Historical profiles

Conflicts

The conflicts that shaped the evolution of small arms, from the world wars to contemporary wars.

8 conflicts

World War I

The first conflict in which automatic weapons and submachine guns reshaped trench warfare.

The conflict that produced general-purpose light machine guns, mass-issued SMGs and the first assault rifle (StG 44).

The baptism of fire for the Western intermediate-caliber doctrine: M16 vs AK-47 in the jungle.

A Soviet decade in Afghanistan, the proving ground for the AK-74 and the whole Russian mech-infantry doctrine.

Operation Desert Storm: combat debut of the Beretta M9 and the M4 carbine.

Twenty years of ISAF/Resolute Support operations: the evolution of the assault rifle and precision carbine.

Eight years of urban warfare and counter-insurgency, training ground for reflex sights, Picatinny accessories and modular rifles.

From the 2014 Donbass to the 2022 full-scale invasion: the first peer-level conventional war in Europe since 1945.