İsmail Demir, President of Turkey’s Presidential Defense Industry, provided new information on the efforts of local and national products to join the weapons inventory of the security forces. The Presidency of Defense Industries is a civil institution which oversees Turkey’s defense industry and facilitating procurement for the Turkish military, İsmail Demir has been the head of the agency since April 2014. The new information provided by Demir to the ‘Anadolu Agency‘, confirms that the number of 5.56×45mm infantry rifles produced in Turkey has exceeded 65,000 to date.
Military/LE
V23: Interview with Vernon Easley on Martini-Henry Rifle Production in Afghanistan
On the 23rd episode of the Silah Report Podcast, Miles interviews Vernon Easley and together they discuss the history of Martini rifles in Afghanistan as well as the new book he co-authored with N.R. Jenzen-Jones: THE EMIR’S NEW RIFLES: A HISTORY OF THE KABUL ARSENAL, 1885 – 1925. The discussion is incredibly rich with knowledge and in-depth research done not only on historical firearms in the region but also on the culture and history of the region itself.
The public SoundCloud version below includes the first forty-six minutes of the podcast, our supporters on Patreon can access the entire interview, which is one hour and 14 minutes long! So if you haven’t already please support us in our mission to bring you the best examination of MENA small arms culture we can!
V22: Hydro-Dipping Small Arms in Idlib, One Craftsman’s Experience
Welcome to the 22nd episode of the Silah Report Podcast, we recently had the pleasure of speaking with a gunsmith currently living in Idlib who has a long history fighting the SAA, not as an armed militant but as a gunsmith. Before the rebel pocket in Damascus fell to the SAA, he worked on manufacturing ammunition, weaponry, and even mortars for the resistance. He also worked on hydro-dipping rebel firearms. Currently, he resides in Idlib and had a short-lived business project hydro-dipping firearms. He agreed to be interviewed and to inform us about his journey specifically in that field, given that there are hundreds of photos of Syrian rebels with painted firearms floating throughout the internet and it is quite common now to see hydro dipped AK-pattern rifles. We at Silah Report wanted to know more about the industry and the people involved in it.
Suicide Prevention Trigger Guard in Turkish Armed Forces
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.
The Gun Designer that started Jordan’s JAWS: Wildey’s Here by Wildey Moore
“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.
Remington R4s Reach Iraq
The US Department of Defense recently shared some photographs of a shipment of M4-pattern 5.56×45mm self-loading rifles arriving at Camp Taji, a base approximately 27km (17 mi) north of Baghdad, which is home to the Qwat al Khasah, the Iraqi Special Forces. From the photographs shared by Department of Defense the M4-pattern rifles appear to have been manufactured by Remington Defense. These rifles are designated the R4 by Remington Defense and follow the basic M4 MILSPEC pattern, with an adjustable buttstock, a quad-rail forend and are select fire.
Silah Report on the War College Podcast
Recently Silah Report’s co-founder Miles Vining and Adham Sharif, author and host of Silah Report’s own podcast, had the pleasure of appearing on the War College Podcast where they discussed Silah Report’s work, the cultural significance of weapons in the MENA region and just what a gold plated AK-47 can tell us about war. War … Read more
Turkish Service Rifle Anti-Aircraft Volley Fire Techniques
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.
V21: Marwan the Iraqi Gunsmith
In the 21st episode of the Silah Report Podcast, an Iraqi gunsmith talks to us at length about his experiences in aesthetically converting a functional 7.62×39mm RPD Light Machine Gun into what could easily be mistaken for an FN Herstal Minimi, or the US-designated M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, 5.56×45mm light machine gun. He takes us on this journey of tinkering and acquiring spare parts, sometimes even carving items like the buttstock out of wood to make it appear to be a plastic one from afar.
Icon of a Movement: The Syrian ‘PKM’ Wooden Buttstock
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.