by David Crane david at defensereview.com Small arms designer/developer J.D. Jones of SSK Industries has developed what may just prove to be a superior solution to the 6.8x43mm SPC (a.k.a. 6.8 SPC) and/or 6.5 Grendel (6.5x39mm) cartidges as a replacement for the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge for U.S. military general infantry and Special Operations (USSOCOM) use. Mr. Jones is calling it …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com 1) Trijicon, Inc. is currently making a combo optic comprised of a TA31 ACOG with a DOCTERsight monted on the top/rear, called the Trijicon TA31DOC. The TA31DOC ACOG is a BAC (Bindon Aiming Concept) 4×32 dual-illumination (fiber optic/tritium) optical gunsight calibrated for 5.56mm (5.56x45mm) flat-top rifles out to 600 meters (600m). This new combo sight was …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com   KBP Instrument Design Bureau (Tula, Russia) displayed an updated/upgraded version of the of the RPO Shmel Infantry Rocket Flamethrower thermobaric weapon system (a rocket launcher that fires a thermobaric warhead) called the RPO Shmel-M (full designation: RPO Shmel-M PDM-A) at Eurosatory 2006. Adopted by the Russian Army in December 2003, the RPO Shmel-M is billed …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com July 13, 2006 A private company called CombatBodyArmor (CBA) is currently developing a small, forearm-wearable ballistic shield, or "Battle Shield" (a.k.a. "Combat Shield"), for infantry warfighters. The CBA Mini Battle Shield (a.k.a. Mini Combat Shield) is being developed specifically to protect the warfighter against current enemy rifle-caliber threats (7.62x39mm, 5.45x39mm, and 7.62x54R) and IED (Improvised Explosive …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com DefenseReview has just received exclusive video footage (links below) of an MPS Auto Assault-12 Full-Auto Shotgun (a.k.a. MPS AA-12 Full-Auto Shotgun) successfully firing (and cycling) British FRAG-12 munition (12-gauge grenade) on full-auto at 300 rpm (rounds per minute). The test (AA-12) shotgun sucessfully fired (and cycled) a total of 60 fin-stabilised FRAG-12 grenades/munitions over the course of the full-auto …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com DefenseReview first reported on the M16 Clinic AR-15/M16/M4/M4A1-platform 5.56x45mm subcarbine/SBR (Short-Barreled Rifle) weapons packages back in December, 2004. That first article discussed the select-fire/full-auto,  SOPMOD M4 CQBR (Close Quarters Battle Receiver)-style M16 Viper and M16 Viper-XRP (eXtra-Range/Perimeter) 5.56mm subcarbines/SBRs, which are built specifically for military Special Operations applications, including anti-terrorism/counterterrorism operations. These weapons would appear to …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Inc. recently introduced a new semi-auto bullpup .50 BMG anti-materiel/sniper rifle at NDIA Small Arms Symposium 2006. We’ve been told by an outside source that the new rifle is called the XM500 (or XM-500), but we don’t have confirmation on this designation, yet. The only info we have on the new .50 Cal. …

by David Crane david at defensereview.com DefenseReview has a little snack-size treat for all of the fans (like us) of the Auto Assault-12 Full-Auto Shotgun (AA-12 Shotgun).  It’s a photo of the weapon system and 20-shot drum mag (magazine). Both are outfitted with urban camouflage (urban camo) finish. The Grip Pod System vertical foregrip/bipod and Surefire M900-series vertical foregrip/tactical white light, both in dark earth finish, are also …

by David Crane david at defensereview.com This article has been updated with digital photos (JPEG format), as well as a link to the KAC CQB PDW fact sheet/spec sheet.  Click on the photos below to view them full-size.   Knight’s Armament Company (KAC) has just (formally) introduced a 6x35mm PDW (Personal Defense Weapon) with AR-15/M16 controls for the Mil/LE market (tentatively) called the …

by David Crane david at defensereview.com   Defense Review has confirmed it.  Just as we expected, Pinnacle Armor SOV-2000 (Level III/III+) and SOV-3000 (Level IV) Dragon Skin body armor appears to be significantly superior in every combat-relavant way to U.S. Army PEO Soldier’s and U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center (NSC)/Soldier Systems Center’s Interceptor Body Armor, which is comprised of the following components: …