In 2016, Serdar Özyurt, one of the founders of DNS Defense, stated in an interview that his company was accused of arms smuggling. He suggested that the reason for this was a conspiracy made by FETÖ (Source). However, it was later revealed that the smuggling involving DNS Defense was filled with highly suspicious events. It soon became clear that this company was responsible for various military ammunition that was smuggled to ISIS in Syria.
Turkey
‘Delta Defence Group’ Part Three: The “Glock”
This is the third part of a series of articles about weapons of the “Delta Defence Group”, of which the first two parts were published in late 2019 and early 2020. The first part about the pistol can be found here, and the second part about the rifle can be found here. In this article we will examining the Delta Defence Group ‘Glock’ pistol.
Overview of Turkey’s Assortment of AR-Pattern Rifles
As covered in an earlier Silah Report article, over 65,000 5.56 x 45mm rifles have been delivered to Turkish security forces, according to the head of Turkey’s Presidential Defense Industry, İsmail Demir. With 65,000 rifles being a substantial number of AR-15 patterned rifles, it is fair to infer that this trend will continue and succeed the primary platforms currently in Turkish service like the license-built MKE HK33s and G3A3s. In this article we will examine some of the most prominently used AR-15 patterned rifles currently in use with Turkey’s police and armed forces.
Syrian Civil War Crest Symbology: Comparative Conclusion
In this series we have examined Syrian armed groups from across the entire political spectrum who at one point or another during the war featured a firearm in their official crest. Our goal is to present a statistical overview of the small arms used in this military imagery and to share some interesting information I was able to deduce. You can find the first three parts of this series here, here and here. In this fourth and final part, we will make a comparative overview of all the political affiliations fighting previously focused on throughout the previous posts.
Syrian Civil War Small Arms Symbology: Syrian Democratic Forces in Rojava
In this series we have examined Syrian armed groups from across the entire political spectrum who at one point or another during the war featured a firearm in their official crest. Our goal is to present a statistical overview of the small arms used in this military imagery and to share some interesting information I was able to deduce. You can find the first part of this series here and the second part here, the Opposition and Regime respectively.
Small Arms Symbology of Syrian Opposition Forces (2011-2020)
The Syrian Civil War is an extremely complex conflict, not least in terms of its innumerable state and non-state actors, armed groups, popular militias and foreign contractors. Despite the obvious confusing chaos and dreadful complexity caused by a large number of participants it does offer a representative sample frame for academic research. For any researcher looking for a realistic subset of armed factions and political movements within the wider region, Syria provides an interesting case study. In this exclusive series, I examined Syrian armed groups from across the entire political spectrum who at one point or another during the war featured a firearm in their official crest. My goal is to present a statistical overview of the small arms used in this military imagery, and to share some interesting information I was able to deduct.
YPG and SDF Load Bearing Equipment in North Eastern Syria
In this article we will examine some of the load-bearing equipment and kit used by the YPG and SDF Forces during the ongoing Syrian conflict. First a little context, the YPG is an abbreviation of Yekîneyên Parastina Gel in Kurdish and translates to People’s Protection Units in English. This initially Kurdish only militia can trace its lineage to 2011 when we saw the YPG become an official entity with the establishment of the Kurdish Supreme Committee when the left-leaning Democratic Union Party and the center to right-leaning Kurdish National Council formed a pact.
Podcast V24: The State of the Turkish Firearms Industry
In the 24th episode of the Silah Report Podcast, we interviewed Mustafa from Turkey, a professional in the Turkish firearm industry, and discussed in-depth the manufacturing of small arms in Turkey, covering a range of weaponry such as handguns, rifles, and shotguns.
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 over an hour 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!
65,000 5.56×45mm Rifles Delivered to Turkish Security Forces
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.
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.