by David Crane david@defensereview.com Click on the digital photos below to view them full-size. All photos accompanying this article were taken by DefenseReview.com, and are the property of DefenseReview.com. Re-publication of these photos without first receiving the express permission of DefenseReview.com is prohibited. DSA, Inc. had an interesting SA58 (modernized) FN FAL variant 7.62x51mm (.308 Winchester) carbine at SHOT Show …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com DefenseReview readers may remember that we wrote about the Valhalla Training Center (a.k.a. the Valhalla Shooting Club & Training Center) back in July 2004. The article was titled "Valhalla Training Center, LLC: The Future of Tactical Training Schools?". Anyway, Tom Forman, Rob Pincus, Richard Sharrer, and the rest of the Valhalla bunch have just come out …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Click on the digital photos below to view them full-size. All photos accompanying this article are the property of DefenseReview.com. Springfield Armory showed off its new M1A SOCOM II carbine (or SOCOM II M1A carbine) with Cluster Rail System at SHOT Show 2005. The SOCOM II M1A carbine is basically just the SOCOM 16 carbine with …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com German textiles/carpet manufacturer Vorwerk & Co. Teppichwerke GmbH & Co. KG and semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies AG (also based in Germany) have joined forces to create the world’s first (at least publicly known) smart carpet or "thinking carpet". The Infineon Thinking Carpet is basically a carpet-embedded sensor network/sensor system that has the potential to literally revolutionize …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Since Defense Review just published an article on the Metal Storm 40mm Weapon System (40mm Multiple Grenade Launcher System), we thought we would follow it up with the following "CEO Update" that was just issued by Metal Storm Limited’s brand new CEO, David A. Smith. We’re providing it to our readers because it provides a good …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com A 16-round Metal Storm prototype 40mm grenade launcher system attached to/mounted on a Foster-Miller Talon Robot/UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) apparently successfully completed a series of live-fire tests in front of approx. 100 senior scientific and technical personnel from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and selected military defense industry representatives at a U.S. Army’s firing range …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Back in January (2005), DefRev published a short article on the recently-introduced DSA Z4-GTC (Gas Trap Carbine). At SHOT Show 2005, we got a chance to view and handle the weapon. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to test fire it. We hope to remedy that soon. The Z4-GTC is a piston-driven semi-auto carbine in an …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Magpul Industries Corp. has come out with a new AR-15/M16 floorplate replacement part that aids in pulling magazines quickly from mag pouches. It’s called the Magpul Ranger, and it essentially accomplishes the same thing as the Magpul 5.56 NATO in a lower-profile configuration. Magpul Industries also has a pistol mag version of the Magpul Ranger, which …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com On March 17th, 2005, it was announced that iRobot (headquartered in Burlington, MA) has won an $18.4 million Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) contract to provide 150 of its PackBot EOD Hazardous Duty Mobile Robots to the U.S. Navy by the end of 2005 for the purpose of explosive ordanced disposal operations. These robots, already battle-proven/combat-proven …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com   It would appear that Under Armour just got some serious competition in the realm of advanced moisture-wicking/cooling undergarments for military Special Operations (SPECOPS) and law enforcement (LE) SWAT/SRT operators. An Israeli company called Zensah™ Performance (based in Tel-Aviv, Israel) is making tactical compression shirts that utilize high-tech moisture-wicking, bacteriostatic nylon/polyamide microfibers. Zensah Tactical seamless compression …