Armament Research Services (ARES) is delighted to announce the release of Research Report No. 10, Black & Grey: The Illicit Online Trade of Small Arms in Venezuela. The culmination of a long-running investigation, Research Report 10 examines a new and thriving segment within Venezuela’s black-market arms trade, which has proliferated primarily through social media and
Kristóf Nagy & Paulos Skontzos Riot control agents (RCA)—colloquially described as ‘tear gas’—were introduced to the Hellenic Police in the 1960s, following the experience of members of their designated riot control units, Monades Apokatastasis Taksis (‘Units for the Reinstatement of Order’; MAT), who experienced the potential of such agents during training courses in the United
Pedro Pérez & Jonathan Ferguson An early Colt SP1 (Sporting Purpose model 1) rifle was recovered from a criminal group in Venezuela in the early hours of 21 November 2019. A task force composed of personnel from Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas Penales y Criminalísticas (‘Scientific Penal and Criminal Investigations Corps’; CICPC) and Comando Nacional Antiextorsión
Ryan Scheiblein Recoilless weapons are direct-fire guns distinguished by a system of operation in which propellant gases (or another counter-mass such as a powder or liquid) are expelled from the rear of the barrel in order to offset the recoil generated by forward momentum of the projectile. Many recoilless weapons have smoothbore barrels; however, several
G. Hays Following on from the release of the FGC-9 (see ARES Research Report No. 8 for details), development in the area of 3D-printed firearms components has been rapidly progressing. Recently, this was expressed in the testing of another novel semi-automatic firearm, in this case a .22 LR AR-style ‘pistol’ featuring a barrel entirely printed
Armament Research Services (ARES) is very pleased to announce the release of Research Report No. 9, Menace or Myth? A Closer Look at the “Cop-killer” 5.7 × 28 mm Cartridge. This latest research report investigates the myths and misconceptions surrounding the FN Herstal 5.7 × 28 mm cartridge, assessing the technical characteristics of both the
Chloe Tousignant Philip A. Luty was a British designer of homemade firearms. Whilst he did not consider himself an activist, he held strong beliefs in favour of universal firearms ownership and expressed these via his website and other platforms. As a
Headstamp Publishing, publishers of the wildly successful Chassepot to FAMAS: French Military Rifles, 1866–2016, have today launched a Kickstarter pre-order campaign for their second book. This book, titled Thorneycroft to SA80: British Bullpup Firearms, 1901–2020, was written by ARES Technical Specialist Jonathan Ferguson and charts the British love affair with the ‘flipped’ bullpup rifle and
Ivan T. In April 2020, the Toronto Police Service seized what appears to be a Glock-type self-loading pistol. To the non-specialist, this may appear to be a modified factory-made Glock handgun, but it is in fact a craft-produced firearm constructed using a 3D-printed frame. It is most likely to be what is known as a
Armament Research Services (ARES) is very pleased to announce the release of our latest Research Report, Desktop Firearms: Emergent Small Arms Craft Production Technologies. The report examines the range of emergent technologies which are influencing the craft-production of small arms by individuals, and the effects these are having on the types of weapons that can
