N.R. Jenzen-Jones At far right, the image above appears to show a Belgian FN Herstal CAL (Carabine Automatique Légère; Light Automatic Carbine) rifle in the hands of fighters from the National Resistance Brigades, the paramilitary arm of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). The DFLP are an extreme-left member group of the Palestine
Michael Smallwood ARES has recently documented Houthi fighters with two models of anti-materiel rifle (AMR) manufactured in Canada and the United States of America, but more recent images posted to social media appear to show a Houthi fighter armed with an Iranian AM50 (Sayyad-2) AMR. Produced by the Iranian state-controlled Defence Industries Organization’s (DIO) Individual
Michael Smallwood Multiple videos (shown below) shared by pro-Houthi media channels during October 2015 show Houthi rebel fighters employing Barrett Model 82A1 (M82A1) anti-materiel rifles during fighting in Yemen. The American-made Barrett M82A1 is semi-automatic, chambered for .50 BMG (12.7 x 99 mm), and designated the M107 in US service. The M82A1 weighs 13.6 kg, has an
Galen Wright Update 151106: Another Twitter post from yesterday shows a brief video of materiel allegedly captured by fighters aligned with Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria. In addition to the Sadad 102 thermal imager mentioned below, other items seen include mortars, what appears to be an Iranian SPG-9-type recoilless gun, an Iranian AM50 anti-materiel rifle, a DShKM-type heavy machine
N.R. Jenzen-Jones A video posted to YouTube on 29 October 2015 shows two Russian-made MRO-A rocket launchers and a Soviet or Russian RPO-A recoilless weapon. According to the video, the weapons were captured by Ajnad al-Sham from Syrian government positions near Skaik village, in Hama governorate. Markings on one of the MRO-A launch tubes indicate
Michael Smallwood An image posted to Twitter yesterday appears to show a Jabhat al-Nusra fighter in Syria wielding a United States-made M240 series general-purpose machine gun (GPMG), purportedly taken from the US-equipped Free Syrian Army’s Division 30. It is likely to be either an upgraded M240B or an M240L. The M240L was only type classified
Michael Smallwood Update 151009: Further information has come to light, showing that these images were first posted to Facebook on 31 August 2013, and 18 March 2014. The earliest appearance of the weapon appears to be 8 April 2013. The combatant pictured appears to be a Druze militiaman. There are photos of numerous other fighters posing with a
Galen Wright Update 150930: According to the US Navy, which arrived on hand shortly after the intercept was made, the incident occurred on Friday, rather than Saturday. They also noted that the country responsible for boarding the Dhow was a member of the multinational Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). They did not specify which country made the interception. AP
N.R. Jenzen-Jones Update 150828, 2035 GMT: It has been suggested that the configuration of the rifle is very similar to that seen in service with Russian SOF units, including the Badger Ordnance IMUNS. Given Russia’s increased involvement in Syria recently, this may point to the rifle’s provenance, whether employed by Russian SOF in support of Syrian
Armament Research Services is proud to release the second publication in our Arms & Munitions Brief series, The Russian GM-94 Grenade Launcher. Authored by former Russian army officer and small arms historian Maxim Popenker, with ARES Director N.R. Jenzen-Jones, Arms & Munitions Brief No. 2 gives an overview of the GM-94’s development history, technical characteristics, and employment
