Small arms news

Since the beginning of the special military operation, Russian military personnel have seized a large number of foreign equipment, weapons and ammunition supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) by Western countries. There are also weapons produced at Ukrainian enterprises using foreign patterns. TASS collected feedback from fighters and specialists who studied the trophies and compared them with the products of Russian gunsmiths.

Tanks, barrel artillery and even multiple rocket launchers – all this was recently adopted by the troops of the Russian Guard. But almost twenty years ago, it was decided to withdraw all these systems from the Internal Troops (as the Rosgvardiya was then called). Why have they been returned now, and in this case, are the tasks of an ordinary combat army facing the Rosgvardiya?

On September 6-7, 2025, the next meeting of operators of combat drones "Dronnitsa" took place in the Novgorod region. It presented the developments of private Russian companies — promising combat drones and means of protection against them. Many are being tested in the SVO area. TASS has collected interesting novelties.

The autonomy of unmanned wheeled and tracked platforms is somewhat lower than that of their flying and floating counterparts due to technological aspects and software deficiencies. But there is no doubt that as AI develops, the autonomy of ground-based platforms will grow, as will their role in combat operations.

The Austrian Armed Forces have received a new 8.6mm medium sniper rifle. It complements the range of precision-guided small arms of the Austrian army. The new rifle has a larger caliber and a more powerful sight than the famous SSG 69 sniper rifle. Since 2020, the 8.6 mm rifle has been supplied to the troops.

In an interview with RIA Novosti, Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov spoke about his responsibility to the country, why the West is shocked by the pace of Russian arms supplies, about work on domestic airliners and engines, their advantages over Airbus and Boeing, the prospects for creating supersonic aircraft, robots and distrust of companies that have left the Russian Federation.

Ukraine is trying to plug the holes in air defense by artistically redesigning helicopters not designed for this purpose

The Ukrainian military has begun using transport helicopters to combat drones. To turn civilian and military Mi-8s into hunters, they are being artistically upgraded by installing machine guns. Experts believe that this approach is due to the acute shortage of air defense systems and attack helicopters in Ukraine. Experts believe that the innovation will not be very effective, and in the future the Ukrainian troops will have to abandon it.

The latest Russian light machine gun with a 7.62 mm RPL-7 belt-powered machine gun is being sent to the troops for testing. This is reported by the press service of the Kalashnikov concern.

The larger 7.62 mm caliber, which was used in the legendary Kalashnikov assault rifle of the 1947 model, is distinguished primarily by its significant penetration ability. It is most effective in assault operations and at short distances. However, 5.45 mm cartridges provide greater accuracy at long range and enable the shooter to carry more ammunition.

In desperation, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine may again throw its unsuccessful tanks into battle: 26 Slovenian M55S upgraded with the help of Israel, 12 British FV4034 Challenger2 and 87 Leopard 1A5 supplied by Belgium, Germany and Denmark.

Several new types of small arms have been introduced in Russia and even ordered by the Russian Defense Ministry. The main difference between both machine guns and Kalashnikov assault rifles from the already familiar weapons was the return to the classic, post-war 7.62 caliber. Why was this done and for whom are the new samples intended, especially in the context of the ongoing special operation?

The concern presented a range of weapons, drones and equipment

The upgraded 7.62 mm Kalashnikov assault rifle, shortened and super-shortened AK models, a light belt—type light machine gun, kamikaze barrage ammunition, the first multifunctional military backpack and a new generation of uniforms - the Kalashnikov Concern demonstrated its latest developments at the Patriot Park.

How and why the German army wants to change and whether the German authorities have enough money for it

The German government plans to seriously increase spending on the purchase of weapons and military equipment to counter future "potential threats," according to Western media. The plans of the German authorities allegedly include the purchase of armored vehicles and UAVs, and the renewal of camouflage uniforms, and much more. At the same time, the country's economy is going through difficult times, and the transfer of funds from "peaceful" industries to the military-industrial complex can have a completely different effect on it than officials in Germany expect. About how and why the Bundeswehr is going to change in the coming years and whether there will be enough industrial and financial resources for this, see the Izvestia article.

Despite the ongoing challenges, the Russian military-industrial complex (MIC) continues to make progress in implementing numerous weapons programs. Although the deadlines for many projects have been postponed or priorities have been revised, it seems that the main programs of the future have not been canceled or postponed indefinitely — contrary to what many foreign observers have assumed in recent years. Some of these programs have recently resumed.

Ukrainian recruits are urgently retrained for Israeli AK analogues

The British Armed Forces recruit training camps have run out of Kalashnikov assault rifles. They were replaced by Israeli Galilas, developed on the basis of the Soviet AK. According to military experts, this choice was not made out of a good life — the free Kalashnikovs in the warehouses of Eastern European countries have run out. They note that training on "Halils", even if structurally similar to Russian submachine guns, will become more expensive, as well as worsen the training of Ukrainian Armed Forces recruits.

Every day you miss is someone's life: Andrei Kalinin from Moscow has been helping the front since the spring of 2022, and recently faced a serious obstacle. About what happened and how the volunteer is trying to find a solution — in the material of RIA Novosti.

Due to the shortage, the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are armed with cheap submachine guns of their own design

Ukraine has begun arming its army with cheap and ineffective small arms. The Ukrainian Armed Forces adopted the new Fort-230 submachine gun. It was originally developed for the police and is manufactured in Ukraine.

Intensive training has been organized in one of the combined arms armies of the Dnepr group of forces

Heavy snipers in the military are usually called those who work at distances over a kilometer. These guys secretly destroy particularly important targets in the "free hunting" mode, supporting the combat work of Russian assault, motorized rifle and tank units. But in order to perform such tasks effectively, serious preparation is necessary. This is well understood in the Dnepr group of forces. Therefore, there is a special platoon of heavy snipers here, which the Izvestia correspondent visited. These fighters hit the enemy from a distance of 1.5 km.

The new Russian BT-3F armored personnel carrier, based on the BMP-3F chassis, is constantly being improved. So, during the existence of this development, measures have been taken to increase firepower.

Rosoboronexport (part of Rostec Group of Companies) has completed the construction of the first stage of a factory for the production of 7.62 mm caliber cartridges for Kalashnikov assault rifles in Venezuela.