The air war during World War II saw the transition from the last of the biplane fighters to the beginning of the jet age. A myriad of aircraft were in action around the globe; some have become enduring icons while others faded into obscurity. The Brewster F2A Buffalo can legitimately claim member...
In the early 1960s, the Soviet military found itself at a crossroads. The recently adopted Kalashnikov PK general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) has solved many problems by easing logistics and supporting a single machine gun type. Still, its adoption also revealed new tactical expectations: a single...
Today’s Photo of the Day features the Kalashnikov PB (Pistolet Besshumnyy), a Soviet-era integrally suppressed semi-automatic pistol that remains in limited production under Kalashnikov Concern. Originally developed and entering service in 1967, the PB was designed to provide a suppressed s...
If you’re into Kalashnikov rifles, you probably miss the good old days. It has been a while since AK enthusiasts heard any good news about their hobby, and it seems that things are only getting worse every year: sanctions, tariffs, bans, and other troubles are constantly driving prices up a...
Shortly after the adoption of the Kalashnikov design in 1949, Soviet small-arms development found itself at a doctrinal crossroads. The AK emerged as the final survivor of a rigorous postwar rifle competition, and, in an odd twist, it was accepted despite not fully meeting the full-auto accuracy ...
American bombers in World War II represented the most significant leap in strategic air power the world had ever seen. Between 1941 and 1945, the United States Army Air Force (U.S.A.A.F.) deployed an unprecedented array of bombing aircraft across both European and Pacific theaters. From light att...
Discover the unique story of the Iraqi Tabuk DMR — a 7.62x39mm designated marksman rifle produced at the Al-Qadissiya Establishments, derived from Yugoslav Kalashnikov technology under Saddam Hussein's military buildup.
In the mid-1950s, the Soviet high command accepted a compromise that would shape frontline infantry small arms for decades: prioritizing platform commonality over dedicated squad-level suppressive fire capability. That decision, formalized with the 1959 adoption of an AK-derived automatic rifle, ...
In the years after World War II, the Soviet military asked a simple question: how could an infantry squad bring a higher volume of automatic fire without surrendering mobility? A lesson they learned from the Eastern Front, where volume of fire was king. The answer, in part, was the RPD; this ligh...
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 entered the Cold War as a swept-wing jet fighter that stunned Western planners and demonstrated its lethality in the skies over Korea. In this article, Peter Suciu examines how its advanced aerodynamics, heavy cannon armament, and combat performance against American ai...