by David Crane david@defensereview.com DefenseReview has been interested in the Nikonov AN-94 "Abakan" assault rifle for a pretty long time, now. I believe I first read about it in 1994 or 1995. Designed by Russian small arms designer Gennadiy Nikonov, the AN-94 is an interesting rifle, as it enjoys one of the same (major) advantages as the Ultimax 100 Mk3 …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com U.S. military and law enforcement personnel may soon have a new high-tech, albeit small, weapon at their disposal in the "War on Terror". Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control has teamed up with some graduate students at the University of Florida in Gainseville to create a small, ballistic "sticky" round/projectile, originally conceived to aid U.S. Armed …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com New DefRev articles are on the way. In the meantime, Military.com has some very interesting video footage that, according to one of their sources, is footage of an ambush in Baghdad, Iraq that was perpetrated against a USAF OSI protective detail team on July 13th, 2004. The video footage takes you inside one of the vehicles, …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com If you’ve already read my recent article, "AFJ Shoot-Out at Blackwater, the Milkor MGL Mk-1S, and the HK XM8 Rifle/Carbine", be sure to also check out the AFJ Shoot-Out at Blackwater 2004 videos page. There’s some really great stuff on there. DefenseReview has, in the past (over time), already written articles on most of the weapons …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Safety Harbor Firearms is currently manufacturing and marketing a side-mounted magazine-fed bolt-action .50 BMG rifle, called the Ultra Mag 50, that DefenseReview would like to learn more about. Developed by Dennis Cheney and Dave Finnie, the Ultra Mag 50 .50 Cal. rifle utilizes an AR-15-based lower receiver and lightweight upper. The Ultra Mag 50 .50BMG rifle …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Not content to just sit around on their laurels, the folks at Springfield Armory have been busy little bees, churning out some new 1911 pistols (single stack). The first new pistols we’ll mention are the new TGO 1 Service Model 5" Bi-tone and TGO II Service Model 5" Bi-tone 1911 pistols. Both pistols have been designed …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Armed Forces Journal (AFJ) recently held their annual Shoot-Out at Blackwater USA. The AFJ Shoot-Out at Blackwater has become a real big deal annual event among small arms experts and military defense/tactical industry people. At this year’s Shoot-Out (2004), Armed Forces Journal editor John Roos and his merry band of shooters/evaluators put a plethora of tactical …

by David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com July 22, 2004 Yesterday, I hand a very informative phone conversation with Mark Larue of Larue Tactical. Larue Tactical, long famous for their industry standard Larue Sniper Targets, is now manufacturing tactical mounts and their own FF Rail System (Larue Tactical Handguards) for the AR-15/M16 and M4/M4A1 Carbine. The Larue Tactical Mounting …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com" While we’re on the subject of 5.56x45mm carbines, DefRev’s also going to try to get some high-res JPEG’s of the Rock River Arms (RRA) DEA Carbine/FBI Tactical Carbine (5.56x45mm). Rock River Arms (RRA) has really attacked the AR-15 market with a vengeance in the last several years. The DEA and FBI are only two of the …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com DefenseReview should also mention that the $16 million M2HB 12.7mm/.50 BMG machine gun contract follows a previously-awarded $16 million for the GDATP MK47 MOD 0 ‘Striker40’ Weapon System/Advanced Lightweight Grenade Launcher (ALGL), a.k.a. MK47 MOD 0 Striker 40mm Grenade Machine Gun (GMG). You may, or may not, remember DefRev’s short piece on the MK47 Striker 40mm …