ACP Pistols
By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com November 13, 2008 DefenseReview has been publishing information about Springfield Armory XD (eXtreme Duty) series pistols for quite awhile now, since a number of our professional contacts in the tactical community swear by them, particularly the .45 ACP models. To date, the most interesting XD pistol is the Springfield XD(M) a.k.a. Springfield …
Read More »JARD J50 Semi-Auto .50 BMG (12.7x99mm NATO) Anti-Materiel/Sniper Rifle
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 …
Read More »LaRue Tactical Stealth OSR (Optimized Sniper Rifle) 7.62mm Sniper Carbine/Rifle
By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com November 10, 2008 On November 3, 2008, the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) issued a Sources Sought Notice for a "Semi-Automatic Precision Weapon System" (SAPWS) (Solicitation Number: M6785408R1011), i.e. a semi-auto sniper rifle, capable of firing the 7.62x51mm NATO (7.62mm NATO) M118 Long Range (LR) Cartridge. The SAPWS, which would essentially be the …
Read More »Colt ERC (Extended Range Carbine): Long-Range, Select-Fire Carbine/Rifle
By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com Colt Defense’s last new offering is the Colt Extended Range Carbine (ERC), which is a 5.56x45mm NATO (5.56mm NATO)/.223 Rem. select-fire, match-grade rifle/carbine designed to allow the end-user to engage targets in excess of 600 meters away when utilizing a 16-inch (16") barrel, and in excess of 650 meters when utilizing a …
Read More »Colt ACC-M (Advanced Colt Carbine-Monolithic): 21st Century M4/M4A1 Carbine
By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com November 4, 2008 So far, DefenseReview has covered the Colt SCW (Sub-Compact Weapon), Colt APC (Advanced Piston Carbine) and Colt AHC (Advanced Hybrid Carbine), but those aren’t the only newly-developed weapons in Colt Defense’s bag of tricks. If you’re interested in an upgraded/modernized version of the standard, direct-gas-impingement (DGI) Colt M4A1 Carbine, …
Read More »Ceradyne, Inc. Receives $73 Million XSAPI Body Armor Order
The following is a Ceradyne, Inc. press release: COSTA MESA, Calif., Oct 09, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Ceradyne, Inc. (CRDN: 23.50, +1.74, +8.0%) announced that it has received a delivery order for $73 million for XSAPI body armor plates. This X-SAPI plate order is the first production delivery order against the $2.37 billion ID/IQ (Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity) contract announced on …
Read More »Army awards Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) Development Contracts
By C. Todd Lopez U.S. Army News Service October 31, 2008 WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 29, 2008) — The Army announced today the awarding of three contracts for technology development on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. Together, the three contracts are worth a combined total of approximately $166 million. They have been awarded to: BAE Systems Land & Armament …
Read More »U.S. Air Force Having Serious Trouble Keeping F-22 Raptor Pilots
By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com October 28, 2008 According to a recent Air Force Times article, the F-22 Raptor has the lowest pilot-retention rate of any U.S. fighter or attack aircraft measured, at a rather abysmal 33%. Compare this to 81% for F-15E Strike Eagle pilots and 68% for F-15 Eagle pilots respectively, and, gentlemen, we’ve got …
Read More »ST Kinetics CPW (Compact Personal Weapon) Submachine Gun/PDW
By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com October 24, 2008 DefenseReview recently mentioned Singapore Technologies Kinetics a.k.a. ST Kinetics in our article on the GDATP IAR/Ultimax 100 Mark V (Ultimax 100 MK5) LMG/SAW is offering an interesting and pretty slick-looking little lightweight, multi-calber submachine gun (SMG)/personal defense weapon (PDW) called the Compact Personal Weapon (CPW) for CQB/CQC applications and …
Read More »GDATP IAR (Infantry Automatic Rifle)/Ultimax 100 MK5 LMG/SAW (Photos!)
By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com All of the photos contained in this article were taken by Chen Lee a.k.a. "SMGLee" at the 2008 AUSA Annual Meeting and Exhibition, and he owns the copyright on these photos. Additional photos may be added to this article, later. October 21, 2008 Speaking of IARs, General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products …
Read More »Colt IAR (Infantry Automatic Rifle) Assault Rifle/SAW Hybrid Weapon (Photos!)
By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com All of the photos contained in this article, with the exception of the first/top photo, were taken by Chen Lee a.k.a. "SMGLee" at the 2008 AUSA Annual Meeting and Exhibition, and he owns the copyright on these photos. Colt Defense, LLC provided the first/top photo. October 20, 2008 While I was visiting …
Read More »Colt Advanced Hybrid Carbine (AHC): Gas-Impingement/Gas Piston/Op-Rod Hybrid Weapon
By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com October 16, 2008 In our article on the Colt Sub-Compact Weapon a.k.a. Colt SCW, DefenseReview discussed the upgraded direct-gas-impingement (DGI)/gas piston/op-rod Hybrid Operating System that’s available as an option for it. Well, the Colt Advanced Hybrid Carbine a.k.a. Colt AHC select-fire carbine (5.56x45mm NATO (5.56mm NATO)/.223 Rem.) utilizes a dedicated hybrid DGI/piston …
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