We first met PROOF Research at SHOT Show and I’m impressed with the lower weight and improved performance exhibited by their Carbon Fiber wrapped barrels.
At Modern Day Marine they have this .50 BMG Reduced Weight Sniper System. In addition to the PROOF Research barrel with AAC brake, it incorporates a McMillan Action, Steiner 5-25×56 optic and Cadex Chassis. They’ve been able to shave about 55% on barrel weight bringing the total weight down 25.3% (37 lbs to 27 lbs 10 oz).
Although announced by DoD in April, Remington made their formal, corporate announcement this past Friday the 13th of their award by USSOCOM for 5,150 Precision Sniper Rifle Systems in a 10 year contract worth over $79 Million. This was a long process. The solicitation was released way back in November, 2011.
Remington Arms Co., LLC., Madison, N.C., is being awarded a ten year, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract for the purchase of the precision sniper rifle (PSR) system for U.S. Special Operations forces. The estimated contract value is $79,717,783. The maximum quantities for this requirement are projected to be 5,150 PSR systems and 4,696,800 rounds of ammunition. The work will be performed at Remington facilities in Ilion, N.Y., and Elizabethtown, Ky., and the ammunition at Barnes Bullets facility, Mona, Utah. The expected completion date is March 7, 2023. The contracting activity is U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., (H92222-13-D-0003).
Madison, N.C. -The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has awarded the Remington Defense Division of Remington Arms Company, LLC (“Remington”) – a subsidiary of Freedom Group Inc. (“FGI”) – a $79.7 million dollar Firm Fixed-Priced (FFP) Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to provide up to 5,150 Precision Sniper Rifles (“PSR”) and 4.6 million rounds of precision ammunition. This award is the result of full and open competition conducted by USSOCOM.
Remington Defense will serve as the system integrator for the PSR, which is a durable sniper system capable of providing accurate target engagement and modular capabilities in barrel length and caliber conversion. Remington Defense will utilize two other FGI companies in the production process; Barnes Bullets will produce ammunition and Advanced Armament Corporation (AAC) will manufacture muzzle breaks and suppressors.
Remington Defense already holds the U.S. Army’s $28M contract for 3,600 XM2010 enhanced sniper rifle systems. Remington Defense will be able to leverage its sniper management, workforce, and supply base to ensure the delivery of quality and highly-effective PSR systems.
The PSR award further establishes FGI’s dominance in sniper system expertise, technology, and manufacturing capability for the U.S. Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies. FGI has the ability to produce a fully integrated sniper system consisting of firearm, suppressor, and ammunition products. FGI’s capabilities provide customers with unparalleled product affordability, quality, and technology.
“We are proud to provide our military Special Operations Forces with top-of-the-line technology,” said George Kollitides II, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Freedom Group and Remington Arms. “The expertise, quality and centuries of experience at Remington are clearly recognized. This award not only represents a new era in precision sniper systems, but also proves that an American manufacturing company can still expand its product offerings and compete in this modern age to provide best in class weapons, ammunition, and suppressors to our troops defending freedom around the globe.”
“Members of our armed forces, and especially those on Special Operations teams, are our Country’s first line of defense,” said John Day, Vice President and General Manager of Military and Law Enforcement. “They deserve the highest quality and newest technology available. Every aspect of the PSR was designed with this in mind.”
Over the past four years, Remington Defense invested in its ability to compete in the government small arms space by modernizing production facilities, focusing research and development on end-user requirements, and ensuring consistent and repeatable quality in a high-volume, high-mix manufacturing environment.
SureFire has completely re-invented its Dedicated Shotgun Forend WeaponLights. The new DSF-Series Shotgun Forend models are the latest addition to SureFire’s class of integrated weapon-mounted lights and feature an ultra-high-output of 600 lumens on its high setting and 200 lumens on its lower setting. Additional features include a precision reflector, ambidextrous switching, and sleek high-impact polymer that is textured for a secure grip in any tactical situation.
The new Dedicated Shotgun Forend models are designed to replace the factory forends on the Remington 870, Mossberg 500/590, Winchester Defender 1300, SPX and Fabrique Nationale d’Herstal (FNH) P-12, Benelli M1 Super 90 and M2 models. No permanent modification to host weapon is necessary for installation, and all models seamlessly integrate into place of the factory forend.
The DSF features large, tactile momentary and constant-on switches on both sides for precise control by left- and right-handed shooters. Selecting the LED’s output is achieved by activating the light in constant-on mode and then pressing the output-mode selector switch until the desired output level (600 or 200 lumens) is set. The selected output can then be left in constant-on mode or switched to momentary activation, and it stays at that output level until reset. Every DSF-Series WeaponLight also features an integrated system-disable switch to prevent accidental activation during transport, storage, or stealth operations.
All DSF models produce tactical-level light (over 50 lumens) for 3 hours on two 123A lithium batteries.
Magpul has released their updated 20-round 7.62 NATO/.308 Winchester LR/SR PMAG featuring the M3 improvements. 10-round and 25-round with MagLevel Window functionality variants will soon follow.
store.magpul.com/product/MAG291/PMAG
The guys at Paradigm SRP are always put to build a better mousetrap and this time they have taken on my favorite machine gun; the PKM. While it runs like a top, it isn’t exactly compact and the ergonomics suck for firing while maneuvering.
According to Paradigm SRP, this prototype was developed to modernize the PKM system for customers who require a compact general purpose machine gun that fires the 7.62x54R cartridge. The major criteria was that it had to be maneuverable within a SUV for PSD operations. They also used it as a test weapon in their TALON gyro-stabilized gun platform.
The build was a joint project between Paradigm SRP and Acadiana Gunworks (you may remember fellow AFSOC Vet, Glenn Fleming from his Sons of Guns days) . They began by shortening the barrel to 19” and attaching an AAC muzzle break. However, they did not shorten the gas system to allow for use with full length barrels. Next they added an ArmaDynamics PKM RAP rail. They also selected the Trijicon SRS optic. Additionally, two items from Blackheart International made it into the build; the tri-rail and folding stock kit which was fitted with a Magpul UBR stock. Acadiana Gunworks also came up with a custom ejection port brass deflector to prevent the brass from hitting the support hand of right handed shooters.Finally, they topped it off with a custom MultiCam style paint job and fitted an Atlas bipod.
All in all it looks like a great set of upgrades to improve the versatility of a great weapon.
Magpul is now shipping the MOE AK grips released earlier this year. It is compatible with reinforced and un-reinforced receivers and will accept Magpul Grip Cores for storage customization.
Cadex is introducing the new Strike Lite Chassis. Featuring a smaller tube than its predecessor it is both more compact and lighter yet retains all of the features of the standard Strike Chassis. In fact, it weighs in at 6.1 lbs with Mil Std 1913 rails or 5.8 lbs without. Additionally, Cadex offers a butt pad extender as well as a sandbag rest that can replace the rear monopod. One additional feature is the incorporation of back up screws in the chassis in case you lose one on a mission.
Finally, Cadex has changed the sling attachment point. It is no longer incorporated directly into the chassis but rather comes as a rail adaptor. This new adaptor will also fit the XM2010 chassis.
Unity Tactical’s upcoming EXO is a replacement mount with an integrated action guard designed to allow SureFire X200, X300, and X300U weapon lights to be run on long guns. It is constructed from strong impact resistant polymer and is intended as a direct replacement for the standard plastic frame rails. The EXO is 100% made in the USA. It should be released later this month.
