This week’s issue of the Army Times features two good stories covering the XM8/XM29 and XM312 programs: The OICW, now designated as the XM29, has been completely overhauled with an entirely new development and acquisition plan. The XM312, a .50 caliber heavy machine-gun born from the advanced XM307, is now set to replace the venerable "Ma Deuce" that has served …

by David Crane I’ve been using Surefire combat flashlights for the last several years for one reason: they’re the best. No question about it, they are heads and shoulders above the rest of the competition on a number of levels. First, Surefire’s are brighter than everything else out there. These flashlights are specifically designed to be used in tactical situations, …

by David Crane For all you Kalashnikov collectors out there, Ohio Ornance Works is offering a unique AK alternative. It’s called the VZ 2000. The VZ 2000 is a custom semi-auto version of the Czech VZ.58, and is made to look identical to the genuine military full-auto version. The Ohio Ordnance VZ 2000 looks like… a very interesting rifle. Just …

by David Crane Whether you’re a military Spec-Ops operator, LE SWAT operator, or armed citizen, a good tactical knife is an important item to have as back up to your firearm(s). Japanese-style tactical fixed blades have become increasingly popular in the last several years with members of all three groups. DefRev would like to highlight several custom bladesmiths and blades …

Kimber’s Custom Shop has just come out with their Tactical Custom II, Tactical Pro II, and Tactical Ultra II 1911’s. The new guns are geared specifically for the CCW (Concealed Carry) crowd. If the guns function as well as they look, Kimber’s got some winners on their hands–’cause the new guns look GOOD. Since they’re geared for the CCW crowd, …

by David Crane defrev (at) gmail (dot) com May 6, 2003 Several months ago, DefRev attended the AUSA 2003 Winter Symposium (Feb. 26-28). During the show, we ran into the fine people at IMI (Israel Military Industries), and got a chance to handle their Tavor assault rifle variants, the Tavor TAR-21 Commando Carbine (shortened version of the Tavor assault rifle, …

by David Crane Eye Safety Systems, Inc. ( ESS) bills their ICE 2.4 ballistic eyeshield as "the most complete system available for high-impact eye defense in any light conditions", and they may just be right about that. "ICE" is an acronym for "Interchangeable Component Eyeshield", and the "2.4" refers to the thickness of the polycarbonate lens material, which is a …

by David Crane DefRev has received some sneak peak pics of prototypes for the new vented Dark Parts rail covers with M203-style vent holes in them(You can view the links to them by clicking on "Read More" below). These new rail covers have the same advanced polymer gripping surface as Dark Parts’ standard non-vented "super-grip" rail covers. All Dark Parts …

by David Crane There’s a new sheriff in town, and it’s called LOSAT. Brought to you by the good and enterprising people at Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control, LOSAT is one of a new group of anti-tank weapon systems that is quickly changing the face of the modern battlefield, specifically in the area of ground-to-ground combat. Here’s my prediction …

by David Crane There is growing interest by the military in the 20mm cannon round for anti-material use, since it’s capability in this area significantly exceeds that of the .50 BMG. Special Operations units are particularly interested in the development of sniper/anti-material rifles chambered for a cannon round, since they offer significantly increased performance to even the Nammo/Raufoss Mk211 Multipurpose …