Boris Karpa Amongst the many types of equipment in service with pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine – whether received from Russia or captured from Ukrainian stocks – communications equipment and optics have been in short supply. These items, notable mostly in their shortage, have been important to the war effort, and lamented for their absence.
Daniel Hughes Deception is one of the greatest weapons at a creative commander’s disposal. Decoys are just one component of the spectrum of deceptive options available to military leaders. Historically, the use of decoys in modern operations was made famous by the US Army’s Operation Quicksilver. This top secret Second World War operation hired artists and engineers to create
Arms and ammunition are evidence. Many weapons carry marks that, combined with their physical characteristics, reveal important information about them, including their manufacturer, age, and origin. This information, in turn, provides vital clues about the sources and flows of weapons in the area in which they were found. ARES personnel have worked with the Small
ARES director N.R. Jenzen-Jones and research G. Hays have authored a new report, released yesterday by the Small Arms Survey. The report, Beyond State Control: Improvised and Craft-produced Small Arms and Light Weapons, provides an overview of the nature and scale of production of these types of weapons, as well as assessing acquisition and use patterns,
ARES Researcher Galen Wright and Director N.R. Jenzen-Jones authored an article which was published in the latest edition of the Counter-IED Report. The Syrian government has made extensive use of improvised munitions delivering a chemical payload over the course of the civil war, with incidents involving re-purposed toxic industrial chemicals (TIC) substantially outnumbering those committed with military-purpose chemical
N.R. Jenzen-Jones This article is an abridged version of a piece which will be published in a forthcoming edition of the International Ammunition Association Journal. – Ed. Introduction Although Ethiopia has produced small-calibre ammunition for at least sixty years (and probably 90 or more), little information is publicly available regarding Ethiopianoutputs, and knowledge of Ethiopian cartridges
Jack Dutschke Since the adoption of the 7.62 × 51 mm cartridge by NATO in 1954, it has been criticised for its substantial recoil impulse, which many argued resulted in uncontrollable automatic fire from service rifles of the period. This problem was not unique to the 7.62 × 51 mm cartridge, and other full-power rifle
Ernő Lovass & N.R. Jenzen-Jones The 2B9M Vasilek (‘Cornflower’) is a muzzle or breech-loading, long recoil-operated automatic smoothbore medium mortar. It is a modernised, air-cooled version of the 2B9 water-cooled mortar, itself derived from the earlier F-82 automatic mortar. Development of the 2B9 began in the late 1960s, with the Soviet army adopting the weapon in 1970. The modernised 2B29M
Kristóf Nagy Introduction The Hungarian-developed and produced 42 M. hand grenade, and the later 42/48 M. variant, became the primary weapon of its class for the Hungarian armed forces from the late phase of the Second World War until the early 1990s. Its reliable, easy-to-manufacture construction and the versatility of employment against a multitude of
Thorsten Peger The “Faule Magd” (Lazy Maid) of Dresden is one of only a few dozen still extant medieval bombards, and one of the most notable due to its well-preserved wooden carriage. At the time of writing, in July 2018, it is on exhibition in the Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr in Dresden, Germany. The barrel
