By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com June 2, 2010 In their ongoing efforts to upgrade/improve and/or replace the Colt SOPMOD M4/M4A1 Carbine with the “Next Carbine”, the U.S. Army Contracting Command just issued a sources sought notice/solicitation (Solicitation Number: W15QKN-10-X-0455) on May 27, 2010 requesting information on potential weapon capabilities for an “Individual Carbine” as part of a “market …

By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com All photos contained in this article were taken by DefenseReview.com, and are copyrighted. DefenseReview.com owns the copyright on these photos. The photos were shot with a Canon PowerShot S90 10-megapixel digital camera (still camera with video capability). February 2, 2010 Colt Defense just introduced its new Colt Tactical line of semi-auto-only tactical …

By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com November 23, 2009 A company called VBR-Belgium (Van Bruaene Rik – Belgium) has developed a rather interesting and potentially important pistol-format compact PDW (Personal Defense Weapon) system. While it may look like a futuristic movie prop, the VBR-B Compact PDW is arguably the most intelligently-developed PDW weapon/ammo concept to date. So, what’s …

By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com July 27, 2009 On July 7, 2009, Army Times published an article by Matt Cox (Matthew Cox) titled Army acquires rights to M4. It’s an interesting piece on the Colt M4 Carbine (Colt M4/M4A1 Carbine).  However, according to one of DefenseReview’s contacts at Colt Defense, Cox’s article is…how can I put this …

By David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com May 20, 2009 According to Army Times magazine, The 75th Ranger Regiment is scheduled to battle test the Special Operations Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) very soon. The Rangers will reportedly be taking 600 FN SCAR rifle/carbine/subcarbine/SBR (Short-Barreled Rifle) weapons packages into battle, but DefenseReview doesn’t know how many of these are the …

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 …

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, …

By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com October 13, 2008 The Colt SCW (Sub-Compact Weapon) isn’t the only potential "HK416 Killer" (a.k.a. "416 Killer, for short) in Colt’s new product arsenal, or the only new Colt Defense weapon offering shown at the 2008 AUSA Meeting & Exposition. Colt Defense is also now offering the Colt Advanced Piston Carbine (APC) …

By David Crane defrev at gmail.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 10, 2008 While I was visiting with Colt …

By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com October 9, 2008 On August 22, 2008, the U.S. Army issued a sources sought notice for an "Improved Carbine and Subcompact Individual Weapon System" (Solicitation #: W52H0908CARBINESV) to replace the Colt M4 Carbine, since Colt Defense’s M4 Carbine sole source contract will end in 2009. On September 11, 2008, I got a …