by David Crane david@defensereview.com January 6, 2006 Anyone who knows anything about the custom/semi-custom tactical 1911 pistol field knows how hugely competitive it is out there. That’s one of the reasons why the Phoenix-like rise of Nighthawk Custom over approx. the last year and half is so intriguing. Considering the speed and surprise Nighthawk Custom has exhibited in establishing its …

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 John Higgs All photos contained in this article were provided by Jenny Higgs, and are the property of John Higgs and Jenny Higgs. Click on photos to view them full-size. Martin Beale held up his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart and told me, “The technological advancement of para-aramid fibers has progressed about this far in the last forty years. …

David Crane david@defensereview.com All photos contained in this article were taken by, and are the property of, DefenseReview.com. Click on photos (below) to view them full-size.   Back in August, DefRev published a short article on the Smith and Wesson Military and Police pistol (a.k.a. S&W M&P pistol), titled Smith & Wesson M&P Pistol: The Next Evolution in Polymer-Framed Combat …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Springfield Armory XD pistols receiving some pretty high praise by professionals in the tactical and competitive shooting arenas, lately. Rob Leatham, world-class competitive shooter and Springfield Armory spokesman, is a obviously a big proponent of them, of course. He’s also an ideal demonstrator for the XD pistols’ performance capabilities, sincel he’s an IPSC Grandmaster shooter and …

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 Any military or law enforcement Spec-Operator tasked with employing a tactical shotgun for a living should take a serious look at the Polyshok I.R.P. 12-gauge shotgun round. "I.R.P" stands for "Impact Reactive Projectile", and this specialized shotgun round is designed specifically to maximize stopping power against enemy combatants or hostile subjects (especially hostage-takers), while minimizing the …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com While we’re on the subject of Russian firearms, we should perhaps also mention a pistol that looks really intriguing. It’s manufactured by KBP (Equipment manufacturing Design Bureau) in Tula, Russia, and it’s called the GSh-18. The KBP GSh-18 pistol basically appears to be a polymer-framed hybrid pistol that incorporates design and material aspects of previous pistols …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com The Instrument Design Bureau (KBP) out of Tula, Russia recently introduced their PP-2000 SMG/PDW (submachine gun/personal defense weapon) at the Interpolytech-2004 exhibition in Moscow, last year. Intended as either a PDW for non-infantry military personnel or as an close quarters battle (CQB) weapon for military special operations (SPECOPS) units and law enforcement SWAT/SRT teams, the newly-introduced …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Knoxx Industries, LLC has just come out with another rather amazing and revolutionary combat/tactical shotgunning product, called the Knoxx SpecOps Stock. The patented Knoxx SpecOps Stock has the potential to really change the game regarding rapid multiple target engagement capability with full-power 12-guage shotgun loads. The Knoxx SpecOps Stock is an evolutionary development from two previously-perfected …