by Bob Taubert October 19, 2005 Let me start out by saying that I’m an unabashed fan of assault rifle/small arms systems that provide relatively long barrel lengths in compact packages. Troops in the Afghan and Iraqi theaters of operation want agile shoulder weapons that they can fight from vehicles with, clear buildings and rooms and at the same time …

by 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. October 8, 2005 Alright, get a load of these two little honeys. I found them at IACP 2005 Miami at the Bushmaster Firearms booth. They’re Bushmaster Carbon 15 prototype shorties, and both are …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com DefenseReview readers may remember that we published the Presolicitation Notice for the 7.62x51mm (.308 Winchester) XM110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System (SASS), back in November (2004). Specifically, it was Solicitation #: W15QKN-05-R-0433. The 7.62mm XM110 SASS is supposed to replace the U.S. Army’s old M24 Sniper Weapon System (SWS). Well, DefenseReview was told early yesterday evening (Monday) that …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com All digital photos of the HK416 Enhanced Carbine at International SOF Week/APBI below were taken by, and are the exclusive property of, DefenseReview.com. Click on photos below to view them full-size. July 15, 2005 It looks like the FN SCAR-Light (FN SCAR-L) carbine/subcarbine (select-fire, 5.56x45mm) might have some competition in SOF (Special Operations Forces) circles–and, more …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Below are scanned photos of a NAVSEA/Naval Surface Warfare Center-Crane Division (NSWC-Crane Division) Tri-Fold/Fact Sheet on the Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) family designed and developed (and manufactured and marketed) by FN Herstal/FNH USA. Both the 5.56x45mm FN SCAR-Light (FN SCAR-L) and 7.62x51mm FN SCAR-Heavy (FN SCAR-H) are covered in the document. Below these …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com All digital photos contained in this article were taken by, and are the exclusive property of, DefenseReview.com. Every good shooter that I know (whether they’re a professional tactical operator, a tactical shooting instructor, a competitive shooter, or a civilian CCW) engages in dry-fire practice to keep their shooting skills sharp–and even enhance their skills. Well, an Israeli …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com On April 27th (2005), Alliant Techsystems, Inc. (ATK) issued a press release on their semi-auto XM25 25mm "advanced airbursting" MGL (multiple grenade launcher) through PR Newswire. ATK calls it the XM25 "Air-Burst Assault Weapon". DefenseReview has known about the XM25 development program for awhile, now, but we never quite got around to writing about it. So …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com DefenseReview readers might remember the article we wrote on Patriot Arms, Inc. high-end custom sniper rifles back in May, 2004, titled "High-End Silenced Sniper/Long-Range-Interdiction Rifles from Patriot Arms Inc.". That article was basically a recap of Al Paulson’s excellent article on Patriot Arms that he wrote for "Special Weapons for Military & Police". Patriot Arms Inc. …

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 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 …