Category Arms & Munitions ID
The Vagaries of Proliferation: AK-103 and F2000 assault rifles in Gaza
On October 2nd the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (حركة الجهاد الإسلامي في فلسطين), the al-Quds Brigades, took to the streets of Fatah in Southern Gaza to mark the 17th anniversary of the assassination of Fathi al-Shaqaqi. Shaqaqi was assassinated in Malta by the Mossad in 1995. Each year, the al-Quds Brigades take to the […]
Update: RPG-7 Projectiles in Syria
What is probably an Iranian tandem HEAT projectile. Photo: Lens Young Homsi. In the weeks since I published my first piece on RPG-7 projectiles that have been sighted in Syria, a number of people have responded to my request for further material. As C.J. Chivers notes in this post: “The fairly small circle of competent and […]
Saudi Arabian Army ammunition in Syria
Much has been made of the recent BBC News article featuring an image of a shipping crate marked for delivery to the Royal Saudi Arabian Land Forces (Saudi Arabian Army), found in a Free Syrian Army base in Aleppo, Syria. Whilst the BBC article uses the term ‘Saudi weapons’ in its headline, the crate rather […]
RPG-7 Projectiles in Syria
A variety of RPG-7 projectiles have been observed during the Syrian conflict, originating from a range of countries. As well as PG-7V or similar unitary HEAT projectiles from Russia, Bulgaria, China, and Egypt, a few of the more uncommon examples are as follows: PG-7VR (Russia) The PG-7VR projectile, seen here in Hama, is a Russian-made […]
The Netherlands’ De Zeven Provinciën class frigates
N.R. Jenzen-Jones HNLMS Evertsen on patrol off the Horn of Africa, as part of NATO’s Operation Ocean Shield. HNLMS Evertsen is one of four De Zeven Provinciën class air defence and command frigates in service with the Royal Netherlands Navy (Koninklijke Marine). Evertsen is the youngest of the four, having been completed in 2003 and commissioned in 2005. These ships superseded the two smaller Tromp class frigates, decommissioned in […]
Singapore’s Formidable class frigates
N.R. Jenzen-Jones All six Republic of Singapore Formidable class frigates conduct a formation exercise. Singapore’s Formidable class frigates are considered amongst the most advanced surface combatants in Southeast Asia. Built around a substantially modified version of the French La Fayette class, they feature an advanced stealth design incorporating a range of Radar Cross-Section (RCS) reduction features. The inclined planes of the […]
240mm Heavy Mortars in Syria – a closer examination
N.R. Jenzen-Jones Identifying weapons systems can sometimes be a tricky business. Often, practitioners are forced to make educated guesses, or give ‘best estimates’ to stakeholders. Nonetheless, it is important that any such assessments are characterised accurately any time they are repeated, and the requisite caveats included. One recent incident highlights this pertinently. Some video footage […]
Cluster Bomb Submunitions in Vietnam
I was recently in Vietnam on business, and took the opportunity to visit both the tunnel complex and small arms display at Củ Chi, and the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City proper. With only a half-day to spare, I focused on SALW, ammunition, and ordnance. Vietnam still features an astonishing range of […]
Optics of the Libyan Conflict – Part III
Whilst work continues on the Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) database that I am currently compiling, I continue to come across a few interesting optics here and there. You can see my first two posts on these here, and here. I’ve added a handful more below. This Barrett M82A1M is fitted with a Leupold […]
A Libyan Conflict Oddity – Romanian Model 80 30mm AA Gun
A post on the Defence Talk forums by Abbas Ahmed, from Zenad Magazine in Misrata, featured a few curious photos of an unidentified AA system. At first glance, it appears to look quite similar to a Russian ZU-23-2 (or a foreign copy), built around the 2A14 autocannon so commonly seen throughout the world, and in Libya. […]
The Rogue Adventurer 