by David Crane david@defensereview.com Some folks at Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD), a.k.a. NAVAIR Weapons Division (China Lake, CA), are currently developing a "man-packable, shoulder-launched guided missile" system for U.S. infantry warfighters called SPIKE. The developmental system is essentially a low-cost, compact, and lightweight man-portable shoulder-fired fire-and-forget missile system that incorporates three separate guidance modes–inertial, laser, and imaging …

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 Click on digital photos of Knight’s Armament PDW (and 6mm ammo) below to view them full-size. DefenseReview has received some photos of the KAC 6x35mm PDW (Personal Defene Weapon) demonstration samples and 6x35mm ammo that were taken at the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) Small Arms Symposium 2006. We’ve already taken the liberty of …

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 Back in March, DefenseReview reported on the Stealth Technology System (STS) being developed at Advanced American Enterprise (AAE) in our article titled Is Cloaking Technology for U.S. Infantry Warfighters Finally Possible? STS utilizes a form of electro-optical camouflage (referred to also as optical camouflage, adaptive camouflage, active camouflage, chameleonic camouflage, and cloaking technology). Advanced …

Warning: This article contains graphic images of animial necropsies being conducted after live animal tests (ballistic tests) were performed with Le Mas BMT ammunition.  "BMT" stands for "Blended Metal Technology", which is a trademark, not a description of bullet composition.  Click on photos (below) to view them full-size.  The following is a DefenseReview exclusive: The study of wound ballistics is based on …

by Frank Borelli, Borelli Consulting frank at borelliconsulting.com with thanks to John Giduck Not long ago I read through the book, Terror At Beslan: A Russian Tragedy with Lessons for America’s Schools by John Giduck (review of the book here). The book so convinced me that we in law enforcement are training for the wrong threat (Active Shooter) that I …

by David Crane david at defensereview.com For the last few months, DefenseReview has been writing about the Pinnacle Armor SOV/Dragon Skin vs. Interceptor Body Armor fight. We consider this situation to be one of the most important developing news stories in the country, as it directly impacts the lives/survivability of our infantry warfighters. As the situtation has progressed, DefenseReview (DefRev) …

by David Crane david (at) defensereview (dot) com May 19, 2006 In our article Defrev Quick Hits 4 from SHOT Show 2006: More Tactical Goodies, we included information about the SOPMOD AK, a modernized AKM/Kalashnikov rifle/carbine with 4-sided/quad-rail Mil-Std-1913 rail system/forend rail tube.  This weapons package will soon be offered by Blackheart International, L.L.C. (BHI), which looked like a pretty slick …