Weapons Used By Baddies.

Colonel Shatner

Seeing this clip on YouTube, where Bond blasts through Orlov's entourage, I've noticed these Red Army soldiers are armed with Steyr AUG instead of the far more typical AK-47.

The Steyr AUG, like the AK, is a weapon often used by antagonists in other action movies such as Commando and Die Hard, likely due to its sleek and unusual appearance. I wonder why Soviet soldiers would use this side arm, unless it is to insuate these men are in on Orlov's illegal scheme and also have access to atypical weapons and equipment through the black market.

thesecretagent

I never noticed that before. I've never heard of Soviet/Russian forces using a NATO calibre round. Rifles, assault weapons & pistols have always been in their own unique calibres. The Steyr-aug was also extremely expensive when it was introduced, approximately half as much again as an M16. And certainly ten times the cost of an AK47 or AK74.
I imagine it was simply the creative department being a bit too clever for their own good.
Well spotted.

Colonel Shatner

It would've made more sense that Orlov's men stuck with the trusty AK-47 instead of the more fiddly, overengineered German/Austrian stuff they soundly defeated in WWII.

I noticed the complete absence of the UZI 9mm until the early 1980s and the Sterling being very popular choice amongst minions in the 60s and 70s (it was standard issue amongst Karl Stromberg's orange uniformed marines).

thesecretagent

It would probably have made more sense if Stromberg's men had the Uzi - the Sterling was made solely for British and Canadian forces at first, then later sold on to India and other countries by Her Majesty's government. It wasn't a great weapon (apparently) and a megalamaniac industrialist like Stromberg could have sourced far better.
Incidently, I used an Uzi a couple of years ago amongst other weapons as a guest on a New Jersey SWAT range. I knew nothing about the weapon before I held it, and was really suprised that it fired off an open chamber. The round to be fired is exposed until you squeeze the trigger. The Ingram Mac10 is also the same. But Uzi being designed by an Islraeli, in Israel - a country of desert, dust, grit and sand really puzzled me. Off topic, I know - but one doesn't really talk about this sort of stuff in everyday talk - and it struck me as a ridiculous design oversight.

sniperUK

Nothing at all wrong with the Sterling,totally reliable using it for over ten years I never had a stoppage or missed the target,in some ways better than the Uzi especially when in the prone position.
Open bolt weapons are more reliable in sandy conditions ,not as many working parts to get clogged,in certain circumstances I would take a Sterling or Uzi over an MP5 any day and I have used all of them and carried the MP5 for fifteen years .

thesecretagent

sniperUK wrote:

Nothing at all wrong with the Sterling,totally reliable using it for over ten years I never had a stoppage or missed the target,in some ways better than the Uzi especially when in the prone position.
Open bolt weapons are more reliable in sandy conditions ,not as many working parts to get clogged,in certain circumstances I would take a Sterling or Uzi over an MP5 any day and I have used all of them and carried the MP5 for fifteen years .

I imagine the Sterling was perfect in the prone position, and it's interesing that very few designs have been that way. I'm interested in your views on the Uzi over the MP5 - I found this to be of superb quality, accuracy and far easier to control than the Uzi. The H&K felt like a real quality piece of kit, and the Uzi felt cheap and nasty in comparison. Can't comment on the Sterling, never used one. But I have used a Sten, and the magazine made for a sensible position - if keeping your head well down is what you want.

Walther PPK

Check out www.imfdb.org sometime.

It has lists for all the Bond films as well as telvision shows, anime, and video games.

I discovered that the Bond video games just like the films have seen a wide diversity of weapons over the years, plus they have message boards where you can talk about guns with fellow shooters.

Colonel Shatner

The earlier MI6 and Mac-10 was used by Hugo Drax's forces, while the Uzi 9mm was standard issue amongst Maz Zorin's mooks and used by Zorin himself when he terminated a load of contracts (there was also a rack of them aboard the airship, which weren't used by that mad scientist). The Uzi 9mm was common in For Your Eyes Only while Franz Sanchez was toting a more compact variant.

Varients of the MP5, the later MI6, and G36 were used extensively by Elliot Carver's mercs while for some reason the Calico M960 was issued to Carver's guards in Vietnam. Elektra King's hired muscle, Renard's gang, were equipped with the Steyr TMP. It was also issued to Gustav Graves' North Korean troops and ice palace guards.