Archive All Coverage
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QJY-88
The QJY-88 is the People's Liberation Army's 5.8mm general-purpose machine gun, chambered for China's indigenous intermediate cartridge and intended to replace older 7.62mm GPMGs — a lightweight design that drew criticism for its limited range and penetration.
China · Land · machine-gun · gpmg · norinco · 5.8mm
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Glock 17
Austria's polymer-frame, striker-fired service pistol — the ubiquitous 9×19mm sidearm of NATO militaries and law enforcement worldwide, in continuous production since 1982.
Europe · Land · pistol · handgun · striker-fired · NATO · glock
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QBB-95
China’s bullpup squad light support weapon, chambered in 5.8×42mm and fed from a 75-round drum — the standard PLA squad-automatic of the Type 95 family.
China · Land · norinco · 5.8x42mm · bullpup · lmg · squad-automatic · type-95-family
- QJZ-89 China's lightweight crew-served heavy machine gun — a 12.7×108mm belt-fed weapon that is among the lightest in its class, fielded by the PLA for infantry and vehicle roles. China · Land · heavy-machine-gun · 12-7mm · norinco
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QSZ-92
The QSZ-92 is China's standard-issue PLA/PAP sidearm — a polymer-frame, rotating-barrel pistol chambered in two distinct cartridge families, including a unique 5.8×21mm armor-defeating round, and now being supplemented by the newer QSZ-193.
China · Land · pistol · small-arms · norinco · type-92 · 5.8x21mm · 9x19mm
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RPK-74
The RPK-74, the squad-level light machine gun of the AK-74 family, has provided sustained automatic fire for Russian and allied infantry since the 1970s. Featuring a heavier barrel, bipod, and 45-round magazine, it remains in widespread front-line service.
Russia · Land · light-machine-gun · squad-automatic-weapon · 5-45x39mm · kalashnikov
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Kord
Russia's standard 12.7×108mm heavy machine gun, developed after the Soviet collapse to replace the NSV and fielded on tripods, vehicles, and main battle tanks from the late 1990s onward.
Russia · Land · heavy-machine-gun · hmg · crew-served · 12-7x108mm · degtyarev
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PKM
The PKM is the Soviet Union's workhorse 7.62mm general-purpose machine gun — a belt-fed, open-bolt design that has armed infantry squads, vehicle mounts, and tripod emplacements across more than five decades of continuous combat from Afghanistan to Ukraine.
Russia · Land · machine-gun · gpmg · small-arms · kalashnikov
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MP-443 Grach
Russia's standard-issue 9mm service pistol — a DA/SA sidearm adopted to replace the Makarov PM, fielded in Chechnya, Syria and Ukraine, and now being supplemented by newer designs.
Russia · Land · pistol · 9mm · service-pistol
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M249 SAW
The M249 SAW — FN's belt-fed, 5.56mm squad automatic weapon adopted by the US in 1984 and exported to 75+ countries, now being supplemented by the 6.8mm XM250.
USA · Land · saw · lmg · 5-56mm · fn-herstal · belt-fed · squad-automatic · minimi
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M240
The M240 — the US standard 7.62mm general-purpose machine gun, built from the FN MAG and fielded since 1995 — anchors infantry, vehicle, and helicopter firepower across NATO and beyond.
USA · Land · gpmg · machine-gun · 7.62mm · belt-fed · medium-machine-gun
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M2 Browning
The M2 Browning "Ma Deuce" is the century-old .50 cal heavy machine gun that remains the standard NATO crew-served weapon for anti-materiel, anti-personnel, and vehicle defense.
USA · Land · heavy-machine-gun · crew-served · 50-cal · ma-deuce · m2 · hmg
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Beretta M9
The US military's iconic 9mm service pistol from 1985 to 2017 — a double-action hammer-fired design that defined the NATO sidearm era and remains in wide legacy and allied service.
Europe · Land · pistol · 9mm · da-sa · beretta · NATO
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M17/M18
The standard US military sidearm since 2017 — a modular, striker-fired 9mm pistol built by SIG Sauer to replace the M9, and the source of a contentious safety controversy.
USA · Land · handgun · pistol · sig-sauer · m17 · m18 · p320
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QBZ-03
The QBZ-03 is China’s conventional-layout, folding-stock assault rifle developed alongside the bullpup Type 95 — issued to border, airborne and reserve troops, and exported to Myanmar.
China · Land · assault-rifle · 5-8x42 · norinco · type-03
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QBZ-191
China's new-generation standard assault rifle — a conventional-layout, short-stroke piston platform with modular rail interface, firing the proprietary 5.8×42mm DBP-191 round, replacing the bullpup QBZ-95 family across the PLA.
China · Land · assault-rifle · 5.8×42mm · modular · norinco
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QBZ-95
China's standard-issue bullpup assault rifle for two decades — a gas-operated, short-stroke piston design in the proprietary 5.8×42 mm cartridge, now being replaced by the conventional-layout QBZ-191.
China · Land · assault-rifle · bullpup · norinco · 5.8x42mm
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AK-103
The AK-103 is Russia's 7.62×39 mm assault rifle of the AK-100 series — a modernised Kalashnikov built for export and internal security, keeping the legacy cartridge in a reliable, side-folding platform.
Russia · Land · assault-rifle · 7.62x39 · kalashnikov · ak-100-series
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AK-12
Russia's new-generation standard assault rifle — a fifth-generation Kalashnikov chambered in 5.45×39 mm, with improved ergonomics, burst-fire capability, and the combat-driven 2023 model refinements shaped by the war in Ukraine.
Russia · Land · assault-rifle · kalashnikov · 5.45x39
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AK-74M
The AK-74M is the modernized Soviet-era 5.45 mm assault rifle that served as the Russian Federation's standard infantry weapon from 1991, bridging the gap from the AK-74 to the AK-12 with a side-folding polymer stock and dovetail optics rail.
Russia · Land · assault-rifle · kalashnikov · 5.45x39 · ak-74
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L85A2
The L85A2 (SA80) is the British armed forces’ standard bullpup assault rifle — a 5.56×45mm NATO weapon with a short-stroke piston, 518 mm barrel, and a tumultuous early service life redeemed by a Heckler & Koch mid-life upgrade.
Europe · Land · assault-rifle · bullpup · 5.56 · NATO · small-arms
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FN SCAR
The FN SCAR is Belgium's modular special-operations combat assault rifle in 5.56 mm (Mk16) and 7.62 mm (Mk17), adopted by USSOCOM and over a dozen other forces, combining a short-stroke piston with quick-change barrels.
Europe · Land · assault-rifle · battle-rifle · modular · short-stroke-piston · special-operations · fn-herstal
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G36
Germany's standard-issue assault rifle from 1997 — a lightweight, polymer-intensive 5.56 mm design by Heckler & Koch that served through Kosovo and Afghanistan, and whose accuracy controversy reshaped Bundeswehr procurement.
Europe · Land · assault-rifle · 5-56-nato · heckler-koch · infantry-rifle
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HK416
The HK416 is Heckler & Koch's piston-driven re-engineering of the AR-15 platform — widely fielded as a special-forces carbine, France's standard rifle, and the US Marine Corps' M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle.
Europe · Land · assault-rifle · carbine · short-stroke-piston · hk416 · m27-iar · french-army