Is that compatible?
Once again: conflating US with the government. I’m not shocked. You shocked?
Probably a DShK,a pretty formidable weapon.The caliber matches that gun.
Should be. Considering that .50 BMG is a tried and true round that has stood the test of time. John Browning got it right, more often than not. Both the ammo round and the machine gun that uses it.
12.75mm = 0.501968 inches.
Improvising.
Iraqi Forces Add Russian Guns to US Tanks for ISIL Fight
Flexibility!!!
It is probably a Russian 12.7mm machinegun (might actually be a Russian designed machinegun manufactured under license in Iran) and Iranian 12.7mm ammunition. Very compatible.
I wouldn’t get too excited about the coaxial machinegun and the ammunition. Sounds like a case of practical logistics. US M2HB .50 caliber ammunition might be harder for the Shia militia to get than the 12.7mm ammunition. So, dismount the M2, build an adaptor plate to mount the 12.7mm machinegun in the coaxial cradle (or just swap out the cradles entirely) and get back to work.
I would be concerned about the other technologies in the tank(ballistic computer, laser, turbine engine, etc.) but those horses are long since out of the barn. Happened the moment the Iraqis allowed the Shia militias (along with their Iranian advisors) access to the vehicles. There are probably a couple of the tanks already in Tehran being gone over by Iranian engineers.
From what I understand, the FMS version of these tanks does not have the US “green metal” armor package so that bit of technology may still be safe.
But with the Obama administration, who knows?
“After US-led coalition airstrikes were forced to destroy about 10 M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs) seized from the Iraqi Army by the Islamic State group, often called ISIL or ISIS, Washington is now grappling with the phenomenon of their voluntary transfer to Shiite forces battling in concert with Baghdad against the fanatical Sunni Caliphate.”
The thought of a Hezbollah or Isis flag flying on an Abrams makes me angry. I often wonder how we can spend billions on advanced hardware and not equip it with Lojack. Something like that could be integrated into the electronics of devices and be made integral & tamperproof. Seems like a no-brainer. Something low cost to add to tanks, APCs, anti-tank rockets and manpads. Heck, I would even add some C4 so that it explodes if taken out of theater.
WTF! Are Shia militiamen doing with an Abrams!?
Why the heck are we selling our main battle tank to ANYONE?
“Anytime you do a foreign military sale, there’s a requirement that you do end-use monitoring, and it’s a violation if you do alterations,” Vice Adm. Joseph Rixey, director of the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) told Defense News.”
Thank you, Vice Admiral. Since you are illegally bombing Syria, you would know all about adhering to the rules and laws......
Sounds like someone- not necessarily an IS or pro-Iranian supporter- stuck a 12,7mm Dashka or KPV on the external .50 mount on the Abrams.
I sort of suspect the Kurdish PeshMerga, who sort of prefer the American stuff to old Soviet/ChiCom material they've captured, but of course when they take their ammo from the dead bad guys, they don't get much choice.
