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.

Forgotten Weapons discusses Peshmerga Anti-Material Rifles

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Ian from Forgotten Weapons  has put together an interesting overview of the 12.7mm Zagros And 14.5mm Sahar Anti-Material Rifles in use by the Kurdish Peshmerga. These improvised rifles are making quite the headway in the current Syrian civil war, due to the prevelance of VBIEDs and the complexity of fighting in urban settings.

DI Optical Reflex Optics on M2 HMGs at Turkmen Parade

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Among the latest small arms displayed at the recent Independence Day Parade were DI Optical USA DCL-120 reflex sights mounted to .50 BMG M2 Heavy Machine Guns. Currently, it isn’t known what type of mount is clamped to the receiver of the machine guns. But it certainly appears to be a Picatinny rail that allows the DCL-120 to be mounted to it.

Some of the M2 machine guns didn’t have the optics mounted on them.

From the manufacturer website-

Optical Data
System Reflex, Collimator System
Magnification No Magnification (1X)
Eye Relief Unlimited
Red Dot Size 3 MOA Dot / 40 MOA Circle
Field of View (FOV) 96 m @ 200m
Objective Lens 120 × 70 mm
Optical Coating Anti Reflex Coating All Surfaces, Multi-layer Coating for Reflection of Red Light

Electronic Data
Battery Two CR 123A 3V Lithium Battery, or External Power Source : 10~28V (Option)
Battery Life 1,000 hours
Dot Brightness Settings 1 Off & 5 Daylight Mode, 3 Twilight Mode, 3 Nightvision Mode

Mechanical Data
Housing Material High Strength Aluminum
Surface Finish Hard Anodized, Matte, Carbon Black
Mounting Solution Built-in Type (For MIL STD 1913 Picatinny Rail)
Click Adjustment 1 click = 25mm at 200m
Trajectory Ranges 200, 400, 600, 800, 1,200 meters

Dimensions
Length/Width/Height 330 mm / 180 mm / 150 mm
Weight 3,000 g

Environmental Data
Temperature Range −41 ℃ ~ +71 ℃

Beretta and Sako Presence at Turkmenistan Independence Day Parade

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At this year’s 26th anniversary of the Independence of Turkmenistan, Beretta and Beretta owned Sako came out in large numbers among the small arms on parade. Of course, the Beretta 5.56x45mm NATO ARX160 took center stage among both the line troops and special operations component, with the SF component also being armed with IWI 5.56x45mm NATO Tavor TARs.

21st Century Asian Arms Race had this to say about the current rearming of the small Central Asian state–

Turkmenistan is often lampooned for its bizarre civic culture that combines national symbols with its leader’s personality cult. But judging by the recent military parade in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan’s armed strength is for the sole purpose of territorial defense. Unlike North Korea, Turkmenistan doesn’t pose a threat to global peace. It’s also trying to crawl out of an economic mess caused by its reliance on energy exports.

Neither does Ashgabat appear to have regional ambitions. On the contrary, it faces a grave threat from its border with Afghanistan where militants tied to either the Taliban or ISIS are active. In the greater scheme of things, Turkmenistan’s imperative is balancing its aspirations with the looming strength of China, India, Iran, Russia and Turkey.

Yet even if it’s overshadowed by larger countries in its neighborhood, when it comes to mass calisthenics, very impressive rifle drills, and costumed Turkmen archers trotting on horseback, Turkmenistan makes sure it surpasses its neighbors in pageantry.

Along with the ARX160s, there were some mounted with Beretta’s accompanying 40x46mm low-velocity GLX-160 UBGL.

And a designated Marksmans variant.

It appears that Turkmenistan has also purchased the IWI Negev light machine gun as well.

But the other significant update was with the precision rifles, that of Sako TRG M10s. These are probably chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO but could be in .338 Lapua Magnum. They were shown in a tan finish.

 

Straight MP5 Magazine spotted in Isfahan LE Demonstration

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Within the Law Enforcement demonstration recently held in Isfahan (in which we posted about a thermal optic in use ), a straight walled magazine was spotted in use by one of the officers taking part in the demonstration. Iran’s Defense Industries Organization produced licensed copies of the MP5 from the time of the Shah (along with the G3), and it is still heavily employed by Iranian forces. Most of the MP5s today appear to be equipped with the curved 30 round magazine, but that is what makes this particular one stand out, due to the original straight wall design that Heckler & Koch introduced the very first MP5 variants with.

The MP5 has several variants within Iran, one of which has green polymer furniture, while there is an MP5K variant with a forward grip.

Notice the straight magazines in use with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in this formation.

 

Iran’s Head Mounted Thermal Optic from IPAS 2017 and Isfahan Police Demonstration

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Notice the covered objective lens.

Photographs coming out of IPAS 2017 (Telegram source) and a recent demonstration put on by  Isfahan Law Enforcement have revealed what appears to be a battery powered thermal optic that attaches to a user’s helmet and has a single ocular lens attachment that covers the left eye. The optic “detects” through an objective lens on the helmet, which appears to project an image into the ocular lens. The fact that this optic is in use by what appears to be special Law Enforcement teams in Isfahan would make it seem that it has been in development for a while, and has perhaps even been available to Iranian defense forces for some time as well, due to Law Enforcement worldwide routinely lagging behind in equipment procurement.

From Farsi-“The heated (Thermal) binocular resting on a head/hat”
The optic is powered by what is most likely an AA battery inserted from the right side of the device. The two objective lens’ stay in the upper position throughout use, and are covered with a lens cap during daylight hours. The eyepiece swivels down on a ball mount for maximum flexibility.

A Closer Look at Iran’s Barrett M107 Copy, the Hoveizeh

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IPAS 2017 in Iran brought with it the introduction of the .50 BMG Hoveizeh anti-material rifle. Thanks in part to a popular Iranian Telegram channel we’re able to take a much closer look at the rifle and exactly what the Defense Industries Organization duplicated, and what was added. From what we can tell, the general layout and operating mechanism of the U.S. Barrett M107 was copied, but some of the exterior features of the weapon weren’t. One difference was the magazine which appears to be a polymer shell held together with screws, not unlike some Airsoft designs.

In this photograph the barrel bushing has an extra pin protruding from it that we don’t know the purpose of yet. Notice what appears to be a hex screw holding the upper frame to the receiver. In addition notice the flutes down the barrel.

The sling swivel appears to be on a sliding arrangement where a user might be able to loosen the screws of the swivel and tighten them back down where it fits the best. However, the monopod and rear gripping surface looks to be stationary with the three screws anchoring it to the receiver of the rifle. 

Notice the different bipods mounted on the rifle in the leaflet compared with the bipods mounted at the defense exhibition

A point of controversy lies in the name of the rifle itself. The majority of online material, show leaflets, and even abbreviated on the rifle itself on the magazine well is هویزه, however in this leaflet we clearly see the name, فائز printed next to the rifle.

IWI X95s, TAR-21s in Nigeria

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The Israeli 5.56x45mm Tavor is no stranger to the Nigerian defense forces, with the TAR 21 being introduced from Israel in a short barrel variant (around 14 inches) several years ago, and the X95 version seen in Nigeria in 2016 (possibly issued earlier). This photograph of a Nigerian soldier posing with stacked IWI rifles, some being the TAR 21 while others being the X95 versions came out in 2016 on the Nigerian public forum Nairaland, along with numerous other photographs of the defense forces.

Interestingly he is wearing an Irish Army camouflage pattern introduced in the early 2000s, known as DPM or “Paddyflage” among Irish troops. Image from Camopedia–