Small arms of India

A.V.

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[mod]thread dedicated to small arms and ammunition discussion[/mod]




The Indian Army has put out a request for information (RFI) for new semi-automatic 9mm (9x19) pistols for its Special Forces and Parachute units. According to the RFI document, the Army has detailed that it is looking for a weapon that has "the option of fixing on a laser and a high intensity flash light. It should be light weight, easy to carry and operate, robust pistol with which a Para Trooper should be able to carry out static line and free fall parachute jumps with the weapon on person/packed in the rucksack/weapon container."

The SF and Para units currently have Austrian Glock 17 and and Belgian firm Fabrique Nationale de Herstal's (FN) FN-35 9mm pistols. According to sources, the Army is expecting responses from a lot of companies which include Israeli Military Industries (SP-21 Barak) and German firm Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen (Walther P99).


LiveFist - The Best of Indian Defence: Indian Army Special Forces For New 9mm Pistol
 

A.V.

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Kalashnikov faces bankruptcy

For years, the AK-47 assault rifle has been the world's most popular weapon, the gun of choice for dictators, gang members and Third World revolutionaries.

But the global recession and a proliferation of copycats has left the Russian maker of the Kalashnikov, OAO Izhmash, in financial turmoil.

Monday, a court in Russia said it will consider a bankruptcy application filed against Izhmash by a supplier owed more than $13-million (U.S.). According to reports out of Russia, Izhmash has been losing money for years on its small-arms business and closed its largest gun factory in Izhevsk for much of 2009.

The company, which makes other military weapons and hunting guns, has blamed its problems on falling orders from the cash-strapped Russian army and a flood of AK-47 look-alikes from factories in China, Bulgaria, Poland and elsewhere.

By some estimates, copycat versions of the gun outsell Izhmash's legitimate variety 10 to one.

“They have been having this trouble for at least five years,” said Larry Kahaner, a Virginia-based journalist.

“We are at the point now that because it's so easy to make, anybody can make it,” said Mr. Kahaner, who wrote a history of the gun called The AK-47: The Weapon That Changed the Face of War .

Izhmash's troubles stand in contrast to some U.S. gun makers, such as Sturm Ruger & Co. Inc. and Smith & Wesson Holding Corp., whose sales and profits jumped sharply this year. That's largely due to specialty products and political issues in the United States where people have been buying guns out of concern President Barack Obama will tighten gun control during his tenure.

But international sales by both U.S. companies have not been as strong and military suppliers around the world have been coping with shrinking government spending on the military because of the recession. Izhmash is facing similar economic pressures along with an oversupply of discount look-a-likes.

Even the gun's inventor, Mikhail Kalashnikov who lives in Izhevsk, has complained about the counterfeits. “They just use the brand, the fame. It's not fair,” Mr. Kalashnikov told reporters in 2007.

Mr. Kalashnikov, a former Russian soldier, designed the gun while recovering from injuries during the Second World War. His work culminated in the AK-47 – taking its name from “automatic,” “Kalashnikov” and 1947, the year it was introduced.

Although less accurate than other machine guns, the AK-47 is easier to use and more durable. “It's simple, it's cheap, it's indestructible,” Mr. Kahaner said. “You can fix it with a coat hanger and a piece of gum. You can bury it for 10 years in the sand, pick it up out of the ground and it still works.”

The gun “was designed to be used by people with a minimum amount of training,” added John Hipwell of Wolverine Supplies, a gun dealer in Virden, Man. “And it was designed to be made with a minimum amount of expensive machinery.”

The Soviet Union not only adopted the AK-47 for its military but granted production licences to dozens of friendly states. However, Mr. Kalashnikov's design was never patented and the production agreements were largely handshake deals.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, those client states began pumping out volumes of AK-47 variations, often charging much less than Izhmash. Today there are an estimated 70 million AK-47-type guns in circulation around the world, and in some countries the weapon can be bought for as little as $50.

Izhmash has tried to fight back with newer versions of the gun, such as the AK-100 series, which features a lighter design and more accuracy. And it recently signed production contracts with India and Venezuela. But Mr. Kahaner doubted those moves will be enough.


Kalashnikov faces bankruptcy - The Globe and Mail
 

A.V.

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For several decades, Soviet and then Russian combat divers and Naval commando units were armed with special weapons for underwater combat, including the SPP-1 pistol and APS underwater assault rifle. The main drawback of these weapons is that their effectiveness (and life expectancy) for use above the water is severely degraded compared to standard 'above water' weapons. Therefore, combat divers and other Spetsnaz units, when engaged in amphibious operations (below the water and above), had to carry on the mission two types of weapons - one for underwater use and another for use when on shore or on board of enemy surface vessels. The first known attempt to produce a single weapon which could be effectively used either below or above the water was the ASM-DT experimental 'dual-medium' or amphibious assault rifle, developed in Tula in around 2000. The main problem with ASM-DT was that it still had to use extremely long, specially designed underwater ammunition when submerged, which necessitated overly long receiver, complicated magazine well of adjustable size and two types of magazines. This was found unsuitable for combat use, and further development commenced at the famous arms development facility KBP (Instrument Design Bureau) in Tula. By 2005, design team at KBP has successfully developed effective underwater ammunition which retains the compact size of the standard issue 5.45x39 7N6 ball (as well as 7N10 and 7N22 AP) rounds, and thus can be loaded and fired from standard AK-74-type box magazines, and, more importantly, fired from the same chambers and barrels that would accept the 'above-water' 7N6 ammunition.
This new cartridge is known as 5.45x39 PSP, and is externally similar to standard 5.45x39 ammunition except that it has a different bullet shape. Internally it differs in having a long bullets, which has specially calculated shape and protrudes back into the cartridge case all the way to the bottom, with overall bullet length being about 53mm (2.1 inch), compared to overall cartridge length of 57mm. There are two types of PSP ammunition, the 5.45 PSP (combat ammunition) with hardened steel projectile weighting 16 gram (muzzle velocity on air about 330 m/s) and 5.45 PSP-U (practice / training ammunition) with bronze projectile weighting 8 gram (muzzle velocity on air about 430 m/s). Effective range with PSP ammunition varies from 25 meters at 5 meters depth to 18 meters at 20 meters depth; effective range of the PSP-U training ammunition when below teh water is about 2 times shorter.

Having settled on new ammunition, designer at KBP commenced work on the new weapon, well suitable for both surface and underwater combat. This new rifle was designated as ADS (АДС - Автомат Двухсредный Специальный - Avtomat Dual-medium, Special).They used the A-91M bullpup assault rifle as a starting point, retaining its bullpup layout, gas operated action with rotary bolt locking and forward ejection through the short tube running above and to the right of the barrel. Some parts of the weapon were necessarily redesigned and materials revised to work reliably when submerged in water, gas system was modified with addition of the environment selector ("air / water"). Integral 40mm grenade launcher (which fires VOG-25 type 'caseless' grenades using additional front trigger inside the trigger guard) is fitted with removable barrel which can be removed when it is not needed by the mission profile. Muzzle of the barrel is threaded to accept muzzle brake / compensator, tactical silencer or blank-firing adapter. Rifle is fitted with adjustable iron sights, and an integral carrying handle is provided with Picatinny type rail on the top to accept various day and night optical sights. The ADS can fire any standard issue 5.45x39 ammunition (ball, tracer, AP) when above the water, with accuracy and effectiveness similar, if not better than of AK-74 / AK-74M general issue assault rifle. When submerged and loaded with 5.45 PSP ammunition, ADS outperforms APS underwater assault rifle in terms of accuracy and ease of handling.

As of now (mid-2009), the ADS is said to be under extensive field trials by undisclosed units of Russian Naval special forces. If adopted, it will replace APS underwater weapons and, possibly, some AK-74M general issue assault rifles in service with Russian Navy special operation units and other Russian special forces, which might be engaged in underwater operations (security, counter-terrorism in the sea, etc).





early prototype of the ADS dual-medium / amphibious assault rifle configured for above-water fire, with standard AK-74 magazine loaded with 5.45x39 ammunition





ADS dual-medium / amphibious / underwater assault rifle, current model, which can be used in same configuration either above or below the water, with only change being ammunition type (in similar magazines)




ADS dual-medium / amphibious / underwater assault rifle configured for above-water "Spetsnaz" use; grenade launcher barrel is removed, and a silencer and night sight are installed for special operations
 

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Gujarat police to procure 4000 INSAS rifles

In a bid to equip its police force with modern weapons, Gujarat police would be acquiring 4000 Indian Small Arms System (INSAS)rifles in October this year.


"We procured 2,000 INSAS rifles in 2008-09 and will be getting 4,000 more in coming October. INSAS rifles are mostly used by BSF, CRPF and para military forces," a state home department official said.

He also said that the state's pending demand for 12 more marine police stations is likely to be approved by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

Currently, there are 10 marine police stations in the state, along the 1600-km-long coast line.

On various plans to strengthen the state's security apparatus, the official said that in last two years, around 5,000 posts in the police force have been created with the addition of State Reserved Police (SRP) battalions.

"We created around 5,000 new posts in the force. Moreover, we will add four more chetak commando units next year," he said.

"Currently, we have two Chetak commando units, which is based on NSG model and two more will be added this year while we plan to double it by next year, and then the commando units will be spread across the state and stationed in Saurashtra, Kutch and South Gujarat," he said.

Each chetak commando unit has 120 commandos which are trained extensively.
"One commando unit is under training at Jodhpur and subsequently, that unit will be sent for advanced training in jungle warfare," the official said, adding "we strictly follow the age and physical fitness standards in the commando units."

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/63599/gujarat-police-procure-4000-insas.html
 

Ray

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In actual action, be it for hunting or combat, I presume one will not have ear muffs?

Unless one gets used to the noise, one cannot have situational awareness is what I feel.

At such close quarter is there a requirement for a scope?

I take it that the shooters shown are basically firing to have fun and are not soldiers on a range practice.
 
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W.G.Ewald

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In actual action, be it for hunting or combat, I presume one will not have ear muffs?

Unless one gets used to the noise, one cannot have situational awareness is what I feel.

At such close quarter is there a requirement for a scope?

I take it that the shooters shown are basically firing to have fun and are not soldiers on a range practice.
The Camp Perry matches are held by the National Rifle Association; competing teams are civilian and military. There are several events; some allow scoped rifles and pistols.
Ear protection is required, either earplugs or earmuffs. Both types are available in conformations which block loud noise, but allow low level sounds to be heard. As you point out, military personnel (infantry) need situational awareness when people might be shooting at them. Combat Vehicle Crew (CVC) helmets in the US Army have hearing protection built in. I know this because on the tank range I failed to have mine on once when the next tank over fired its main gun.
 

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Lewis Light Machine Gun

 
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Vickers Machine Gun Video

 
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Bar M1918A2

 
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Soviet RPK

 
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