Section: News for 2020 Date of publication: 01/25/2017, 12:17
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Russia is a military power, and in order not to lose the image that it has earned over decades, it constantly has to present new weapons to the world. A completely logical question arises about what the latest Russian weapons developments will look like in 2020, and what the public should expect in the near future.
Russians, of course, are proud that their state owns the most powerful army in the world, but they are not happy with the fact that the latter constantly demands funds from the budget, which during the crisis are sorely lacking for the ordinary population. In this regard, the latest innovations in Russian-made weapons will be relatively few, but they will still be there, so there is a reason for conversation.
New weapons 2020: Taurus Spectrum self-defense pistol
With enviable stability, every year the Brazilian company Taurus tries to make a “revolution” in the self-defense weapons market. In the previous year, it was a compact Curve pistol, which had an arc shape, as stated by the manufacturer, for more comfortable constant carrying of the weapon. Apparently experience has shown that the market is not yet ready for such “revolutions,” so this year the designers of the Brazilian company limited themselves to an ordinary compact pistol chambered for .380 ACP.
This pistol was presented at the SHOT Show 2020. If you do not take into account the previous pearls of the Brazilian company, the new pistol turned out to be really interesting and it can finally be called a normal, full-fledged weapon for self-defense. But it is worth noting that the Brazilian company still tried to give its weapons individuality and makes them in a wide variety of colors. Although among blue, pink and orange there are standard dark tones.
If we talk about the main feature of the Taurus Spectrum pistol, then it is certainly not the wild colors of the linings on the weapon, although the name says otherwise. The main feature is maximum ease of use while maintaining small dimensions and weight of the weapon. And the Brazilian designers succeeded.
Since a self-defense pistol is a weapon that is carried constantly, certain requirements for such a pistol are imposed by weight. Thanks to the plastic frame and light alloy bolt casing, the weight of the pistol without cartridges is only 280 grams. But you need to understand that a weapon without cartridges is useless; with such a weight, even hitting an enemy will be ineffective. The actual constantly worn weight will be around 360-380 grams.
It is also important for self-defense weapons that there are no protruding elements that could get caught when removed. The Taurus Spectrum pistol is also in perfect order with this. The only controls on the sides of the weapon are the magazine release button and the bolt release button. Both elements are made flush with the surface of the pistol, which makes it easier to press them, but the pistol will not catch on clothing, and the overall thickness of the weapon is less. Sights consist of a small rear sight and a front sight with smoothed corners.
In order to make the gun not only comfortable to carry, but also to hold properly, the Taurus company added rubber pads to the design of the weapon in those places where a reliable grip of the weapon is necessary. One of the main problems of compact pistols is the lack of a normal grip due to the low height of the handle; this in the Spectrum pistol is partially compensated by an extended magazine, which increases the overall height of the weapon, but makes the grip more confident and adds another additional cartridge. The standard magazine holds 6 rounds, the extended one holds 7 rounds.
The ammunition for such a baby was chosen more than sensibly - this is the .380ACP cartridge. You can often find compact versions of self-defense weapons chambered for 9x19, .40S&W and even .45ACP ammunition. There is another extreme - pistols chambered for .25ACP or even .22, which is clearly not enough to confidently defeat the enemy due to the low kinetic energy of the bullet. The .380ACP cartridge looks like a more than suitable ammunition, especially considering that there are variants of this cartridge with a hollow-point bullet. The basis for the new pistol was a blowback automatic, which is the best option both in terms of reliability and ammunition.
The Brazilian company Taurus approached the issue of safety when handling a pistol in a standard manner for such weapons. The pistol does not have any safety devices other than an automatic safety on the trigger. In this case, the trigger mechanism of the pistol is striker-fired, double-action only. That is, each shot of the weapon is self-cocking and with a heavy trigger stroke, which provides protection against an accidental shot, even if the cartridge is in the chamber. The use of self-cocking should inevitably affect the accuracy of shooting from a pistol, but since in self-defense the weapon is used at short distances, this feature can hardly be taken as a serious drawback. Plus, the short barrel of the pistol (71 mm) already hints that the weapon is clearly not high-precision.
Typically, Taurus installs their proprietary lock on their weapons, which locks individual parts of the pistol, making it completely safe. This possibility is an undeniable plus for weapons, especially if they are deposited when visiting places where there is a strict ban on carrying firearms. It would also be a good idea to lock the trigger when storing the pistol in a safe at home. But all this has one big drawback. Such a lock does not have a “secret”, which means that if desired, you can open it with a simple screwdriver or another key from other Taurus weapons. In order not to puzzle over what to use, the Brazilian company abandoned its proprietary lock, or rather, the key for it. The lock is now shaped like a bolt head and can be opened or closed with a regular coin.
If we evaluate this pistol, then it is, of course, a simple and reliable weapon for self-defense. The convenience of constant wearing also leaves no questions, as does the effectiveness of use. Questions may arise about the reliability of fastening the rubber pads to the gun. On the one hand, rubber is just the material that is needed for a confident grip even with wet hands, but on the other hand, if these pads come off after a few months, then sitting and thinking about how to glue them on is not the most interesting thing. Although a self-defense weapon does not require daily use, it is clearly necessary to at least practice with it, which means that the pistol will be actively used for some time, which will show its resistance to wear.
The price stated by the manufacturer is less than $300, which is generally not much, but whether this price will affect the quality is a question.
Navy
The Navy included ten ships and combat boats, 13 support vessels, four coastal missile systems “Bal” and “Bastion”. The composition of naval aviation was replenished with 15 modern aircraft and helicopters. The fleet also continues to receive Kalibr cruise missiles and various torpedo weapons.
A balanced naval composition of the Navy to ensure the naval presence of the Russian Federation in all strategically important areas of the world should be created by 2025.
According to the President of the Russian Federation, fleet equipment has its own specifics: its production requires longer technological cycles. “Forced import substitution” also slightly shifted plans for the production of weapons for the Navy. “The main priorities for the development of the Navy are strengthening naval strategic nuclear forces, equipping them with modern weapons, as well as synchronizing the development of supporting infrastructure,” Putin has repeatedly emphasized.
The Black Sea Fleet was replenished with two Raptor anti-sabotage boats. Now there are eight of them. The fleet of naval aviation of the Baltic Fleet, stationed in the Kaliningrad region, was replenished with two more Su-30SM fighters. On July 20, the flag was raised on the Project 20380 “Sovershenny” corvette produced by the Amur Shipyard. The construction of three more ships of this project is on schedule.
- Icebreaker "Ilya Muromets"
This is the first icebreaker delivered to the Navy's auxiliary fleet in more than 40 years. Its home port will be Murmansk. The flag-raising ceremony on the Project 21180 icebreaker took place on November 30 at the Admiralty Shipyards JSC in St. Petersburg.
The ship was laid down on April 23, 2020. It will be used to support the activities of the Arctic group of the Russian Navy.
- Diving boat
On December 16, in Vladivostok, the naval flag of search and rescue vessels of the Navy was raised on the latest multifunctional modular diving catamaran-type boat “SMK-2177”.
A modern modular boat with the latest equipment will significantly expand the capabilities of rescuers and will allow the work of diving specialists both in closed bays and throughout the entire water area of Peter the Great Bay with sea waves up to 4 points
Maxim Alalykin Head of Search and Rescue Operations Department of the Pacific Fleet, Captain 1st Rank
This boat became the second vessel in a series of three boats of Project 23370M. It was built in Orekhovo-Zuevo and transported in blocks for final assembly in Primorye. It is expected that in 2018 the Pacific Fleet will receive another new diving boat, but of a different project.
Springfield Armory XD-M Elite - a pistol with Croatian roots
Photo: wikipedia.org
The Springfield XD line of pistols released in the USA, like many modern top-end weapons in the States, originates in Europe. And not in one of the recognized weapons centers, but in small Croatia - it was there that the Hrvatski Samokres 2000 (HS 2000) was created at the end of the last century. The model chambered for 9×19 Parabellum almost immediately went into export and unexpectedly became popular in the USA.
The pistol's automatic operation uses recoil with a short barrel stroke and a single-action trigger. Several models of the “American version” of Springfield Armory XD-M have already been released, including the Elite series. It includes four pistols, differing in barrel length - 9.6 cm, 11.43 cm or 13.33 cm. One of the models - Elite Tactical - also has the ability to screw a silencer onto the barrel.
The authors of All4Shooters.com called the XD-M Elite Precision with a 13.33 cm barrel the most advanced model. The model was praised for its cool design and large magazine capacity (the gun holds 22 rounds plus one in the barrel).
"John Browning would be rolling over in his grave." Self-loading pistol Kimber 1911 Rapide Black Ice
We didn’t come up with the phrase about Browning; after testing the weapon, All4Shooters.com experts came to exactly this conclusion.
In fact, the Kimber 1911 is a successful, albeit very “inspired”, reincarnation of the classic Colt 1911, which served in the American army for almost a century. The updated pistol's magazine holds 8 or 9 rounds (the original Colt had 7, but there were options for up to 10 rounds). It comes in versions chambered for 9x19 Parabellum, 11.43x23mm ACP (the famous Colt "manstopper") or the relatively new 10mm Auto. Kimber 1911 barrel length is 127 mm.
The all-metal pistol is made with recesses on the slide to increase the speed of its movement and reduce the overall weight of the weapon. The aluminum trigger allows you to shoot with a force of 1.8-2.2 kg (this is quite a bit, especially for a heavy pistol). You can shoot from a weapon both day and night, for this purpose Tru-Glo TFX Pro mechanical sights are provided initially.
The color options for the pistol are standard black and black with a gold-plated barrel.
FN 509 Compact MRD - compactness and collimators
The Belgian concern Fabrique Nationale Herstal, mentioned in the last section, presented the next version of the FN 509 Compact MRD with a polymer frame chambered for 9×19. This is already the fourth model in the line, and its peculiarity is that the pistol was originally designed for installation of an MRDS red dot sight. To achieve this, the relatively miniature FN 509 Compact is equipped with a Picatinny rail.
The weapon is equipped with a double-action trigger, is made using the Striker-Fire triggerless trigger system, has a 9.39 cm long barrel and is available in black. And the sight mounting scheme allows you to use both a collimator and a mechanical sight (if the battery runs out, you won’t have to shoot at random).
To better fit the pistol to your palm, there are replaceable grip panels, and for better shooting, there is a trigger with a wide hook.
The magazine holds 12 rounds (plus one in the barrel if necessary).
