rifle

Diamond Arms Company of Darra Adam Khel

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Darra Adam Khel is a town in Pakistan where the trade of many locals is the manufacturing of firearms and ammunition. It is normally hard to find information concerning any new guns of the local masters. However, some of these shops started using the Internet as a marketing tool and are now presented in social … Read more

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–

Saudi Adds AK-103 to MIC Production Line Up

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The Russian defense export company Rosoboronexport has recently announced within a larger agreement that the Saudi Arabian state owned Military Industries Corporation will soon be manufacturing 7.62x39mm AK-103 rifles in the Kingdom, along with ammunition. Saudi Arabian armed forces are already using the AK-103, along with the 5.56x45mm NATO G36K within the National Guard, but these are mostly imported from Russia itself. G36Ks have already been seeing local production for some time, many of which are ending up on arms markets in Yemen on the side of the Houthis. One of the main reasons for this move is possibly due to the cheaper cost of producing the rifles rather than buying them outright.

From the news report on Arab News-

Russia’s Rosoboronexport said it has struck an initial licensing agreement that could lead to the Kalashnikov being made in the Kingdom.
The agreement covers the “production of Kalashnikov AK-103 assault rifles and cartridges for various purposes,” a statement said.
A memorandum of understanding between the two sides could also see Russia supply Saudi Arabia with Kornet anti-tank guided missile systems, rocket launchers and automatic grenade launchers.
The preliminary deal also involves the transfer of knowledge in the defense field to Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom has set a target for half of its significant defense budget to be spent within the country.
This plan now includes the “localization” of the AK-103 assault rifle and its ammunition, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Improvised Mauser Suppressor (OIF)

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This photographs was posted on the U.S. Department of Defense Media Activity’s public domain website DVIDS along with another one featured on Silah Report. Both depict improvised suppressors captured by U.S. Infantrymen while on operations in Iraq.

The rifle appears to be a Mauser 98K with the stock sawed off just past the chamber. Because of the proximity to Iran and the incredible amount of Iranian surplus found in Iraq, it would appear from conjecture that this rifle is a Persian Mauser, manufactured in the time of the Shah in the 1940s-50s, later being replaced by the M1 Garand through U.S. Foreign Military Sales programs in the 1960s. Unlike the previous M16A1 rifle we posted about, this improvised suppressor appears to have involved much more work, with a much larger diameter pipe being welded around the actual barrel of the rifle at both the front and rear of the pipe. There is a section of much smaller diameter pipe protruding from the main one, but this doesn’t appear to be the barrel.

The scope mounted on this rifle is a Cold War era PSO-1 optic designed to mount on the optics rails usually riveted to the left side of a Kalashnikov or Dragunov receiver. It is unclear how this is mounted to the Mauser’s wood stock, unless an actual Warsaw Pact rail were somehow screwed into the wood stock itself.

Iraqi Insurgent Improvised M16A1 suppressor (OIF)

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This photograph was posted on the U.S. Department of Defense Media Activity’s public domain website DVIDS along with another one that will be featured on Silah Report. Both depict improvised suppressors captured by U.S. Infantrymen while on operations in Iraq.

From the photograph description-

The confiscated items lay on the ground in front of three men arrested as a suspected sniper team in the northeast Baghdad neighborhood of Haay Ur, Jan. 17. The men were arrested by the 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st National Police Division and the 3rd Battalion, 42nd Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division as the men attempted to carry out an attack on American forces in the area.

This first photograph depicts what appears to be a 5.56x45mm NATO M16A1 self-loading rifle due to the lack of a rear sight as a separate unit although the photograph is a little blurry to confirm this. The improvised suppressor appears to be some sort of muffling material wrapped around the standard 18 inch barrel of the M16A1, and then continues past the standard muzzle for about a foot of length. From the bulge just past the chamber, it appears that the standard barrel nut has been retained, and one can notice the taper of the barrel and gas tube in the shape of the suppressor. Mounted atop the carrying handle is a Trijicon 4×32 RCO. The grip is not a standard A2 grip and is most likely of commercial after market manufacture.

If the self-loading rifle is indeed an M16A1, the rifle might be a black-market trade from Lebanon or Israel where the M16A1 has seen extensive use by multiple armed entities. The presence of the pistol grip would support this assertion, as it could have been added along the way. It certainly isn’t from a captured U.S rifle. The chances of a Soldier or Marine mounting an after-market accessory such as a grip are extremely slim, and the chances of it being captured are even slimmer. In addition, the 20 round “Vietnam Era” magazine is further indicative that the rifle was initially fielded in Lebanon or Israel due to the amount of surplus equipment being sold to those countries.  It probably isn’t from a private military company either as M16A1s are rarely seen in use among these entities, 14 or 16 inch barrel length M4s being the preferred AR variant.  The Trijicon however would certainly appear to be a U.S capture or otherwise lost piece of gear, with the scope neoprene cover indicating that it was most likely newly issued or rarely used when acquired.

Construction of the improvised suppressor is harder to identify. It would appear that it is some sort of muffling or noise absorbing material stuffed inside a pipe( possibly metallic) the length of the entire suppressor. There appears to be another pipe, one of larger diameter than the main one, that connects both the main pipe and the barrel nut, thus enabling the contraption to stay in place. The entire pipe further appears to be wrapped in black tape of some sort, possibly to prevent any shine from a position of concealment. Whether or not the suppressor actually works, or how long it can adequately suppress is unknown at this point.

Sealing the deal on this capture is the video camera present, showing that the insurgents captured here were probably using the camera to film their shots on U.S troops for propaganda value, eerily  to the “Jubba” sniper videos that plagued troops based in Baghdad. Unconfirmed rumors about the “Jubba” sniper have stated that the actual shooter was using a Remington 700 shooting out of a loophole of a taxicab. A set up such as this suppressed M16A1 could just have been used in the very same way.

Silah Report Has a New Look!

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Silah Report recently undertook a massive transformation, moving servers, changing appearances, working out the new kinks. Because this website is personally run, all this had to take place between actual jobs and other commitments. But we hope you like the new appearance, it certainly is much more professional than the previous one.

We will also update the country database. Originally we intended the country database to be an all encompassing snapshot at the small arms history within a particular country. Although ideal in theory, in practice we found out that it was far too much work. Instead, what we want to do now is to maintain the individual country pages, but ONLY concentrate on small arms exported/imported in large quantities into a country, and small arms produced domestically, either under license or designed indigenously. Essentially we want to recreate what World.Guns.Ru, which is fantastically run by Maxim Popenker, but centered around small arms from the MENA and Central Asian region.

The goal of this database is to allow researchers and future writers to be able to reference back to it, so they can historically piece together how a particular small arm came into a country, or where it might have been bought from, and especially in what time period.

Trijicon RCO Mounted Directly to Taliban AKM

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Mirwais Afghan published this on his Twitter feed earlier, of the Taliban deputy district chief for the Chaperhar district of Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. He was recently killed by a U.S. airstrike.  His AKM features a Trijicon RCO with what appears to be directly mounted to the receiver cover of the rifle, possibly via a rudimentary method of welding or otherwise non-standard mounting procedure.

Of course, if this is the case, accuracy will most likely suffer greatly because of the severe vibrations of the receiver cover during the course of fire. Maintaining zero will be next to impossible. But was a status piece for a deputy district chief, it will certainly get the point across.

More Kalashnikov Nomenclature Charts In Arabic

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Earlier on Silah Report we showcased a number of Kalashnikov and small arms nomenclature and terminology charts in use by Iraqi small arms traders and enthusiasts. Since then we’ve gathered some more material, this time much more Kalashnikov centric. These charts continue to show perceptions of the rifles in use throughout the region and what is available. Although we have similar charts in the United States the unfortunate reality is that many of those charts are tailored to the Kalashnikov civilian market. By observing what Iraqis, Syrians, or Yemenis are concerned with identifying, we can gain a better perspective on what rifles are in the region that people want to know about.

 

Did Jordanian SF Purchase SIG MCXs? Or Just King Abdullah II?

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A recent video has been published by Jordanian media services showing head of state King Abdullah II in his element, conducting a training operation consisting of a dismounted sweep and clear of an enemy-held town. The King himself is a large fan of his countries Joint Special Operations Command (العمليات الخاصة المشتركة الاردنية). Between 1994 and 1999 he took command of the special operations forces, restructuring them into what they are today before taking the throne of his country in 1999, in addition to establishing KASOTC, one of the premier special forces specific training sites in the MENA region.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rExw-0ptWU&feature=youtu.be

This video shows his Highness armed with what appears to be a 12-inch barrel configuration of the Sig Sauer MCX carbine, most likely in 5.56x45mm NATO, with an Elbit Systems optical sight mounted. The remainder of his SF squad appears to have standard issue M4A1s and not MCXs as evidenced by the handguards and fixed triangular front sight posts. From the RT Arabic post-

A video released by the Jordanian Royal Court showed Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who was playing with Jordanian soldiers in a military exercise with live ammunition that appeared to be an operation against terrorists. King Abdullah appeared in full military uniform with a machine gun that appeared to be M16, in a real atmosphere of war, which received tens of thousands of views, banners and posts within an hour of publication.

أظهر فيديو نشره الديوان الملكي الأردني، العاهل الأردني الملك عبدالله الثاني وهو يشارك إلى جانب جنود أردنيين في مناورة عسكرية بالذخيرة الحية بدت أنها عملية ضد إرهابيين.

وظهر فيه الملك عبدالله بكامل عدته العسكرية مع رشاش بدا أنه M16 ، في أجواء حرب حقيقية، حظي بعشرات آلاف المشاهدات واللايكات والمشاركات خلال ساعة من نشره.

 

This photograph shows one of the members of the SF team with a standard issue M4A1.

The entire production appears to have been a propaganda stunt to raise support for the Kingdom by portraying the King in a positive light. Similar to earlier stunts where the King was pictured flying bombers into Syria when a Jordanian pilot was burned alive by the so-called Islamic State. The MCX rifle, however, is most likely not a part of the propaganda because the overwhelming majority of viewers watching the video clip probably will have no clue what the Sig MCX even is. The carbine could be a personal purchase or favorite of the King’s, or it could be something more serious, such as one of several T&E rifles ordered by Jordan, or even the results of a legitimate order. If we want to stretch it, there could also be a possibility that the MCXs could be in .300 BLK as well.

As per Wikipedia, the King actually has an interesting military career, even serving in the British Army-

He began his military career at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1980, while he was a training officer in the Jordanian Armed Forces.[8] After Sandhurst, Abdullah was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the British Army[4] and served a year in Britain and West Germany as a troop commander in the 13th/18th Royal Hussars.[6]Abdullah was admitted to Pembroke College in 1982, where he completed a one-year special-studies course in Middle Eastern affairs.[4] He joined the Royal Jordanian Army on his return home, serving as first lieutenant and then as platoon commander and assistant commander of a company in the 40th Armored Brigade.[4] Abdullah took a free-fall parachuting course in Jordan,[9] and in 1985 he took the Armored Officer’s Advanced Course at Fort Knox.[4] He became commander of a tank company in the 91st Armored Brigade, with the rank of captain.[4]Abdullah also served with the Royal Jordanian Air Force‘s anti-tank helicopter wing, where he was trained to fly Cobra attack helicopters.[9]The prince then attended the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 1987, undertaking advanced study and research in international affairs.[4] He returned home to serve as assistant commander of the 17th Royal Tank Battalion in 1989, later being promoted to major.[4]Abdullah attended a staff course at the British Staff College in 1990,[9] and served the following year in the Office of the Inspector General of the Jordanian Armed Forces as the Armored Corps representative.[9] He commanded a battalion in the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in 1992 and was promoted to colonel the following year, commanding the 40th Brigade.[4]In 1994 Abdullah assumed command of Jordan’s Special Forces and other elite units as brigadier general, restructuring them into the Joint Special Operations Command two years later.[9] He became a major general, attended a course in defense resources management at the American Naval Postgraduate School[9] and commanded an elite special-forces manhunt in the pursuit of outlaws in 1998.[10] The operation reportedly ended successfully, with his name chanted on the streets of Amman.[10]

 

Arabic Guides to Kalashnikov and Ammunition Nomenclature

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Much like in the United States Kalashnikov collector or enthusiast market, Iraqi Kalashnikov owners understand the differences in quality between AKs from different countries. The European ones take precedence over Chinese, and Russian variants when original remain supreme and commandeer a premium when it comes to cost.

 

These sets of markings are designating the country of origin stamps in addition to examples of serial number blocks.

While still maintaining the country origin markings, this chart explicitly shows the selector markings as well. Understanding and making sure all the markings add up is very important if a seller is to ensure the Kalashnikov he is purchasing is indeed genuine.

In addition to country of origin markings, these are guides in Arabic to ammunition markings and nomenclature. With the Iraqi flag imprinted in the graphics, the photographs appear to have been edited and translated by an Iraqi enthusiast.