Jonathan Ferguson ARES Research Report No. 3 – ‘Raising Red Flags‘ documents the arms and munitions employed during the ongoing Ukrainian conflict. Amongst the small arms and light weapons documented, we identified (p.40-41) a Chinese spring-powered air rifle as a ‘Norinco B3-1’. This is incorrect. The air gun in question is fitted with a distinctive side-folding shoulder stock with plastic
Like many Western forces, the Italian military’s experiences in Afghanistan have been a driving force in the acquisition of additional longer-range firepower at the infantry platoon level. The Italian Army will be deploying the Beretta ARX 200 designated marksman rifle, chambered for 7.62 x 51 mm, in order to meet this capability requirement. The long-awaited rifle was
Armament Research Services is proud to release the first in our Field Guide series of publications, aimed at providing researchers, investigators, and other practitioners with useful reference information on a particular topic. Field Guide No. 1 – Identifying & Tracing the FN Herstal FAL Rifle, authored by ARES Director N.R. Jenzen-Jones and Damien Spleeters of Conflict Armament Research, focuses on
Armament Research Services has released Research Note No. 9 – Estimating Year of Production for FN Herstal FAL Rifles. Authored by ARES Director N.R. Jenzen-Jones with Stefan Elliott, the note discusses the relationship between serial numbers and year of production for the ubiquitous FN Herstal FAL rifle, and establishes a formula for determining the likely year
ARES Director N.R. Jenzen-Jones has authored Small Arms Survey Issue Brief 14, a basic guide to documenting small arms and light weapons (SALW). Released last week, Issue Brief 14 gives a step-by-step approach to documenting SALW, as well as an overview of safety procedures and guidelines for undertaking such work in the field. See below for
Michael Smallwood UPDATED 19 February 2015 A recent report, allegedly from Shakhtersk city, within Ukraine’s Donetsk region, shows pictures of a Russian-designed 96K6 Pantsir-S1 (Панцирь; ‘Cuirass’) air defence system (NATO reporting name: SA-22 Greyhound). Designed by KBP Instrument Design Bureau, the Pantsir-S1 entered service with Russian forces in 2010, and is only known
Michael Smallwood Photos posted to Twitter last week show Kurdish forces in Iraq with a limited number of Chinese QLZ87 automatic grenade launchers and M99 anti-materiel rifles. A Kurdish fighter takes a sight-picture with a QLZ87 AGL. The QLZ87 is a direct gas impingement operated, selective fire grenade launcher chambered for the Chinese 35
Armament Research Services (ARES) has released its first published Research Note, Research Note No. 6 – An Introduction to Basic AK Type Rifle Identification. ARES Research Notes are short form publications, designed to give brief, accurate information on a single topic or concept. Authored by Jonathan Ferguson and N.R Jenzen-Jones, Research Note No. 6 aims
ARES is excited to announce the release of our latest Research Report, “Raising Red Flags: An Examination of Arms & Munitions in the Ongoing Conflict in Ukraine, 2014“. The report represents the culmination of months of research, identifying and examining over 100 different weapons systems, more than 60 different munitions, and more than 70 different armoured
Ian McCollum The rifle above is a curious example of weapons coming full-circle and being reinvented. This is the “44 Bore” rifle, a colloquial name given to AK type rifles rechambered for the German 7.92 x 33 mm Kurz (sometimes referred to as 8 x 33 mm) cartridge in Pakistan. How this cartridge came to be
