Tag: SALW

Bersa Lusber 84 used in assassination attempt on Argentinian Vice President

Patrick Senft On the evening of 1 September 2022, Argentina’s Vice President, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, survived an assassination attempt outside her Buenos Aires home. The would-be assassin pointed his handgun at Ms. Kirchner (see Figure 1) and reportedly pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. Nonetheless, media reporting has claimed that the weapon was loaded—and thus

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Introducing the ARES Arms & Munitions Classification System (ARCS)

ARES is delighted to announce the first public release of the ARES Arms & Munitions Classification System, a new handbook designed to increase clarity and precision in how arms and munitions are defined and classified. The culmination of several years’ work by ARES and external specialists, ARCS offers a series of clear, technically focused definitions

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ARES releases Research Report 12: Digital Bazaar (online arms trade, Syria)

Armament Research Services (ARES) is excited to announce the release of Research Report No. 12, Digital Bazaar: The Online Trade of Arms & Munitions in Opposition-controlled Syria. The release of Research Report 12 marks the completion of a project which began with Research Note No. 11, ‘Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria’, and

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Russian GM-94 thermobaric grenade launcher documented in Ukraine (2022)

N.R. Jenzen-Jones & Charlie Randall Images and videos recently posted to Twitter and other social media platforms, purporting to show arms captured from Chechen ‘special forces’ and Russian National Guard (Rosgvardiya) troops in Ukraine, include the Russian GM-94 grenade launcher. Previously identified in Crimea during the Russian invasion of 2014, the GM-94 is a pump-action

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Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria: August 2021 update

Jack Shanley & Mick F. The conflict in Syria fuels a diverse trade in arms and munitions. Many transactions are performed online, providing an opportunity for remote analysis. This article is the seventh in a series of monthly updates to ARES Research Note 11: Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria. Readers should refer

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Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria: June 2021 update

Jack Shanley & Mick F. Introduction The conflict in Syria fuels a diverse trade in arms and munitions. Many transactions are performed online, providing an opportunity for remote analysis. This article is the fifth in a series of monthly updates to ARES Research Note 11: Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria. Readers should

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Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria: May 2021 update

Jack Shanley & Mick F. Introduction The conflict in Syria fuels a diverse trade in arms and munitions. Many transactions are performed online, providing an opportunity for remote analysis. This article is the fourth in a series of monthly updates to ARES Research Note 11: Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria. Readers should

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Royal Thai Army acquires domestically produced MOD963 self-loading rifles

George Colclough Overview In October 2020, the Royal Thai Army (RTA; กองทัพบกไทย; kong thap bok thai) acquired two variants of a domestically produced 5.56 × 45 mm self-loading rifle derived from the AR-15, known as the MOD963. This acquisition represents a significant deviation from the norm for the RTA, which, despite having a long history of

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Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria: March 2021 update

Jack Shanley & Mick F. Introduction The conflict in Syria fuels a diverse trade in arms and munitions. Many transactions are performed online, providing an opportunity for remote analysis. This article is the second in a series of monthly updates to ARES Research Note 11: Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria. Readers should

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ARES releases Research Note 11, examining online arms sales in Syria

Research Note 11, Analysing the Online Arms Trade in Opposition-controlled Syria, provides ‘first-look’ analysis of more than 800 trades of small arms, light weapons, munitions, and blank-firing weapons conducted during a three-month period between 1 November 2020 and 31 January 2021. This short note is intended as the first step in an ongoing hybrid publications

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