Gun Porn!

This is the first thing that came to my mind.◊

I don't know about motorcycles but there are ATV's with them.◊

North Korea's obsession with rotary weapons. Apparently rotary 14.5mm HMGs are fairly common in the NK armed forces now as a supplement to the ubiquitous ZPU-4s.

Meanwhile, news from Ukraine (words that always herald magic): a Kievan company has produced a five-shot, chopped-down, bullpup derivative of the AGS-17/30 automatic grenade launcher. In concept it's like a Milkor MGL, except semi-automatic and clip-fed instead of revolving, and probably a fair bit heavier too.

Odd that they're targeting the anti-light-vehicle market with it, though, since the 30mm grenade ammo they use doesn't have HEDP as an option.

It looks kinda neat, at least.

But why does it exist when the RG-6 is a thing?

Cost, ammunition commonality with AGS-17s, ease of manufacture, would be my guess. Ukraine's industrial base is hurting pretty badly.

Do the Ukrainians not have GP-25s and so on? Or are UGBLs and 40mm grenades something they got from the West?

I know their inventory is a really weird and sometimes random mix of Warsaw Pact and NATO gear.

Brazil Wants A More Powerful Infantry Rifle. (War is boring)

I can understand their logic. The last 15 years has put a lot of holes in the "300 meter gun" philosophy that most militaries have been shifting to. Even the upgrade stuff in 5.56mm that is the M 855 A 1 EPR meant to improve lethality and range is built upon that lesson that the "300 meter gun" is not the correct solution for the battlefield.

Always pays to have options for more.

M40A6's Operational In USMC Scout Sniper Platoons.

Shoulda just gone with the M2010 guys. Especially if you're going to have to up-caliber your PSR's in the long run. But Marines are never known for going with the smart answer on the first try.

This isn't just round power the problem, Brazil has adopted the 5.56mm fairly recently and we have huge stocks of 7.62mm NATO now sitting on the armories gathering dust.

I'd wager that our military forces could try to get a license to manufacture the M 855 A 1 or the SOST, but specially the SOST, since we're more likely to be using those on cartel members than anyone else and the 7.62mm is a bit overkill to be used inside urban areas, which more often than not go through a wall and kill someone not involved in the shooting.

I am still waiting for Imbel to make an expo so I can fingerfuck an IA 2.

Tom: Not really. What it has emphasized is a need for properly mixed armament at the squad level including at least one DMR rifle. Angelus of course points out they have no shortage of 7.62mm weaponry.

As for the Marines this looks like a stop gap and the next sniper rifle will be a whole new weapon and will likely be launched with a new program with the scout snipers input influencing its design. We will have to wait and see.

edited 17th Oct '16 3:50:36 PM by TuefelHundenIV

Looks like everyone's moving away from mono-caliber. Mixing 5.56 and 7.62 is quite common for NATO, while the Russians have their 5.45/7.62R mix at the squad level.

Also the Imbel's FN-FAL has traditionally been the main to go weapon and very well liked one by our police and military forces. Hell, an FN-FAL was one of my first contacts with firearms I had, too bad I was like 7 at the time and it was too big and heavy for me to shoulder it.

Imbel offering a 7.62mm IA 2 version is no surprise given the request by our forces to replace the traditional FN-FAL with something modern and lighter and the design is based on existing parts from the FN-FAL assembly line, it was since the beginning meant to be a Battle Rifle or DMR. I guess I've made a few posts about it not long after I joined TVT.

Mono-caliber philosophy is only useful if you're planning on accepting the drawbacks of a single platform and the platform you have has sufficiently few drawbacks to avoid crippling your troops.

For example, a mono-caliber philosophy towards 5.56mm has the advantages of:

• Lightweight both in cartridge and many weapons for it are lighter.
• Often quite accurate
• High velocity/flat trajectory shooting
• Low recoil

But you would have some serious drawbacks such as:

• Lower wounding potential, especially at range
• Lower penetration capabilities, particularly against light cover and concealment. (Yes 855A1 EPR alleviates this to an extent...)
• Lower range both effective and maximum.
• Lower long range accuracy as the projectile eventually destabilizes.

A mix of 7.62mm NATO battle rifles or DMR's, GPMG's and 5.56mm assault rifles or carbines can cover the weaknesses of each. 7.62 weapons can cover the range and power aspect while 5.56mm covers closer in and in times of high rounds per minute engagements.

A military ideally would run 3 calibers outside of specialist situations like HMG's, shotguns or sniper rifles. A line rifle cartridge like 5.56mm on an assault rifle platform such as an AK-12 or HK-416 or M16A4. A battle rifle cartridge such as 7.62 NATO for battle rifles used to supplement squad firepower, DMR's to give extra reach and machine guns for mass firepower. Finally a pistol/PDW cartridge such as 5.7mm FN for sidearms and submachineguns/PDW's for anything not covered by the other two.

I do recall Russian troops specifically asking for the old RPK-12 to be chambered in 7.62x39mm instead of 5.45. Presumably that's going to carry over to the new RPK-12.

Or would it be the RPK-15?

On the IMBEL FAL thing, does one of them look like this?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ParaFAL

Kinda like it.

The IA 2 is supposed to be the Hue version of the FN-SCAR.

Russia Begins Issuing AK-12, 100000 Ratnik Upgrade Kits To Land Forces, Develops Ratnik-3 Future Soldier.

The newest AK-12s are some serious steps back it looks like. I guess that means we better hope the A545 wins out and becomes the next gen AK.

And for some odd reason, the recoil forces on those AK-12s looks a lot harsher than it does on any old AK-74(M).

And while the Russians Armed Forces are trying to supply their infantry with the Ratnik kits, on the internet their troll farms are already fully qualified with the Vatnik kit.

The newer AK-12s are a big step ahead of the 74M but not not quite on the level of the original AK-12.

Either way the Ratnik program looks pretty cool. Lots of green.

edited 18th Oct '16 4:45:02 PM by LeGarcon

Certainly because the original AK-12 was too expensive to build and the extra features added a lot of mechanical complexity, not only driving up the costs but also adding the possibility of a weapon more difficult to repair and less reliable.

Definitely. Far too advanced to be a standard issue rifle.

Wouldn't be surprised if the Russians are very quietly producing a batch or two for special forces though.

The original AK-12 was to my understanding cheaper than the HK 416. And the 416 is basically take a bog standard AR-15 (in this case and M 4 A 1) and give it a G36 piston system. (Yes I know there's a bit more, but a revolutionary or even evolutionary firearm it is not.)

I kinda would like to see how messy their armories are because the are supposed to be getting the AN-94, AEK-971 and possibly the prototype batch of the AK-12.

Well, in that case it is really hard to be more expensive than any gun with HK stamped on it.

edited 18th Oct '16 4:47:15 PM by AngelusNox

In the US and want a Tabuk? Well, now you can own a civilian legal one. You'll be paying around $1200 for one.

Must be Pistol Week at TFB.

New Kalashnikov VIKING-M 9mm.

Review: The New Remington RP9 And RP45. (A .45 HAS BEEN MADE WITH 15 ROUND CAPACITY!)

Review: A Taste Of Fine, The Korriphila.

BREAKING: Walther Introduces New "Creed" Pistol.

I'll admit, 3 of those pistols (VIKING-M, RP-45, Creed) sound interesting enough to buy. But I'm not sure I have the budget to go grab them in a rush on the just-in-case-tyrant-Hillary-gets-elected-in-two-weeks need.