Miles

Miles is the founder, editor, and local Khan governing Silah Report. He is quite fond of obscure languages, dangerous locales, and fascinating small arms designs and uses.

In Memoriam: Ethan Field of MENA Conflict

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It is with great regret that we announce the passing of Ethan Field, author of MENA Conflict on Twitter. Ethan was a great source of knowledge and encouragement to those researchers in the small arms community covering the history and current use of small arms and light weapons in the Middle East. He was a dedicated father and husband, working for the government after serving in the Marine Corps in 1st LAR in Iraq, Marine Corps Base Quantico as a TBS instructor, and 2nd Battalion 9th Marines in Helmand  Province, Afghanistan.

Ethan was dedicated to the study of small arms and was fascinated by their use and mechanical operation. I loved spending time with him going over the intricacies of whatever platform we were discussing. But he had an incredibly open-mind when it came to the peoples, cultures, and languages, having studied Arabic at DLI, used it with 1st LAR, and then picking up Dari in Helmand working with the ANA-partnered troops. This is what really drew us together at the intersection of these disciplines.

I thoroughly enjoyed our discussions and hanging out, checking out nearby restaurants, military history shows, our Silah Report podcasts that he participated in, talking about local Virginia history. Being around Ethan was always easy for me, as we had so many similar experiences and diverse interests that there was always something both of us could bring up and we could talk and discuss. 

Similar to myself, the Afghan withdrawal greatly affected him. So much so that he requested to be pulled off his tasks of identification and recognition at work during the withdrawal. I don’t know what made him ultimately decide to leave this world, but the timing was certainly around the same as the anniversary of the withdrawal. I know he had retired from federal service, and I feel that might have contributed to some of his darkness as well, maybe not having a tangible mission to contribute to, but now we will never know.

We’ll miss you Brother, Semper Fidelis.

إِنَّا ِلِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ

Ethan and I during one of our hangouts.

Miles Vining & Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons Talk Iraqi Tabuk AK Rifles

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Miles joined Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons to discuss the series of domestically-produced Iraqi Kalashnikovs known as Tabuks. Largely based on the Yugoslav M70 they were produced from the 1980s up to the Coalition invasion of Iraq in 2003. Both rifles are provided by Two River Arms and like the original rifles both are chambered in 7.62×39mm. Iraq’s Al-Qadisiyah manufacturing facility produced these weapons as well as a less well known version of the 7.62×54mmR SVD.  Miles and Ian do some shooting with the rifles, discus the Tabuks’ origins and share their thoughts on the rifles and their capabilities.

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Ayalon Institute: Israel’s Early Clandestine Attempts to Manufacture Ammunition

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Israel’s fight for independence after the Second World War is filled with spectacular and courageous exploits as well as daring moves to thwart both the British government in Palestine and the subsequent Arab advances. One such story is that of the “Ayalon Institute” on Kibbutz Hill outside of the town of Rehovot, south of Tel Aviv. It was here that for several years after the Second World War, several million rounds of 9×19mm ammunition were produced for the Haganah under the supervision of Ta’as. A military industry wing that would later morph into Israeli Military Industries (IMI) after independence.

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The Work of Iraqi Firearms Engraver Noori Sabeh

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Noori Sabeh (نوري النقاش) is a professional engraver from Iraq who has made a presence on social media with some excellent engraving work, considering his lack of access to materials and tools otherwise very prevalent in Europe and North America. The majority of his work is focused on traditional wood and metal engraving of various bolt action rifles, shotguns, and handguns that customers send in. He originally started out in the jewellery business and has been engraving for several decades.

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Examining Makarov Handgun-Clone of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Origin

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While in Afghanistan we received the unique opportunity to examine a 9×18mm PM Makarov-patterned self-loading handgun that was produced in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (خیبر پښتونخوا, Land of the Pakhtuns) region of northeastern Pakistan (formerly known as the North West Frontier Province, NWFP). Small arms produced in this region have been colloquially referred to as “Khyber Pass Guns” in the West due to their point of travel into Afghanistan through the passage of steep mountain valleys between Torkham in Pakistan and Jalalabad in Afghanistan. Somewhat of a misnomer, the majority of these firearms are actually made nowhere near the Khyber Pass. Instead, a more correct and prominent center of gun making in the region is the small town of Darra Adam Khel (درہ آدم خیل‎), which lies approximately 40 kilometers due south from Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 

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The Iraqi Al-Qadisiyah Sniper Rifle

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Perhaps one of the more elusive Dragunov-clones in recent small arms history, the 7.62×54mmR Al-Qadisiyah (or al-Kadesiah – depending on transliteration) precision rifle is one of only two precision rifles that Saddam Hussein’s defense armaments industry al-Kadesiah Establishments produced from the 1980s until 2003 (other being the 7.62×39mm Tabuk Sniper). Named after the 637 A.D. Battle of Al-Qadisiyah in which an advancing Islamic army fought against Persian Sassanian forces in what is now southern Iraq. Iraq’s indigenous small arms took their names after famous battles, commanders or important landmarks.

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Suicide Prevention Trigger Guard in Turkish Armed Forces

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On March 12, 2015, offices of the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) officially announced that rifles used in military service would be fitted with an enhanced trigger guard shell, flaring over the left and right sides of the factory trigger guard.[1] Some observers outside Turkey initially interpreted these enhanced trigger guards as an anti-riot modification or an apparatus that protects the triggers from external tampering in a struggle. The purpose of using these trigger guards, however, is darker than it appears. The concept was developed to prevent TAF soldiers from committing suicide using their G3 self-loading 7.62×51mm service rifles.

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The Gun Designer that started Jordan’s JAWS: Wildey’s Here by Wildey Moore

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“Wildey’s here.” Not only is this the line uttered by Charles Bronson in 1985’s Death Wish III, which served to introduce the world to the Wildey Survivor pistol, but it is also the title of Wildey Moore’s autobiography (Independently published in 2019).  Some of our readers may already be aware of Wildey Moore, and his work in the firearms industry. Not only has he designed iconic pistols he was also responsible for founding Jordan’s JAWS state arms factory.

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Turkish Service Rifle Anti-Aircraft Volley Fire Techniques

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A peculiar feature of recent Turkish Armed Forces (TAF, also Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri/TSK in Turkish) service rifles is a 21st century twist on the employment of small unit volley fire. To achieve this, TAF operational requirements have incorporated a rifle magazine-based schematic system that aids in low altitude anti-aircraft engagement procedures.

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Icon of a Movement: The Syrian ‘PKM’ Wooden Buttstock

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The supply conditions of the ongoing Syrian Civil War set the stage for a necessity of improvisation and invention. Where there is low supply, there is high demand that reflects through inflated market prices for small arms and equipment. This equation lends itself to the iconic PKM-inspired YPG Kalashnikov wooden stock that can be seen in service throughout initially what was the YPG, YPJ, and later morphed into the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The stock itself comes from the Russian 7.62×54mmR general-purpose machine gun.

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