By Cap-n-D Despite the obvious benefit of arming pilots against terrorist attacks on our airlines, substantial opposition to the program is still being brought by the Air Transport Association and its member carriers. The most often sited concern is the air carrier’s liability for the actions of a Federal Flight Deck Officers (FFDO’S, or armed pilots) use of a weapon …

This one’s kind of interesting. It’s another Israeli offering. Basically, it’s classic M1 Carbine meets Tavor-2 subcarbine. At least that’s how it looks. The HEZI SM-1 PDW (Personal Defense Weapon) is chambered for the .30 Carbine (7.62x33mm) round which was utilized to mixed effect by troopers in WWII with their M1 Carbines. The HEZI SM-1 PDW is… manufactured and marketed …

This one looks pretty cool. It’s called the Powertron, and its brought to you by the good folks at Electronic Defense Technology, L.L.C. From the looks of it, it’s basically a Taser M26 on steroids. The following quote is some of what Electronic Defense Technology’s literature has to say about the Powertron: "The world’s first known* handgun-shaped, dual firing, 31’ …

by Charles Gaines This is the second in a series of reviews of US army equipment being used in Afghanistan. The first was on the M-4 carbine and it’s associated accessories, the PAQ-4 infrared laser and M-68 close-combat optic, and shoud still be up on the main page if you’re interested. First, the PVS-7D Night Observation Device, or NOD. This …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com DefRev just received a very informative update about the "Model No.1" .50 Cal. (50 GI) 1911 pistol from Alex Zimmermann, owner/CEO of Guncrafter Industries, LLC, via email. You can read it by clicking on "Read More" (hypertext) below… "David, The below listed information has a little more information than the web site. Feel free to extract …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com The following story has been modified/edited from its original state based on feedback from DefRev member "dewatters" and further scrutiny of the Guncrafter Industries website: Well, it looks like there’s a new 1911 in town, and it ain’t your daddy’s. It’s called the "Model No.1", and it’s made by Guncrafter Industries, LLC out of Huntsville, Arkansas. …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com This article contains a high-resolution photo (JPEG format) of three custom Shiva Ki Merc anti-personnel knives.  Click on photo to view it full-size. Shiva Ki may just be the single best-kept secret in the custom knife world today. He makes what are arguably some of the sharpest tactical/fighting fixed blades in the world, and you can quote …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Awhile back, DefRev published a story on the Rabintex Attack Helmet, which is currently the lightest IIIa rated combat/tactical helmet in the world. The Attack Helmet is just one example of Israeli technological innovation of late with regard to products with military Spec-Ops and LE SWAT applications. Well, Rabintex is back, this time with a body …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com Lauer Custom Weaponry has come out with an interesting hard-use black firearms finish for tactical weapons. It’s called DuraCoat. DefRev hasn’t tried this finish out yet. To date, the only high-tech black finish the DefRev team has experience with so far is Birdsong’s Black-T, and we’ve all been very satisfied with it. I’ve had Black-T applied …