Category: Arms & Munitions ID

AK-103 self-loading rifle recovered from bandits in NW Nigeria

Miles Vining Elements of the Nigerian 223rd Infantry Battalion, 1st Nigerian Army Division based out of Kaduna recently responded to an attack by criminal elements in the Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara Sate (northwestern Nigeria). The incident was characterised as an attack targeting members of the Nigerian Federal Road Safety Corps, one of whom was killed before the

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Craft-produced anti-materiel rifles in service with Kurdish YPG

Ian McCollum The Kurdish YPG (People’s Protection Units) employ a number of different craft-produced anti-materiel rifles (AMRs), and ARES has obtained a number of photographs and details of these rifles. These photographs and contextual information came from a confidential source who served in a sniper tabor (platoon) of the YPG from June 2015 through August 2016.

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Indonesian SS1-V1 self-loading rifle in the Philippines

Miles Vining A seizure of arms from the Islamic-state aligned Maute Group (AKA Islamic State of Lanao) in the Filipino city of Marawi, earlier this year, included an Indonesian  Pindad SS1-V1 5.56 x 45 mm self-loading rifle. Captured alongside a range of commercial and military AR type self-loading rifles, the Pindad rifle stands out as it is uncommon outside of

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Converted blank-firing firearms for sale on Dark Web seized in Spanish raid

 The ARES Team On 27 September 2017, the Spanish Guardia Civil launched key raids under Operation RUGER, executed in conjunction with EUROPOL and law enforcement and customs/border agencies from Cyprus, Germany, the UK, and the US. Operation RUGER was initiated in March after the detection by Spanish postal services of various parcels destined for foreign addresses

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WW2 machine gun recovered from cache in Western Australia

N.R. Jenzen-Jones Images and information first shared to Facebook (following a Tweet from the Kalbarri Police) by Ross Williamson, a lawyer specialising in firearms law, show a pair of firearms apparently recovered from a cache near Kalbarri, Western Australia (WA). According to Williamson, the guns were recovered by “some adventurous children on a family holiday at Murchison

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British Fosbery pump-action shotgun with ‘Stoner’ bolt

This post accompanies the nineteenth in a series of collaborative videos produced with ARES Researcher Ian McCollum, who also runs the Forgotten Weapons blog and YouTube channel. Using access to unique collections facilitated by ARES, this series of videos will examine a range of interesting weapons over the coming months. Each video will be accompanied by a blog post,

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British De Lisle Carbine bolt-action rifle

This post accompanies the eighteenth in a series of collaborative videos produced with ARES Researcher Ian McCollum, who also runs the Forgotten Weapons blog and YouTube channel. Using access to unique collections facilitated by ARES, this series of videos will examine a range of interesting weapons over the coming months. Each video will be accompanied by a blog

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Craft-produced anti-materiel rifles and light cannon in Yemen

Yuri Lyamin with ImproGuns A video published 23 August 2017 which was purportedly produced by the ‘Defense Industry Department’ of the armed forces who are loyal to the Ansar Allah (‘Houthi’) movement, shows several types of craft-produced weapons being developed and employed, including anti-materiel rifles and light cannon up to 23 mm and even 30

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Small Arms Survey releases ATGW & MANPADS research notes

ARES staff have updated two research notes for the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, with a particular focus on improving technical clarity and precision. Both draw on earlier work from Survey staff. One research note examines man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS), whilst the other looks at anti-tank guided weapons (ATGWs). Both are types of guided light weapon found in current

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P.A. Luty 9 mm sub-machine guns

This post accompanies the seventeenth in a series of collaborative videos produced with ARES Researcher Ian McCollum, who also runs the Forgotten Weapons blog and YouTube channel. Using access to unique collections facilitated by ARES, this series of videos will examine a range of interesting weapons over the coming months. Each video will be accompanied by a blog

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