Jonathan Ferguson Amongst a handful of small arms seized on 6 September by police in Johannesburg, South Africa was an unusual Chinese sub-machine gun or pistol-calibre carbine. Superficially similar to the German Heckler & Koch MP5 and UMP—two better-known 9 × 19 mm sub-machine guns—this original design is available in both military/law enforcement and sporting
Pedro Pérez The ‘Caribe’ sub-machine gun is a prototype design under development by the Compañia Anonima Venezolana de Industrias Militares (CAVIM) in Venezuela. Very little is known about the design, with government sources claiming it has been in development since 2006. Initially known as the F-Caribe, the current working design appears to be known as
N.R. Jenzen-Jones The Chang Feng sub-machine gun (SMG)—known in its latest iteration as the ‘CS/LS06’—is in service with Chinese law enforcement and paramilitary personnel, as well as specialised units from other nations. The design is notable for its 50-round helical magazine, and is often issued with a suppressor. Development of the Chang Feng SMG began
Pedro Pérez The Chinese Chang Feng CF05 sub-machine gun remains in service with security forces in Venezuela. Perhaps the first appearance of this weapon in the country was during an awards ceremony in November 2017. In July 2018, it was observed during a rehearsal for the Independence Day parade on 5 July. According to local
Jonathan Ferguson A mystery 12.7 × 108 mm anti-materiel rifle documented for sale in Yemen earlier this summer—described as ‘craft-produced’ by some observers—has been identified by ARES. It is not, in fact, craft-produced but rather an ingenious yet relatively straightforward modification of an NSV-type heavy machine gun (HMG). The gun’s barrelled action has simply been
Kristóf Nagy The automatic, belt-fed UAG-40 grenade launcher is one of the many domestic arms developments to come out of Ukraine in recent years. It was developed and is currently manufactured by Kusnja na Rybalskomu, a shipyard and major arms manufacturer in Kiev, located on the banks of the Dnieper River. Kusnja na Rybalskomu, known
We are pleased to announce that selected short video reports derived from our ‘Quicklook’ series will now be made publicly available. These video reports, typically a few minutes in length, examine events relevant to ARES clients and provide brief contextual and observational information. Deeper analysis of any of these events is available to selected clients;
Kristóf Nagy Designed and produced at the state-owned Chilean arms manufacturer, Fábricas y Maestranzas del Ejército (FAMAE), the FAMAE Sub-machine Gun (Subametralladora FAMAE; SAF) is one of the few indigenous arms designs that came out of South America in the late 20th century. Despite some substantial sales successes in Central and South America, as well
Jonathan Ferguson The Firearm Blog recently posted an interesting article about an unusual anti-materiel rifle in use with forces affiliated with the Free Syrian Army. ARES has now identified this weapon. The rifle is indeed chambered in 14.5 × 114 mm, but has not been craft-produced and is not, as has been speculated, blowback operated.
Yuri Lyamin In early February, on the eve of 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, a large public exhibition of the defence achievements of the Iranian armed forces and military industry was held. This exhibition, titled Eghtedar 40 (‘Power 40’) showcased Iranian-made ballistic missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), armoured fighting vehicles, surface-to-air missiles (SAMs),
