Category: Small Arms & Light Weapons (SALW)

ARES Research Note 8 – Durability of self-loading rifles

Armament Research Services has released its eighth Research Note, focusing on the durability and longevity of self-loading rifles. Authored by ARES Researcher Ian McCollum, the Note examines some of the core explanations for the durability of such weapons, as well as identifying the components which suffer during regular use and from poor maintenance. In particular,

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Hopak-61 rifle presented at Ukrainian arms inspection

Update 150828: A new image of the Hopak-61 rifle has surfaced (below), taken at the Arms & Security 2015 (ЗБРОЯ ТА БЕЗПЕКА – 2015) expo in Kiev and posted less than an hour ago. The rifle is manufactured by Mayak JSC, and is described as a modernised AKM rifle ‘operational-portable’. Michael Smallwood Amongst arms and equipment

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Research Report 4: Less-lethal munitions in Ferguson, Missouri

Armament Research Services is proud to announce the release of the latest publication its Research Report series. Research Report No. 4: Less-Lethal Arms & Munitions Documented in Ferguson, Missouri examines impact and riot control agent (RCA) munitions employed by security forces during the 2014 riots in Ferguson. Authored by chemical weapons specialist Peter White and

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Captured TOW 2A missiles employed in Syria

Michael Smallwood Following news of US-made TOW 2A anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) missile tubes being captured by Jabhat al-Nusra (or the Nusra front) from Harakat Hazzm last month, new videos uploaded in recent weeks show Jabhat al-Nusra militants employing these systems against armoured vehicles near Idlib city, Syria. With recent heavy fighting in Idlib, these advanced

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Further evidence of 9K135 Kornet ATGWs found in Ukraine

Ivan Kochin with Michael Smallwood Photos uploaded to Ukrainian forums as early as December 2014, and social media sites more recently, show further examples of the comparatively modern Russian 9K135 Kornet  (Корнет; ‘Cornet’) anti-tank guided anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) ostensibly being employed by pro-Russian separatist forces in the Ukrainian conflict. The remnants of several 9M133 missile

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Report: 3D printing and firearms manufacture

ARES Director N.R. Jenzen-Jones has authored a chapter in a newly released Small Arms Survey paper examining the impact of new technologies in the firearms industry. Mr. Jenzen-Jones’ chapter focuses on the use of additive manufacturing techniques (3D printing) in the firearms industry, the technical merits of the various processes and products, and the associated

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Update: TOW 2A anti-tank guided weapons in Syria

Sam Baartz Almost a year ago, ARES reported on the appearance of US-made TOW 2A anti-tank guided weapons (ATGW)  in Syria. In service with several anti-government groups, the TOW systems were primarily documented in the hands of the so-called ‘moderate Syrian rebels’. Since then, there have been dozens of appearances of these systems. The TOW series of ATGWs were originally

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Arms diversion in Libya: An update

Michael Smallwood An update to our November blog post on the Caracal Model F self-loading pistol documented in Tripoli’s Old City, Libya, comes courtesy of the UN Panel of Experts on Libya’s latest report to the UN Security Council. This report analyses the effectiveness of the arms embargo on Libya as well as other related

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Small Arms Survey releases ‘Research Note 48: Automatic Grenade Launchers’

The Small Arms Survey, a Geneva-based research institute, has released a new publication authored by ARES Director N.R. Jenzen-Jones, with contributions from ARES staff members Jonathan Ferguson and Graeme Rice. Research Note 48: Automatic Grenade Launchers looks at the technical features, development history, and usage of this light weapon system. The automatic grenade launcher (AGL), which

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9K32M MANPADS components offered for sale in Libya via social media

Michael Smallwood Armament Research Services has previously covered the sale of arms and munitions in Libya via social media sites. This latest example of note shows the gripstock for a 9K32M Strela-2M man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) (NATO reporting name: SA-7b ‘Grail’) being offered for sale in a private Facebook group which acts as a

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