Category: Arms & Munitions ID

The Hungarian Frommer Stop self-loading pistol

Kristóf Nagy Rudolf Frommer and his frequently unique firearms designs have been more or less forgotten today, but the impact of his work is still felt in our modern world. Born on 4 August 1868 in Budapest, Frommer was soon to be recognised as an energetic rising star in the Hungarian firearms industry. He did

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The Yat-Thai rifles of Shan State, Myanmar

Miles Vining With a shortage of conventionally produced small arms in Shan State, Eastern Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), craft-produced and locally assembled weapons have proven important to the Shan State Army (SSA). A locally assembled AK-type self-loading rifle, known as the Yat-Thai in the Shan language, is amongst the most common of these. Built from

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The Hungarian Kucher K-1 sub-machine gun

Kristóf Nagy The Kucher K-1 sub-machine gun was born in the dark times that followed the Second World War in Hungary. Stalinist ruler Matyas Rákosi went to great lengths to please his Soviet masters and accepted little initiative from within his own country—especially when it came to weapons that rivalled the glorious Soviet designs that

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Weapons used by Sinaloa Cartel sicarios in Culiacán, Mexico

The ARES Team Editor’s Note: Readers should be aware that an unusually large number of false posts have been associated with the incident in Culiacán. These include images and video from movies, TV shows, and various other incidents in Mexico and elsewhere around the world, presented as being from this incident. Numerous sources have also presented images

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Chinese GP6 guided artillery projectiles in Libya

N.R. Jenzen-Jones In April 2019, Libyan National Army forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar captured the city of Gharyan in north-western Libya, approximately 70 km south of Tripoli. The city was recaptured by the Government of National Accord (GNA) forces in June 2019, with Haftar’s forces leaving behind materiel. According to Hamed Alzwy, who works in the

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South African Police seize Chinese CS/LS5 sub-machine gun

Jonathan Ferguson Amongst a handful of small arms seized on 6 September by police in Johannesburg, South Africa was an unusual Chinese sub-machine gun or pistol-calibre carbine. Superficially similar to the German Heckler & Koch MP5 and UMP—two better-known 9 × 19 mm sub-machine guns—this original design is available in both military/law enforcement and sporting

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Venezuelan Caribe sub-machine gun

Pedro Pérez The ‘Caribe’ sub-machine gun is a prototype design under development by the Compañia Anonima Venezolana de Industrias Militares (CAVIM) in Venezuela. Very little is known about the design, with government sources claiming it has been in development since 2006. Initially known as the F-Caribe, the current working design appears to be known as

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Chinese CS/LS06 ‘Chang Feng’ sub-machine gun

N.R. Jenzen-Jones The Chang Feng sub-machine gun (SMG)—known in its latest iteration as the ‘CS/LS06’—is in service with Chinese law enforcement and paramilitary personnel, as well as specialised units from other nations. The design is notable for its 50-round helical magazine, and is often issued with a suppressor. Development of the Chang Feng SMG began

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Chinese ‘Chang Feng’ sub-machine gun in Venezuela

Pedro Pérez The Chinese Chang Feng CF05 sub-machine gun remains in service with security forces in Venezuela. Perhaps the first appearance of this weapon in the country was during an awards ceremony in November 2017. In July 2018, it was observed during a rehearsal for the Independence Day parade on 5 July. According to local

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Modified NSV sold as anti-materiel rifle in Yemen

Jonathan Ferguson A mystery 12.7 × 108 mm anti-materiel rifle documented for sale in Yemen earlier this summer—described as ‘craft-produced’ by some observers—has been identified by ARES. It is not, in fact, craft-produced but rather an ingenious yet relatively straightforward modification of an NSV-type heavy machine gun (HMG). The gun’s barrelled action has simply been

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