Magpul Brought the Kitchen Sink to SHOT

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Magpul, a company that got started to sell and was named for a simple rubber device that attached to the bottom of a magazine to be able to easily pull it out of a pouch, has seriously diversified. This year their most forward-thinking thing at SHOT was the Maztech X4 system, a round counter that also has a ton of data to your LPVO as a bonus. While something like this– for instance the Vortex NGSW-FCU developed for the Army– costs over 10K, Magpul is saying it will be more like $2K from them.

Duane Liptak, Magpul’s boss, had this to say on the system: 

So, lots of questions, I’m sure. First, both Magpul and Maztech were independently working on rounds remaining technology. We ran into each other during this, and realized that our core competencies were complimentary. So we teamed up. Who is Maztech? You don’t know them, but you know their products. Their technology has been incorporated into cutting edge military sensor suites for decades.

What’s it do? Part of it is the rounds remaining system. 100% accurate indication of rounds remaining in the current magazine and on your body. Magazines can be powered (all mag functions are automatic) or unpowered. (Exactly the same function in the gun, but individual mag contents and aggregates are more of a manual process.) The current mag total, including chamber contents, can be displayed on a small discrete display, piped into an optic (or an optic enabler mount like the X4 cradle), or pipes into everything from Bluetooth to military datalink systems.
 
You don’t need to know rounds remaining? You’re a pro and can tell when you’re getting empty? OK. Sure. But this keeps track of everything on your body, can indicate to small unit leaders what his element’s status is during consolidation, and can be viewed by the TOC in real time, so if you’re in a TIC, the battle captain can see if you’re getting past yellow on ammo, and send a speedball before you know you need it.
 
The optic mount uses your low powered variable of choice, 30 or 34mm, and pipes in the rounds remaining information, as we all as provides a ground stabilized ballistics solution if you enter range. (You can cant the gun up to 90 degrees and the ballistic aiming reference, adjusted for changes in line of bore and line of barrel relationships, dangles on a vertical line) Oh, and the system can associate a different ammo type with different magazines…so, you’re shooting subs—you get that ballistic solution. Switch to supers? It gives you the ballistic info for the last sub that’s still in your barrel, then switches to the supers as soon as you pull the trigger. Same with 855A1 and 70TSX or whatever flavors you want to party mix. There is a hot shoe that will allow you to add the Maztech range finder and then do all this automatically. There will also be a see-through, shoot through mini thermal clip-on accessory.
 
Anyway, we’ve been working on this for a few years. This is a technology demonstrator, and we will be developing both military and civilian products from this suite.
 
Cost? Less than you think. The X4 optic mount plus a low powered variable of high quality will be about a third of what anything comparable costs. The range finder add on won’t be terribly expensive. The thermal won’t be cheap, but will be downright reasonable.
The rounds remaining system itself will be relatively inexpensive for what it is. Yes, mags will likely be 2x or 3x more expensive as “dumb” magazines, but that will come down with volume, and all your existing mags will still function, just without the info.
 
The bottom line is that we didn’t talk about this, besides to military customers, until now because we needed to get costs down and iron out the wrinkles, and we’re there now. We’d love to hear what you’d like to see as a commercial offering from this suite.

Beretta will offer their NGSW Rifle to the People

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Firearms powerhouse Beretta has announced it will support True Velocity in the production of the proposed Army Next Generation Squad Weapon and develop commercial variants. 

The announcement came this week during SHOT Show in Las Vegas, where True Velocity is exhibiting. True Velocity’s subsidiary LoneStar Future Weapons is the prime contractor in the group’s bid for the NGSW program, an initiative to replace the Army’s current 5.56 NATO platforms with a new series of small arms using a 6.8 caliber cartridge. The variant submitted to the Army for testing is the RM277, chambered in True Velocity’s proprietary 6.8TVCM composite-cased cartridge.

In addition, Beretta will take the lead in developing a semi-automatic variant of the RM277 rifle intended for sale in the U.S. commercial market. The latter could prove exceptionally popular should the platform secure the potentially huge NGSW award.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Navy says Wisconsin gets to Keep the Badger Shield, for now

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The Wisconsin State Capitol building has a venerated relic on loan from the Navy, the Badger and Shield crest that was crafted from melted-down Spanish cannons seized in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, and carried by the Great White Fleet-era USS Wisconsin (Battleship No.9). The crest, removed when BB-9 was given a coat of haze grey sometime after 1908, was in the USNA’s collection and loaned to the state in 1988, installed in front of the Governor’s Conference Room.

USS Wisconsin’s Badger crest, circa 1990 after it was placed at the Capitol, via the James T Potter Collection. 

Well, in 2020, the Nauticus Museum in Norfolk– home to the museum ship USS Wisconsin (BB-64) likely innocently asked USNA for the Badger so that it can be installed in their venue. This sparked a back and forth with the Navy and state officials asking to retain the crest. Of course, it probably helped that the state’s Democrat governor, Tony Evers, wrote Biden’s SECNAV, Carlos Del Toro, to help smooth things out.

This week, Del Toro said the Navy will extend the loan for another 50 years, so you can expect this may come back up in 2072– if we all aren’t speaking Chinese by then.

“I prize the strong affinity that the citizens of Wisconsin have developed toward the badger statue; it reflects the state’s proud maritime heritage and deep ties to the U.S. Navy,” Del Toro reportedly wrote Evers. “The Navy feels those ties, too, and we thank the people of Wisconsin for their ongoing interest in and support of our Navy and our nation’s maritime history.”

I personally think it is the right call by the Navy, as Wisconsin has taken great care of the Badger and it is seen every day in the state that its ship was named for.

Besides, Del Toro already has more than enough bad blood between the Navy and other states to worry about.

Palmetto State Armory Retro H&R M16

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Ran into this at SHOT:

The company that owns PSA grabbed some legacy gun maker names from the Remington Outdoors federal bankruptcy sale, including Harrington & Richardson (H&R). While this sparked a lot of folks to think PSA would be making break-action shotguns for the budget market, they have apparently gone a whole new direction.

You see, back in the 1960s, H&R made early M16 rifles for the Army during Vietnam as Colt needed some help filling the needs of Uncle Sam. Relax, the company was involved in fulfilling small military contracts for the Army for almost a century.

H&R was one of only four manufacturers (along with Colt, Fabrique Nationale, and GM’s Hydramatic Division) to have ever made an official M16 variant for the U.S. Military. Due to their relative scarcity, all H&R military weapons are considered highly desirable by collectors. This vintage transferable H&R-marked M16A1 went for $40K at a RIAC auction.

Well, using NoDakSpud’s retro black rifle know-how (PSA recently acquired NDS) they are sending a classic H&R-marked AR throwback to the market. Receivers and barrels are available this spring. Complete rifles available later in 2022. No price was mentioned.

You think you’re cold? FleetEx ’83-1 Edition

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Across two weeks in late March and early April 1983, 40 ships of the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard along with the Royal Canadian Navy, including 300 aircraft and 23,000 Sailors, Coasties and Marines, joined in what was termed at the time “the largest fleet exercise conducted by the Pacific Fleet since World War II.” The stomping ground for Fleet Ex ’83-1 was the Northern Pacific near the Aleutian Islands.

Yep, the NORPAC in Winter.

Apr 1, 1983 – Flight deck crew members service two A-6E Intruder aircraft on the snow-covered flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS CORAL SEA (CV-43) during the U.S. 3rd Fleet North Pacific exercise NORPAC. The joint Air Force and Navy exercise not only provides training for fighter pilots and tactical controllers but also tests the ability of those services to operate together for the defense of Alaska. The aircraft are of Carrier Air Wing 14, Attack Squadron 196 (VA-196) “Main Battery” who flew Intruders from October 1966 until their disestablishment in March 1997 as the last USN A-6 squadron. DN-SC-93-00830 via the USS Coral Sea Ageless Warrior Association

Apr 1, 1983 – Flight deck crew members stand by as another crew member drives an MD-3A tow tractor across the snow-covered flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS CORAL SEA (CV-43) during the U.S. 3rd Fleet North Pacific Exercise NORPAC. DN-SC-93-00831 via https://www.usscoralsea.net/pics1980s4.php USS Coral Sea Ageless Warrior Association

FleetEx ’83-1 included three carrier battle groups, USS Coral Sea (CV-43), her “Fossil Fuel Forever” sistership USS Midway (CV-41), and the OG nuke boat, USS Enterprise (CVN-65).

A bow view of the aircraft carriers USS CORAL SEA (CV-43), right, and USS MIDWAY (CV-41) left, and the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65), center, underway with a task force during CINCPAC Exercise Fleetex ’83. The U.S. Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and the Canadian navy are participating in the exercise near the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. 4/13/1983 PH2 Loveall photo, DN-ST-84-05321 via NARA.

A port quarter view of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS ENTERPRISE (CVN 65), left, and the aircraft carriers USS CORAL SEA (CV 43), center, and the USS MIDWAY (CV 41), right, underway with a task force during CINCPAC Exercise FLEET EX ’83. 4/13/1983 PH2 Loveall, DN-ST-84-05326 via NARA.

FleetEx ’83-1, note the Knox and Garcia class frigates, the Charles Adams class DDGs and two Hamilton-class 378-foot Coast Guard high endurance cutters (USCGC Jarvis and Rush) back when they had sonar, Mk.32s and 5″/38s.

Besides a big flex of naval muscle on the ramp-up to the Lehman 600-ship Navy, the exercise proved a great intel scrape, via a scholarly paper by Andrew R. Garland at UNLV.

The 411 on the new FN High Power (not the Browning Hi-Power)

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I dropped by FN’s booth at SHOT Show in Las Vegas this week to get the scoop on the new FN High Power pistol line.

Not just a restart of the old FN/Browning Hi-Power, the new 9mm guns have a 21st-century flair to them, with a 17+1 magazine capacity, ambi controls, texturing on the frame, better ergonomics, and FN 509-pattern dovetail sights. They will be available in three variants including the standard black model, one in FDE– sure to be a hit with modern FN owners who collect that genre– and a true stainless steel model. 

Each will ship with two sets of grips.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Warship Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022: It’s Easy As 1-2-3

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Here at LSOZI, we take off every Wednesday for a look at the old steam/diesel navies of the 1833-1954 time period and will profile a different ship each week. These ships have a life, a tale all their own, which sometimes takes them to the strangest places.- Christopher Eger

Warship Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022: It’s Easy As 1-2-3

(Shorter WW this week as I am traveling to Vegas for SHOT. We’ll be back to our regular programming next week).

Naval History and Heritage Command NH 94372

Here we see the Oregon-City class heavy (gun) cruiser USS Albany (CA-123), in her original condition, just off her birthplace as seen in an aerial beam view from the Boston Lightship, 19 January 1947– some 75 years ago today.

And a following three-quarter stern view shot, taken the same day as the above. Note the advanced Curtiss SC Seahawk floatplanes, the last of the Navy’s “slingshot planes.” They were retired in 1949. NH 94373

Albany, the fourth such U.S. Navy warship to carry the name of that Empire State capital city– the fifth is a Los Angeles-class attack submarine (SSN-753) commissioned in 1990 and still in active service– was laid down during WWII at Bethlehem Steel’s Quincy, Massachusetts yard. However, she only commissioned nine months after VJ-Day, joining the fleet on 15 June 1946 in a ceremony at the Boston Navy Yard.

The brand new 13,000-ton warship became something of a Cold War-ear “peace cruiser,” and as far as I can tell, she never fired her mighty 8″/55 (20.3 cm) Mark 12s in anger.

Although in commission during Korea, she spent the 1950s alternating “assignments to the 6th Fleet with operations along the east coast of the United States and in the West Indies and made three cruises to South American ports.”

Decommissioned in 1958 after 12 years of service, she was sent back to the Boston Navy Yard for an extensive reconstruction and conversion to a guided-missile cruiser, landing her 8-inchers for MK 11 (Tartar) and MK 12 (Talos) GMLS missile launchers, only retaining a couple of 5″/38s for special occasions.

In 1962, she emerged with her hull number rightfully changed to CG-10.

She looked dramatically different.

A great period Kodachrome of USS Albany (CG-10), conducting sea trials on October 18, 1962. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Image: 428-GX-KN-4076.

USS Albany (CG-10) became the first ship to fire three guided missiles simultaneously when she launched Tartar and Talos surface-to-air missiles from the forward, aft, and one side of the ship while in an exercise off the Virginia Capes, 20 January 1963. U.S. Navy photo, Boston NHP Collection, NPS Cat. No. 15927

Missing Vietnam, she would continue to make cruises to the Mediterranean, later operating from Gaeta, Italy, where she served as flagship for the Commander, 6th Fleet, for almost four years.

Decommissioned for the last time on 29 August 1980, she was stricken five years later and, when efforts to turn her into a museum never came to fruition, Albany was sold in 1980 for her value in scrap metal.

The USS Albany Association has an extensive amount of relics from the vessel and the NHHC has a nice sampling of photos curated on the lucky warship.

If you liked this column, please consider joining the International Naval Research Organization (INRO), Publishers of Warship International

They are possibly one of the best sources of naval study, images, and fellowship you can find. http://www.warship.org/membership.htm

The International Naval Research Organization is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the encouragement of the study of naval vessels and their histories, principally in the era of iron and steel warships (about 1860 to date). Its purpose is to provide information and a means of contact for those interested in warships.

With more than 50 years of scholarship, Warship International, the written tome of the INRO has published hundreds of articles, most of which are unique in their sweep and subject.

PRINT still has its place. If you LOVE warships you should belong.

I’m a member, so should you be!

Finns Roll Their own AR-10s for DMR, Sniper Work

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The Finnish military, a force long renowned for its snipers– has selected the M23 series rifle from Sako for precision work.

Sako, a historic Finnish rifle manufacturer that recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, has a long connection to the country’s sharpshooters. Samo Haya, widely regarded as “the world’s deadliest sniper,” used a Sako-made Mosin M/28 during the country’s 1939-40 Winter War with the Soviet Union.

Sako’s new M23 AR-10 platform, frolicking in the Karelian forests. (Photo: Finnish Defense Force)

The new rifle, based on the AR-10/SR-25 style platform, is the Sako-made M23 in 7.62 NATO. It will be fielded in two formats, the Kivääri 23 (KIV 23) — a designated marksman rifle for use in infantry squads– and the Tarkkuuskivääri 23 (TKIV 23), a dedicated sniper rifle, with the differences largely being in the optics. Both guns are shown in Finnish Army photos with Steiner glass, no surprise as both Sako and Steiner are owned by Beretta.

The M23 will replace the Finnish Army’s aging Cold War-era Dragunov marksman rifles and the newer TKIV 85 bolt-action sniper rifle, the latter a much-upgraded Mosin action. Both legacy platforms are chambered in 7.62x54R.

The KIV 23 variant is for use as a DMR at the squad and platoon level, replacing the Dragunov SVD. It is expected to mount an LPVO and is intended for use to 600 meters. (Photo: Finnish Defense Force)

Meanwhile, the Sako TKIV 23, outfitted with a Steiner M7Xi 2.9–20×50, will replace an accurized Finnish-made Mosin, the TKIV 85, in a sniper role out to 800 meters. (Photo: Finnish Defense Force)

The upside of this is the possibility that we could see a high-quality AR-10 from Finland imported via Beretta USA’s channels at some point. Which is a win for everybody, I think.

Big Joe, on the approach

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In the following beautiful three-shot sequence, credited to PH1 Michael D. P. Flynn, who was likely aloft in a thumping helicopter, we see the U.S. Navy Belknap-class “destroyer leader” turned guided-missile cruiser USS Josephus Daniels (CG-27) in the Strait of Magellan on the transition to Punta Arenas, Chile, during Unitas XXXI joint fleet exercises between the U.S. and nine South American states, July 1990.

These photos are in the National Archives, 330-CFD-DN-SC-92-02912, 330-CFD-DN-SC-92-02913, and 330-CFD-DN-SC-92-02916, respectively.

Note the “single-ended” Joe’s big Mark 10 launcher for Standard SM-2 ER missiles forward along with the associated SPS-48 3D air search radar and two SPG-55 directors, the massive SPS-49 radar on the after mack, and quad Harpoon canisters & CIWS replacing the original 3″/50 AAA guns she was commissioned with. Her class were extremely capable air defense vessels in their day, surpassed only by “double-ended” CGNs and the Ticos.

Daniels is named for the notorious newspaper editor and publisher who, appointed SECNAV by President Wilson in 1913 (whose ASECNAV was a young FDR), instituted a bunch of “reforms” that included banning alcohol on naval vessels. This, of course, led to the “Cup of Joe” label for coffee.

1 June 1914, General Order 99, signed by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, prohibited alcohol aboard naval vessels. 

Our destroyer/cruiser, originally DLG-27, was built at Bath in Maine, sponsored by two granddaughters of the late SECNAV, and commissioned 8 May 1965. Earning three Vietnam Service Medals and playing lots of near-miss “Cold War” games in the Med with Soviet surface ships, she was instantly converted to a cruiser in 1975 to close the “cruiser gap” with the Russkies.

The above shots were among Joe’s swan song, as she was decommissioned and struck on the same day cold January day in 1994– 28 years ago this week– then sold for scrapping before the decade was up.

NARA has a huge stock of high-rez color photos of Joe’s Unitas cruise online.

After taking a half-decade off, FN has Re-entered the Hi-Power Game

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FN America on Tuesday announced they are returning to the Hi-Power market in force with a new generation of 9mm pistols in three different variants. 

FN was the initial maker of the classic last handgun design conceived by John Moses Browning and realized by Dieudonné Saive, the latter the father of the FN 1949 and FN FAL. The company ended the line in 2017 and others have gone on to clone the iconic 9mm. 

To set the record straight, FN has returned the Hi-Power/High Power to production in an updated format with improved internals, a modern barrel lockup, a 17+1 flush-fit magazine capacity, and the ability to run hollow points.

Featuring ambidextrous controls and the elimination of the oft-detested magazine disconnect, the new High Power is available in stainless, FDE, and black finishes, retaining a single-action trigger that breaks crisply and cleanly.

More in my column at Guns.com.

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