by David Crane david@defensereview.com All photos contained in this article were taken by, and are the exlusive property of, DefenseReview.com. Click on photos below to view them full-size. Low-profile armored vehicles have become an extremely important tactical element in security operations OCONUS, in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. To help fulfill this need, First Choice Armor and Equipment, Inc. (FCA) …

by Bob Taubert One of the driving ideas behind the adaptation of the "Black Rifle" and its varmint caliber ammunition was to lighten the load of the ground pounding Infanteer. That was achieved through remarkable engineering, but it didn’t take long for the soldier to reverse the situation. The new light weight rounds enabled the trooper to up his basic …

by Bob Taubert October 19, 2005 Let me start out by saying that I’m an unabashed fan of assault rifle/small arms systems that provide relatively long barrel lengths in compact packages. Troops in the Afghan and Iraqi theaters of operation want agile shoulder weapons that they can fight from vehicles with, clear buildings and rooms and at the same time …

The following is a 5.11 Challenge press release: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Bill Berry, (916) 717-3742 billb@511tactical.com 5.11 CHALLENGE WINNERS DONATE $175,000 IN PRIZES TO LAW ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENTS HIT HARD BY HURRICANES Sponsors follow up with additional donations totaling over $500,000 MIAMI, FLORIDA (September 25, 2005) – The 5.11 Challenge sponsored a breakfast at this years IACP 5K race to announce …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com DefenseReview readers may remember that we published the Presolicitation Notice for the 7.62x51mm (.308 Winchester) XM110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System (SASS), back in November (2004). Specifically, it was Solicitation #: W15QKN-05-R-0433. The 7.62mm XM110 SASS is supposed to replace the U.S. Army’s old M24 Sniper Weapon System (SWS). Well, DefenseReview was told early yesterday evening (Monday) that …

The following is a press release from Metal Storm Limited on the developmental Metal Storm Advanced Individual Combat Weapon (AICW) prototype (Photo shown below.). BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – 31 August 2005 Metal Storm Limited (ASX trading code: MST and NASDAQ Small Cap ticker symbol MTSX) today announced the successful test firing of the Advanced Individual Combat Weapon (AICW) Capability Technology Demonstrator …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com DefenseReview received the email message below from Bill Berry, who heads up the 5.11 Challenge, which was created by 5.11 Tactical Series. Not too long ago, DefenseReview wrote about the very cool 5.11 H.R.T. Watch, which was designed for snipers. The watch sports a titanium case and incorporates a ballistic computer that calculates all of the …

The following comes from NewScientist.com: 17:34 28 June 2005 NewScientist.com news service (written by Barry Fox) Smart scope An electronic rifle scope that automatically compensates for unsteady aim and recoil is being developed by US defence contractor Raytheon. Using the sight, snipers and police marksmen would no longer need to manually adjust their sight to account for the slight sideways …

The following comes from the United States Department of Defense (DoD): No. 733-05 IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jul 19, 2005 Media Contact: (703)697-5131 Public/Industry Contact: (703)428-0711 The Army announced today it temporarily suspended the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the acquisition of a new family of small weapons – Objective Individual Combat Weapon Increment 1 (OICW-1) – in order to incorporate joint …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Click on photos below to view them full-size.   In the immediately previous article, we discussed how a Pinnacle Armor SOV-2000/Dragon Skin flexible hard armor vest stopped multiple steel-core 7.62x39mm API (Armor-Piercing Incendiary) rounds. Well, as it happens, for the last few months, DefenseReview has been wearing a couple of tactical undergarment-type shirts made by Zensah …