Armament Research Services has released its latest Research Note, authored by ARES Technical Specialist Jonathan Ferguson. Research Note 7 gives an overview of the concept of cartridge headspace (CHS), and its importance in the correct functioning of a firearm. ARES Research Notes are short form publications, designed to provide brief, accurate information on a single
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
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
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
The above screen grab from video filmed in mid-February shows a Ukrainian government-operated UMZ (Universalnyj Minnyj Zagraditel; universal minelayer) scatterable mine laying system, atop a ZIL-131 truck chassis, operating on Debaltseve road, Ukraine. Designed by the USSR in the late 1970s, the UMZ was adopted by the Soviet Army in the early 1980s, and consists of
Michael Smallwood UPDATED 19 February 2015 A recent report, allegedly from Shakhtersk city, within Ukraine’s Donetsk region, shows pictures of a Russian-designed 96K6 Pantsir-S1 (Панцирь; ‘Cuirass’) air defence system (NATO reporting name: SA-22 Greyhound). Designed by KBP Instrument Design Bureau, the Pantsir-S1 entered service with Russian forces in 2010, and is only known
N.R. Jenzen-Jones According to a freelance journalist on the ground in Sudan and South Sudan, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army – North (SPLA-N) captured a variety of arms and munitions from Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) fighters yesterday, during fighting in Genezya, 18 km east of Kadugli, the capital of the Sudanese border state of South
Michael Smallwood The above image is a still taken from the following video of Kurdish YPG forces fighting the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq uploaded on 29 December 2014. It shows a Kurdish fighter with an RPG-7 type rocket-assisted recoilless weapon, and what appears to be an Iranian tandem-charge RPG-7 projectile. Previously documented in Syria, these
Michael Smallwood Photos out of South Sudan during the last days of 2014 show Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) forces with a Chinese-made QW-2 man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS). Incorrectly identified by some sources as a QW-18, the QW-2 above is identifiable from its battery pack and markings on the weapon gripstock reading “QFJ-2”. Produced by the
Armament Research Services (ARES) had a very successful year, and produced important pieces of work over the course of 2014. The company has solidified its position in supplying critical technical information and project support to various actors in the arms and munitions field, with successful results in field and desk-based research, analysis, technical review, training, and
