Breaking news story from Hadera, Israel: Two IS in Israel operatives carried out a lethal attack on police officers last night, March 27th, in northern Israel.
Rifles
Operation Swallow 1962 & Captured Syrian Weapons
In March 1962 the Israeli Defence Forces launched a raid on Syrian positions in the village of Al-Nuqayb, on the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee. The raid, known as Operation Swallow (מבצע סנונית) was described by the IDF as a retaliation for Syrian attacks on Israeli fishermen in the Sea of Galilee. During the operation Israeli commandos captured a selection of weapons which were subsequently displayed for the press. In this article we’ll examine the weapons captured.
Scoped Rifles of Saudi Forces in Yemen Pt.1
The Saudi-led intervention into Yemen has sparked considerable interest concerning the flow of arms into the conflict. One of the areas that illustrates the wide range from which Saudi-led forces source their armaments from is their selection of scoped rifles. The Saudi military’s collection of sniper, designated marksmen’s, and anti-materiel rifles in use in Yemen illustrates the vast assortment of countries from which they source their armaments from. This study draws its data and sources largely from the same extensive private image collection of open-source social media photos and videos taken by soldiers of the Royal Saudi Land Forces, the Saudi National Guard, and the Saudi Border Guard that informed Silah Report’s previous article on Saudi Kalashnikov-pattern self-loading rifles and is thus able to paint a uniquely representative picture of the weapons they use. In the first part of this article we will examine the precision and anti-materiel rifles and scopes which can be identified includng the FN SCAR-H, Canadian LRT-3 and the French PGM Hecate II.
The Croatian VHS-2 In Iraq
The VHS-2 bullpup self-loading rifle manufactured by Croatia’s HS Produkt became one of the most frequently seen rifles during the Iraqi counter-offensives against ISIS during 2015-17. The rifle regularly appeared in news reports and social media posts and became somewhat synonymous with the fighting for Fallujah and Mosul.
Iranian Small Arms in Somalia and the Horn of Africa
Since 2015 there have been at least 12 documented arms seizures off the Somalian and Yemeni coastlines by US, Saudi, and a variety of other navies. These weapons seizures range in size from 10s of rifles to hundreds of Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) and thousands of Type 56-1 AKs.
U.S. 5th Fleet Seizure of Arms in the North Arabian Sea
On December 20, 2021, the US Navy’s 5th Fleet intercepted a stateless dhow in the North Arabian Sea carrying arms and ammunition. This was the third interception made by the 5th Fleet during 2021, of dhow carrying SALW towards Yemen with its origin likely being Iran. Notably, this is the first instance of ammunition being found by the 5th Fleet this year.
The Persian Saga – Rise of the AK-103 in Iran
For decades, the Kalashnikov self-loading rifle has been a prolific design, put to use by various actors worldwide and revered by many as a symbol of either good or evil. Iran is no exception to its sphere of influence and shows no signs of loosening its reins on the weapon, which since the days of its war against Iraq, it has kept various variant of the rifle in service. In this article, we will document the history and functionality of the most recent variant of the Kalashnikov rifle seen in Iran: the AK-103.
Georgia Partnering with Israel to Produce Small Arms
The Georgian Minister of Defence, Juansher Burchuladze, has announced that production of new M4 self-loading carbines is planned through a Georgian-Israeli enterprise. The new domestically produced 5.56×45mm M4 carbines will be produced by the end of 2021.
ANSF Modifications of Weapons Captured by the Taliban During Their 2021 Offensive
I recently wrote a blog post for ARES (Armament Research Services), Silah Report is a subsidiary of ARES, about weapons captured by the Taliban during their 2021 offensive which toppled the Afghan Government. You can check out the article here.
This article will go over some of the modifications made to the weapons captured from ANSF (Afghan Security Forces) by the Taliban during their 2021 offensive. These modifications appear to have been made by the ANSF before they were captured.
Intriguing Khyber AK Carbine In The Mountains of Suwwat
During a short but ultimately eventful visit to the regions of Suwwat (Swat Valley) and Kohistan, located in the far Northern uppermost areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, in late October 2021, a Hungarian-esque oddity was discovered lurking amongst the tall evergreen trees and majestic rocky mountains just a few kilometres outside of the capital city of Suwwat, Mingora. This mechanical contraption of metal and wood found in the arms of a security guard at a trout farm was very reminiscent of the well-known 7.62×39mm Hungarian AK-variant; the AMD-65 carbine, at an initial glance.