Waifus with Raifus: The Walther WA 2000 Sniper Rifle

Source: Facebook

     When the Walther WA 2000 sniper rifle appeared on the market in 1981, it was a radical departure from the more conventional sniper rifles then in use. Development of the WA 2000 was started by the Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen, a response to the aftermath of the Munich Massacre that took place during the 1972 Summer Olympics. At that time, the standard West German police sniper rifle was the Heckler & Koch G3SG/1. This was simply a regular G3 assault rifle picked off the factory floor when it showed high accuracy on the testing range. A heavy bipod and Zeiss 1.5-6x36 telescopic sight was added to the rifle, creating the G3SG/1. Following the incident, after action reports pointed out the need for a dedicated sniper rifle that could be deployed in urban environments where engagement ranges were shorter. The WA 2000 was one of three designs developed, the other two being the Mauser SP66 (appearing in 1976) and the Heckler & Koch PSG1 (Präzisionsschützengewehr 1; Precision Rifle 1) which was introduced in late 1972.

     The WA 2000, visually, differed from both the SP66 and PSG1 greatly. The WA 2000 is a bullpup design in which the magazine and action are situated behind the trigger group. This permitted the rifle to maintain a standard 26 inch barrel but have a shorter overall length in comparison to a traditional rifle. As an example, the total length of the SP66 is 3.6 feet long while the WA 2000 is 2.9 feet long. This makes using the WA 2000 in the closer confines typical of urban terrain easier. The next visually striking difference is the floating barrel situated between the bottom stock and upper rail. A floating barrel means that the only point of contact the barrel has with the weapon is the connection to the receiver. The benefit is that there are no external factors acting on a floating barrel that could influence accuracy. With traditional barrels, the pressure caused by a bipod, rested stock, or even a sling can act against the barrel, affecting trajectory. In addition, temperature and humidity can warp plastic or wood stock furniture and cause accuracy reduction. Something as basic as draping a camouflage net over the rifle can even have a negative effect on bullet trajectory, especially at range.

     The WA 2000 uses a gas-operated, rotating bolt action and is a semi-automatic weapon. The primary round used in the WA 2000 is the .300 Winchester Magnum and the box magazine holds five rounds. There were three other calibers the WA 2000 could be chambered for, these being .308 Winchester, 7.5x55mm Swiss, and 7.62x51mm NATO. As the latter three rounds are smaller, the box magazine for these calibers holds six rounds. The rifle can use either a one-stage trigger or a two-stage trigger.

     Although not visible in this photograph, the WA 2000 has a adjustable spike bipod mounted on the top of the weapon near the muzzle which is fitted with a flash suppressor. Early makes used a “can” style flash suppressor while the final production make used a different design. The stock furniture is fully adjustable to suit the firer. The WA 2000 does not have iron sights and so it requires optics with the standard one being a Schmidt & Bender 2.5-10x telescopic sight. The sight used in the photograph is not a Schmidt & Bender but a more modern one, as is the scope mount which features a integral upper rail.

     The WA 2000, despite its impressive capability, did not enjoy success. Two factors doomed the rifle. The first was the cost and all in, the WA 2000 topped out at $12,500 when production ended in 1988. In 2025 value, the rifle would have cost $35,010. This was far more than either the West German military or police were willing to pay. By comparison, the H&K PSG1 could be had for under $5,000. The second factor was the WA 2000 was too frail to withstand the rigors of military use. With the military not interested and the West German police opting for the PSG1 and SP66, only 176 examples were made. A small number of German police units adopted the WA 2000 but it wasn't enough to justify continued production.

     Given Japan's strict weapon laws, the WA 2000 shown in the photograph is most likely an airsoft replica. The most common is the Walther licensed Ares WA 2000 which is a spring gun firing 6mm pellets from a 50-round magazine. The Ares WA 2000 does feature Hop-Up and is compatible with using CO2 bottles to work the action rather than the firer using their hand to rack the bolt. Retail cost for a Ares WA 2000 is around $650 to $800. Another replica is the Geneth WA 2000 though this isn't a licensed version and is not well received in regards to quality. In Japan, the Asahi WA 2000 is the de facto airsoft version of the rifle but is quite rare and examples come with a significant cost. Given the markings on the weapon in the photograph, it is not an Asahi as they do not use the Walther logo.

Russo-Ukrainian War: PZL M28 Skytruck Gunship

Source: TF1Info.fr

     A dramatic screen capture from a video shot by a French TF1 media team for “Journal de 20 Heures” (“The 8pm News”) freezes the moment when an explosion of a Russian Geran-2 drone after being hit by the gunner bathes the aircraft in light. The story appeared on the news show on February 4, 2026 and follows a civilian crew flying a PZL M28 Skytruck equipped with a 7.62mm M134 minigun as they fly a mission to hunt down and destroy Russian drones.

     The PZL M28, built by PZL Mielec, is an improved variant of the original PZL An-28, a license built Antonov An-28 (NATO reporting name Cash) utility aircraft. PZL Mielec, today, is the only source for the An-28 and its derivatives. The PZL M28 first flew in the summer of 1993 and has remained in production ever since for both military and civilian customers. Crewed by two men, the PZL M28 can carry 17 paratroopers, 19 civilian passengers, or 5,071 pounds of cargo.

     Power comes from two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65B turboprop engines, each delivering 1,100 horsepower and each driving a Hartzell 5-bladed, reversible, constant-speed propeller. 602 gallons of fuel provide an operational range of 989 miles at an altitude of 9,800 feet with an endurance of 6.2 hours. Maximum speed is 221 miles per hour with a cruise speed of 152 miles per hour. Stall speed is 75 miles per hour. The PZL M28 can attain an altitude of 9,800 feet in 6 minutes with a maximum ceiling of 25,000 feet. Total length of the aircraft is 43 feet, a height of 16.1 feet, and a wingspan of 72.5 feet.

     The M134 minigun, originally developed by General Electric in 1960, entered U.S. military service in 1963 and it remains in production in various forms to this day. It is a 6-barrel, air-cooled, electrically driven rotary weapon which is chambered for the 7.62x51mm cartridge. The six barrels allow for an unprecedented rate of fire (depending on setting, between 2,000 to 6,000 rounds per minute) by having one barrel firing, two barrels in the cartridge extraction phase, with the remaining three barrels being loaded with a round. As only one barrel is firing in a rotation cycle, it permits cooling of the other barrels. The M134 requires an external power source to drive the barrels with the most common being electric though pneumatic or hydraulic power sources could also be used. Muzzle velocity is 2,800 feet per second with a maximum range of up to 2 miles. The M134 is fed using M13 disintegrating linked belts pushed into the weapon via a feed chute. A delinker strips off the link prior to the round being fed into the M134. Ammunition belts are from 500 to 5,000 rounds each. Typical ammunition boxes hold 1,500-, 3,000-, and 4,400 rounds. Standard sights are iron post but optics can be fitted.

     In the screen capture, the M134 is using an electric drive, the power cable visible just ahead of the rear spade grips. The ammunition feed chute is seen forward of the power cable. The L-shaped mount directly fitted to the M134 is standard U.S. military issue but the rest of the mount is custom built to accommodate the weapon within the PZL M28. The aircraft in the news story has 150 kills of which 115 are confirmed. During the filming of the story, the gunner scored five victories against drones. The destruction of the drone that resulted in the image was close enough to the PZL M28 that, upon landing, the ground crew found shrapnel holes in the plane's fuselage from the detonation.

The Battle of Saipan: Green Beach

Source: The U.S. Marine Corps

     The Battle of Saipan commenced on June 15, 1944 where the U.S. Marine V Amphibious Corps squared off against elements of the Imperial Japanese Army's 31st. Army situated on the island. The combat raged across the 12 mile long and 5.6 mile wide island for a little over three weeks in one of the bloodiest and costliest battles of the Pacific War. The defenders of Saipan, namely the 43rd. Infantry Division and the 47th. Independent Mixed Brigade (among other assorted units), were commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshitsugu Saito. Saito was a skilled commander and prepared the defenses of the beaches well by pre-sighting artillery, emplacing many dug-in machine-gun positions, setting up beach obstacles, and digging trench lines to protect his troops. Despite a long ship to shore bombardment, the Japanese were able to inflict heavy casualties upon the 2nd. and 4th. Marine Divisions which conducted the landings in four locations. Despite the Japanese fire, it was not enough to repulse the Marines who secured a 6 mile wide and nearly 1 mile deep beachhead by nightfall. The photograph here is, perhaps, one of the more famous of the many which came out of the Battle of Saipan. 

     It was taken by Marine Corps Sergeant James Burns and showed a man from the 2nd. Marine Division coming ashore after his LVT (Landing Vehicle Tracked) was struck by a Japanese mortar round. The 2nd. Marine Division landed on Red and Green Beaches in the Northern Sector of the island. It is not known what beach Burns took the picture on however, it is possible it is Green Beach. On Red Beach, the 2nd. Marine Tank Battalion went in before the 2nd. Amphibian Tractor Battalion, the latter of which was equipped with LVTs. However, on Green Beach, it was the U.S. Army's 715th. Amphibian Tractor Battalion that brought in Marines. This unit was also equipped with LVTs and in this photograph, we can see two LVT(A) 4 models that were fitted with the turret off the M8 Gun Motor Carriage and thus had a short-barrel M2 or M3 75mm howitzer with which to provide close-support high-explosive firepower against fortified positions. The landings were to be conducted in waves but high embankments and thick tree lines made it impossible for the LVTs and Marine tanks to get off the beach and so the LVTs typically disembarked their troops, conducted support fire, then went back out to sea to their support ships so as not to congest the landing zones and risk being destroyed by Japanese artillery and mortar fire. Often, the LVTs carried the wounded off the beaches to waiting hospital ships when they departed. 

     It isn't known for certain who the crawling man is though some believe that it is PFC Clement William and if so, he was likely one of the crew of the LVT as his helmet lacks the camouflage cover as used by the Marines. The identity of the Marine behind him is also not known and given his uniform does not appear soaked, he may have left his position to help the men from the stricken LVT come ashore. 

     As for Saito, his tactics would draw out the battle for weeks but on July 7, 1944, he conducted the largest banzai charge of the war with over 4,000 men which lasted for fifteen hours and ended with the death of nearly every one of his men. All told, the Japanese lost 29,000 men while the U.S. suffered 2,949 dead with 10,464 wounded. As a note, despite the near destruction of the Japanese forces in the charge, Captain Sakae Oba and 46 other soldiers survived and refused to surrender, conducting guerrilla warfare against occupying U.S. forces until finally giving up on December 1, 1945.

Russo-Ukrainian War: The M1117 Guardian ASV

Source: B-AREV on X™.

     Beginning in March 2024, the M1117 Guardian ASV (Armored Security Vehicle) began to appear in service with the Ukrainian Army. Some 400 M1117 ASVs were part of  U.S. aid packages starting in December 2022 and as of January 31, 2026, 19 M1117 vehicles have been lost. Of these, 17 were completely destroyed while the remaining 2 were damaged and subsequently abandoned. The M1117 was developed by Cadillac Gage and was derived from their successful M706 Commando. Prototypes were completed in 1997 and following trials and acceptance by the U.S. Army, production commenced in 1999 with large numbers entering service by 2001. In 2019, the M1117 was placed on the MDL (Master Divestiture List), to be removed from the equipment inventory of units as they receive the new Oshkosh M-ATV. This Ukrainian vehicle was photographed sometime in April 2025.

     Power for the 13-ton M1117 comes from a Cummins 6CTA8.3 turbocharged, 6-cylinder diesel engine that generates 276 horsepower. This is paired to a Allison MD3560 transmission with a 7-speed gearbox (6 forward, 1 reverse). The motor provides the M1117 with a top road speed of 63 miles per hour and with 50 gallons of onboard diesel fuel, the maximum cruise range is 441 miles on roads at a speed of 50 miles per hour.

     For weapons, the M1117's Cadillac Gage UWS (Upgunned Weapons Station) turret is typically armed with a Browning .50 caliber M2HB heavy machine gun and a 40mm Mk.19 automatic grenade launcher. In this photograph, however, the turret carries no armament. The turret provides the armament with 360 degrees of traverse while the gun mounts offer 45 degrees of maximum elevation and a maximum of 8 degrees of depression. While the turret has both electro-mechanical traverse and manual traverse, the gun mounts are only manually controlled. With an operable traverse, the turret can turn 45 degrees per second. Total ammunition carried for the M2HB is 800 rounds of which 200 rounds are ready for use. The Mk.19 is provided with 600 rounds of which 100 are ready use. For aiming, the gunner is provided with either a M36E2 or M36E3 day/night periscope sight. There is the option to mount a M249 7.62mm machine-gun on a pintle mount fitted to the turret. As a note, the forward metal component seen on the left side of the turret is the protective cover for the Mk.19's ammunition feed system. There are firing ports for the crew's small arms in the left and right side doors.

     For the protection of the two man crew and up to eight passengers, the exact thickness and composition of the M1117's welded, hardened rolled homogeneous armor isn't available. However, from some performance metrics, educated assumptions can be made. The top deck of the M1117 can survive fragments from a 155mm shell at 15 meters which puts the protection to either STANAG 4569 Level 4 or STANAG 4569 Level 5 defense. The rest of the vehicle is said to be capable of surviving a 4 pound explosive detonation while the wheels (and one can imagine the underside of the hull) can take a 12 pound explosive detonation. On this information, the hull front, rear, and sides are STANAG 4569 Level 1 which provides armor protection against 5.56x45mm NATO up to 7.62x51mm NATO ball ammunition. The underside would be STANAG 4569 Level 2 defense against mines. The hull shape of the M1117 also helps mitigate some of the blast forces. This relatively weak armor against projectiles is why the M1117 can be fitted with IBD Deisenroth Engineering MEXAS 2C (Modular Expandable Armor System) applique armor. These composite armor ceramic tiles are composed of nylon covering the ceramic (whose composition can vary) behind which is a Kevlar backing. In conjunction with the MEXAS 2C, an interior spall liner can be fitted as well as a mine protection kit. MEXAS 2C increases the hull armor to STANAG 4569 Level 4 which can defeat up to 14.5x114mm API (Armor Piercing Incendiary) ammunition at 200 meters. Other defensive equipment include two M257, four-tube smoke grenade launchers on the turret, a central tire inflation system (CTIS), run-flat tires, and an optional overpressure NBC protection system.

     Other equipment includes a Braden 7.5 ton self-recovery winch in the front (this capacity can be increased using block and tackle), a rear clam-shell door to allow crew and passenger egress (or entrance), HVAC unit for crew comfort, an optional GPS system, and a AN/VVS-501 passive night vision periscope for the driver.

     This particular Ukrainian M1117 has been fitted with anti-drone cage armor and still supports its U.S. Army camouflage paint. The former Army unit the M1117 belonged to would have been told in the rectangular markings visible on the front of the vehicle's nose but they have been painted over. It appears the front port on the right side of the vehicle has suffered impact damage as the glass looks to be cracked.