Kristóf Nagy The Swiss MZW 04 (Mehrzweckwerfer 04; ‘multipurpose launcher 04’) is a less-lethal launcher developed for and used by the Swiss police. It remains little-known outside of the alpine state. Although generally very economically and socially stable, the significant upheavals throughout western society of the late 1960s also reached Switzerland. This resulted in turmoil
Miles Vining Editor’s note: This is the fourth and final part in a series examining the arms and equipment employed by the Iraqi Special Operations Forces, in light of the prominent role played by this unit in recent fighting. Part 1 (personal equipment) is available here, Part 2 (precision rifles) is available here, and Part 3 (machine guns) is
Jack Dutschke During the Second World War, Germany developed a number of innovative small arms. One key development – the Sturmgewehr, chambered for the 7.92 × 33 mm Kurz cartridge – is rightly considered the grandfather of the modern ‘assault rifle’. The concept behind the assault rifle was a box magazine-fed, select-fire rifle chambered for
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. Since 2016, the use of improvised munitions delivered by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operated by non-state actors – and even some governments – has increased dramatically. The article, which draws largely on three
Yuri Lyamin with N.R. Jenzen-Jones On 22 May 2018, images from As-Suwayda governorate in Syria circulated, showing remnants of a Tochka series missile. These were capture in the ARES Conflict Materiel (CONMAT) Database. The 9K79 Tochka tactical missile launcher and, in particular, the 9M79 missile with 9H123F high explosive warhead have been observed in
Miles Vining Editor’s note: This is the third part in a series examining the arms and equipment employed by the Iraqi Special Operations Forces, in light of the prominent role played by this unit in recent fighting. Part 1 (personal equipment) is available here and Part 2 (precision rifles) is available here. Due to the nature of the operations undertaken
Miles Vining & Ali Richter This article provides a brief summary of night vision devices known to be in Taliban possession. It draws primarily from open sources and addresses both thermal and infrared optics, as well as infrared aiming devices. This is particularly timely given recent attacks by Taliban forces making use of NVDs. Interestingly, whilst some
N.R. Jenzen-Jones Update 21 April 2018: Information released today by US Air Forces Central Command (AFCENT) indicates that standard JASSM cruise missiles were used in the strikes, not the JASSM-ER as previously reported by the Pentagon. A spokesman also noted that F-22 Raptors took part in the operation, presumably flying counter-air. A good summary has been posted at The Aviationist.
ImproGuns A shootout with police in the Ukrainian city of Odessa last Friday left 3 people dead including the shooter. The attack appears to have been carried out using one or more craft-produced firearms. Valentin Doroshenko, a 57 year old man who has been identified in some sources as the shooter, was known locally for his pro-Russia
This post accompanies the twenty-first 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
