Weapons

News, explainers, and analysis of military hardware: From small arms to nukes and everything in between.

Latest in Weapons

Anthony Ramos in 'A House of Dynamite,' in military uniform standing in front of a vehicle.
Missiles

Pentagon reportedly upset over Netflix’s nuclear war movie ‘A House of Dynamite’

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Oct 27, 2025

Soldiers with the 34th Infantry Division receive instruction on the M250 automatic rifle during a New Equipment Training fielding at Camp Ripley, Minn. September 14, 2025. The M250, part of the Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon program, replaces the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Hamlin)
Guns

National Guard units are getting the new M250 machine gun

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Sep 25, 2025

A U.S. Marine Air Defense Integrated System, far left, a Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, left, a Japan Self-Defense Force Type 12 Surface-to-Ship Missile, right, and Type 03 Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile are displayed at a press conference during Resolute Dragon 25 at Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Camp Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan, Sept. 17, 2025. Resolute Dragon 25 is an annual bilateral exercise in Japan that strengthens the command, control, and multi-domain maneuver capabilities of U.S. Marines in III Marine Expeditionary Force and Japan Self-Defense Force personnel, with a focus on controlling and defending key maritime terrain. The NMESIS and the MADIS are 3rd Marine Division Assets. The Type 12 SSM and the Type 03 Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile are Western Army assets. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Evelyn Doherty)
Missiles

Marines showcase ship-killing NMESIS missile system in Japan

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Sep 21, 2025

A Typhon missile battery is displayed.
Missiles

The Army’s Typhon missile system is in Japan

By Kyle Gunn

Posted on Sep 16, 2025

A soldier fires an M240 machine gun.
Guns

The Army is replacing the M240 machine gun. Here’s what could come next

By Kyle Gunn

Posted on Aug 26, 2025

A British soldier aims a rifle.
Guns

Britain’s next rifle: Inside the race to replace the SA80

By Kyle Gunn

Posted on Aug 23, 2025

A U.S. soldier fires an Austrian Steyr AUG bullpup rifle.
Guns

Why the US military refuses to adopt bullpup rifles

By Kyle Gunn

Posted on Aug 13, 2025

U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Maxwell Carson, 49th Security Forces Squadron response force member, fires an M18 pistol during the Special Reactions Team tryout competition at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, May 22, 2025. The timed shooting portion of the tryout adds stress while requiring strict accuracy standards. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Elijah Strickland)
Guns

Air Force enacts service-wide inspections of M18 pistols

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Aug 3, 2025

A THAAD rocket battery fires, with one munition launching from the system in a plume of fire into the sky.
Missiles

The US used nearly a quarter of its most advanced missile interceptors against Iran

By Nicholas Slayton

Posted on Jul 28, 2025

Army M240B Machine Gun
Guns

The Army wants to replace the M240 medium machine gun

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Jul 17, 2025

SMASH 2000L fire control system
Guns

Marines to field new smart scope to help shoot down small drones

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on Jul 16, 2025

every marine corps rifle all time
Guns

Here is every rifle Marines have used in the last 250 years

By Matt White

Posted on Jul 7, 2025

U.S. Army Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment "Red Currahee," 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), supporting 3rd Infantry Division, conducts live-fire on an M4 Carl Gustaf weapon during exercise Silver Arrow at Camp Adazi, Latvia, Sept. 17. The training focused on AT4-CS and M4 Carl Gustaf assigned teams engaging notional targets. The 3rd Infantry Division’s mission in Europe is to engage in multinational training and exercises across the continent, working alongside NATO allies and regional security partners to provide combat-credible forces to V Corps, America’s forward deployed corps in Europe. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. H Howey)
Weapons

Army to study how sniper rifle, anti-armor and artillery fire impact brain health

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Jun 20, 2025

A U.S. Army Soldier, with the New Jersey Army National Guard’s 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, fires the MK-22 Precision Sniper Rifle as part of a weapon familiarization range on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, Oct. 22, 2023. The MK-22 replaced the Army’s existing M2010 and M107 sniper rifles. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Michael Schwenk)
Guns

Ranges on Fort Benning aren’t long enough for Army’s new sniper rifle

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on Jun 12, 2025

U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 4th Battalion, 118th Infantry Regiment, 218th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, South Carolina Army National Guard, conduct an Integrated Training Weapons Strategy (ITWS) qualification table for the newly fielded Next Generation Squad Weapon Rifle (NGSW-R) XM7 and Next Generation Squad Weapon Automatic Rifle (NGSW-AR) XM250, during a week-long training event held at Fort Stewart, Georgia, June 20, 2024. During the first four days, the Soldiers learned about the XM7 and XM250 technical and tactical capabilities, then continued the training by firing and zeroing both weapons. The South Carolina Army National Guard is the third Army National Guard command to receive the new weapons, Following the North Carolina National Guard and the West Virginia National Guard. The 4-118th is part of the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, the “Old Hickory,” a modular heavy-brigade with headquarters in North Carolina. The “Old Hickory” is the second major command in the U.S. Army to be issued the new weapons. The XM7 and the XM250 will replace the currently issued M4 Carbine and the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, respectively. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Spc. Turner Horton)
Guns

Army’s next generation rifle designated M7 amid criticism over performance

By Jeff Schogol

Posted on May 22, 2025

New Generation Squad Weapons
Guns

Why the Army’s new XM7 rifle reignited a debate over volume of fire

By Patty Nieberg

Posted on May 12, 2025