Gun Porn!

Honestly I wrote it off as some shitty ACR knockoff but it's actually looking pretty damn respectable.

First the Czechs and now Poland coming in with the modern weapon designs, it's nice.

There's always been some excellent weapon design coming out of both those countries. The Janecek adapter, the BESA machine gun, the Polish adaptations of the Cauchat, etc.

Are ISIS Militants Trading AKs for M-16s?

Answer: Not really. They're just picking up whatever they can use. Be they ex-Iraqi Army M-16s or ex-Syrian Army AKM's or what have you.

The AK and M16 are the most common assault rifles in the world. They probably already had the A Ks, and got the M16s from Iraqi Army bases that they have raided/captured, supply drops from the US that they captured, and Western ground troops they may have defeated. Since the M16 uses the ammo their enemies use, they probably think it is a better choice.

edited 3rd Sep '15 3:24:43 PM by Bat178

No one wants to throw rocks when you can possibly shoot bullets. They probably have a plethora of home made fire arms as well.

edited 3rd Sep '15 3:39:46 PM by TuefelHundenIV

Russia's buying lots of new stuff from Kalashnikov Concern to tart up their old AK-74 rifles. Links here:

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/09/06/new-photos-of-ak-74-upgrade-package-for-russian-army-courtesy-larry-vickers/

and here:

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/09/06/russian-army-orders-ak-74-upgrade-kits-from-kalashnikov-concern/

Some smexy handguards, pistol grips and so on.

Now that there is one sexy lookin stop gap.

I want one. That sight is unfamiliar to me though but I have seen it once before. Attached to AK-107 with a 60 round casket mag.

Is it a new design?

edited 6th Sep '15 2:51:28 PM by LeGarcon

I like how you describe adding equipment as tarting up. :P

Well, the rifles were perfectly capable of killing people without this new glam they're getting, so, yeah, tarting up it is. They do look nice, and they're getting more ergonomic with that keymod/picatinny combo rails and stuff.

And it proves once and for all that the Kremlin and the Russian equivalent of the DOD are hardcore Battleduty fans.

Now their AK's look EXACTLY like the "AK-47" of Modern Warfare 2.

edited 6th Sep '15 5:05:32 PM by MajorTom

What is their DOD?

It's like OKB or something right?

FSB, though that might be their equivalent of the FBI instead.

edited 7th Sep '15 8:13:14 PM by Bat178

It's the latter. What you seek is the Ministry of Defense.

MOD works as an acronym I suppose.

Some news and things:

• German MoD Releases RFI For New Infantry Rifles. Stick a fork in the G-36 men, it's done.
• PSA: Always Check Your Ammo. (One of these things is not like the others...)
• Polish Armed Forces Upgrade Their PKM's. If you'll excuse me, my pants no longer seem to fit.

Not gonna lie, if it wasn't pointed out to me I probably wouldn't have been able to tell those were PKMs off the bat.

The receiver and the fact the ammo bag latches to the bottom as opposed to the left for Western/NATO guns are the two dead giveaways.

The M-249 and M-240 ammo bags/boxes that attach to the bottom and only attach from the side in vehicle mounts. The only difference is the Russian PKM feeds from the right instead of the left. There was a device made for the 240 that made mounting on the side possible but otherwise the M-240 also posses a simple underside mounting bracket for attaching ammo boxes and bags.

M-249 with box on the underside mounting bracket◊

Keep in mind the old boxes that used to mount underneath were cheap plastic with some cheap wire in some examples. They had a bad habit of falling off and were rarely used outside of training.

edited 8th Sep '15 7:17:15 PM by TuefelHundenIV

Isn't Poland part of the West, seeing as it is in Europe and NATO, or does that only count for European countries west of Finland and the Czech Republic?

That reminds me of a video by the Economist on that very topic.

Or we could just make it really simple and call them Europeans? Too simple?

Usually when someone refers to "The West", they specifically mean the United States, though Canada, most of Europe, Australia and New Zealand can also count as "The West" (Arguably, anything west of Asia can also count as "The West").

edited 8th Sep '15 8:18:06 PM by Bat178

I think Australia and New Zealand sort of get grandfathered into The West(TM) because they're Anglophone nations with modern economies and militaries. Compare to Japan, which is decidedly not part of The West, despite the modern economy and military defense forces.

I'm not entirely certain you'd even consider Germany and Austria to be part of The West until the Post-WWII era, both of them having been decidedly "Central" powers (hey, that'd be a good name for a band or an international alliance or something...)

edited 8th Sep '15 8:40:18 PM by AFP

I've always considered Poland an Eastern country that's part of NATO is all.

I could have sworn I've seen left side mountings for infantry use. On both of them.

Maybe it's just the perspective. The PKM bag is practically and noticeably centered in a very unique way.