Imagine loading your M2 Browning .50 caliber heavy machine gun, as you hear the rotors of the heavy CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter increase in intensity as you take off above the South China Sea. You’re the door gunner! Sometimes it might be worth getting enlisted after all?

On 19 April the US Army announced the selection of SIG Sauer’s entries into the Next Generation Squad Weapons program. Despite an official announcement and a media event to unveil the weapons to the press, details on weight, loadout and capabilities have been scarce.

There are too many photographs to keep records of, but there can never be too many with a machine gun spitting fire. Here we try to collect and share them in our Photo Of The Day. Today we have Special Forces Training in Germany. There are U.S. soldiers from the 10th Special Forces Group participating in a small unit tactical training exercise which was held in the Boeblingen Local
Training Area located near Panzer Kaserne, Boeblingen, Germany, in 2019.

Dusting off the Underground Arms Watch series after a dormant start to the year, we return with a look at some recent examples of ‘ghost guns’.

A Norwegian soldier with the FN Minimi in Bamako, Mali. One of the purposes of TFB’s Photo Of The Day is to broaden the audience for the excellent work done by professionals in combat photography. A perfect picture may take everything from a split second to months of planning, and it would be sad to see that kind of work go unnoticed.

On 19 April, the US Army  announced that SIG Sauer had won the Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) competition with its 6.8mm hybrid ammunition, MCX Spear and LMG-6.8 selected to equip the US Army’s close combat forces. The Department of Defense held a Media Round Table  event at the Pentagon discussing the NGSW program and how the newly selected weapon systems will be produced, procured, integrated and fielded.

Yesterday, the US Army announced the selection of SIG Sauer’s weapons and 6.8 hybrid metallic cased ammunition as the Next Generation Squad Weapons System (NGSW).

Ukraine is converting salvaged Russian PKT machine guns for ground use. There appears to be a car repair shop in Kyiv which is taking in captured and salvaged Russian tank machine guns and adapting them for ground use with an ad-hoc stock and pistol grip assembly. Fascinating ingenuity, but not without historical precedence.

When normal people hear the word “smart gun”, the first thing they usually think of is the guns that require either a fingerprint or some sort of wrist band that allows only that user to shoot it (in theory). However, when cinephiles and hoplophiles hear the same term, only one gun comes to mind – the M56 Smart Gun from the 1986 movie Aliens. In a recent YouTube video I came across from user  KetzuKhan, it seems that he’s managed to cobble together his very own working M56 Smart Gun replica.

The US Army is yet to officially announce the winner(s) of the Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) program but we know how many weapons they’ll be ordering between October 2022 and September 2023. The US Army’s weapon system program acquisition costs for the 2023 fiscal year show that the US Army is seeking to initially procure 29,046 weapons during the period.

Generally, there isn’t much information about Sudan’s military industry in general and their small arms in particular. The country has been sanctioned and isolated from the international community for a long time as a result of bloody civil war, genocide, and war crimes committed during the War in Darfur. While very little information is available, some Middle East defense exhibitions, such as IDEX in UAE and World Defense Show (WDS) in Saudi Arabia give us a unique chance to take a glimpse of what is going on in the Sudan arms industry.

On March 24th the ATF released an open letter to all Federal Firearms Licensees in regards to the purchase, selling, and possession of Forced Reset Triggers or FRTs. Although this probably doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone, the letter is quite clear in its intention and seems to actively seek out to retroactively punish those who have purchased them or have sold them. The full letter has been posted below for your convenience.

It’s now three weeks since Vladimir Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine. We have seen the Ukrainian Armed Forces put up an impressive fight while Russia’s forces have stalled since their initial attempts at a lightning advance failed. While images of burnt-out or abandoned Russian armoured vehicles have dominated the news and social media there have been some interesting small arms seen. Everything from the newest Ukrainian AR-15s to Russia-backed separatists with Mosin-Nagants.

The US Army has released a sources sought notice for a 6.8mm conversion kit for the M240B and M240L machine guns. The kit will convert the weapons from 7.62x51mm to the 6.8mm round which wins the Next Generation Squad Weapon program. The move is essentially market research to find vendors who might be capable of providing kits that include all necessary parts to convert the 7.62x51mm M240s to the new round. This might include barrels, gas systems, action springs and bolt assembly parts.

Maxim Defense is a fairly well-known company within the firearms industry and they are probably most well known for their development of suppressors, and more recently, their development of short-barreled rifle ammunition which tumbles upon impact to increase terminal performance. Today, TFB Editor in Chief has Travis Bundy on the show with him right from the SHOT Show 2022 floor to talk a bit about his history with Gemtech, his background in physics, and of course his work at Maxim Defense and what the company is currently working on for 2022.

The Canadian government has confirmed that shipments of ‘lethal’ military aid will be shipped to Ukraine as the crisis with Russia continues. The military aid will take the form of small arms and ammunition and will follow earlier non-lethal equipment which has already been sent by Canada.

FN America have announced a $50 million contract with the US Army to provide M240L GPMGs and titanium receivers. The new award is in line with the June 2021 contract worth $92 million to produce M240 series general purpose machine guns. The titanium receiver is the key component which helped shave 5 lbs off the previous M240B’s 27.6 lb weight. The M240H introduced in 2004 weighed 26.3 lbs while the L weighs just over 22 lbs. The number of guns and additional receivers ordered under the contract has not been confirmed.

At the last four SHOT Shows I have longingly fondled the FN 249S semiautomatic belt-fed rifles. I have made wishes while blowing out birthday candles, on shooting stars, and on pulled wishbones. In 2020 I even asked Santa (publicly) for an FDE Para version and the bastard stiffed me hard. And so, at the beginning of 2022, I sit here, sans crew-served weapon. However, there is first-world problem hope – FN has just announced the return of the M249S series.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves is at Steyr USA’s HQ in Alabama talking with the head instructor of the Steyr Academy, Brian Marshall, about the AUG LMG or light machine gun – the Steyr AUG HBAR. James and Brian go over the features of this unique full auto and even subject it to a 600m accuracy test at the Civilian Marksmanship Park.

The UK’s Royal Navy have been testing a new mount for their .50 caliber defensive guns. The Agile, Small-deflection, Precision (ASP) is made by Oregon-based Flex Force. The ASP stabilizes the gun using gyroscopic stabilization which will make longer range, more accurate fire in heavy seas possible.

It’s 1968, the Cold War has gone hot and you’re a British soldier somewhere in northwest Germany. The 3rd Shock Army is coming straight at you and you’re trying to decide if the Soviet motor rifle regiment infantry attacking your defensive position is bringing up a DShK or an SGM. You reach for your trusty copy of Recognition Handbook Foreign Weapons and Equipment (USSR) Group III Infantry Weapons.

Following the tragic shooting death of the cinematographer of the movie “ Rust“, Alec Baldwin Tweeted “Every film/TV set that uses guns, fake or otherwise, should have a police officer on set, hired by the production, to specifically monitor weapons safety.” On the surface, it’s easy to see why someone outside of the firearms community would suggest this, police officers carry guns every day, right? The required training and yearly qualifications should, “qualify” them as someone in the know, yes? It makes sense that Alec Baldwin, unintentional shooter of Halyna Hutchins would be looking for answers and remedies to his situation. Let’s explore his suggestion about hiring police officers to inspect on-set firearms in the film industry.

A while back we sadly reported that the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot would have its final dates set for October of this year. Having never been to one previously, I really wanted to get out there and attempt to get the full experience. As most of you know, the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot was a yearly event that is basically half gun show and half machine gun range day. The event normally brings in tens of thousands of people but this being its final year, those previous attendance numbers were blown out of the water and gun enthusiasts from all across the country gathered to give the annual event a proper sendoff. Today I’ll share with you some of my experiences from the Last Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot and hopefully, this article will serve as a memoir to what has to be one of the most unique firearms events on the planet.

If there was a French version of the movie Apocalypse Now (1979), perhaps this would be one of the scenes. I guess the action of the FAMAS wouldn’t rock any kind of canoe, but I wonder how much the recoil of that machine gun would make the boat go in the opposite direction? In this Photo Of The Day, we can see the machine guns of France in action.

The UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment Sales Authority recently released a booklet containing arms and equipment which is to be sold off and disposed. This includes SIG Sauer pistols, FN light machine guns, aircraft, armoured vehicles and a large ship!

Last week TFB travelled to the UK’s largest defense exposition, Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI), where we took a look at some of the newest small arms technology – including FN Herstal’s new EVOLYS. Officially unveiled in May, DSEI 2021 is the first major event where the FN EVOLYS has been on display for the public to handle. On its launch FN Herstal hailed it as a ‘new chapter’ but some asked what set it apart from the battle-tested FN Minimi light machine gun, which FN continue to upgrade and offer for sale.

The Norwegian Armed Forces just awarded FN Herstal with a multi-year contract to supply up to 4,000 FN MINIMI 7.62 Mk3 Light Machine Guns. In association with this order is also a supply of spare parts over a 7-year period and maintenance and support equipment over a 20-year period. This gives you an idea of the lifespan of a product like machine guns. It will be interesting to see which country will be the first to adapt FN’s new Evolys?

While in the last 20 years many European firearms industries faded into obscurity (just look at France, Spain, and Portugal), other countries seem to successfully expand their industries. At the recent IDEF 2021 exhibition in Istanbul, Turkey, I came across several new Turkish gun manufacturers that were founded in recent years, and perhaps the most interesting one was System Defence.

Photo Of The Day: Above you have the new German MG6. The MG6 is a Dillon Aero M134D Gatling Minigun. It is chambered in 7.62x51mm and has a firing rate of over 3000 rounds per minute. During the summer, TFB had the pleasure to examine and play around with some of the Concamo products. I gave some of their Ghosthood products to my kids and they quickly disappeared, literally…

The recent and hasty withdrawal of the United States Armed Forces from the country of Afghanistan has been somewhat of a controversy. Many say that the withdrawal of US forces was irresponsible while others are lauding the decision as a step towards a more peaceful world. No matter what side you fall on, if you’re a serious gun aficionado then you are probably curious about all the shiny new hardware the Taliban has found themselves now owning. Today we’ll take a brief look at some of the new weapons of the Taliban and how they are already starting to integrate some US and European weaponry into their arsenal.