With the cancellation of over 1,000 flights at Gatwick Airport due to drone sightings last December 2018 and other reports of drones affecting other airports, the UK government has finally decided to extend the drone no-fly zone around airports from 1 kilometre to 5 kilometres. This will take effect on the 13th of March 2019.

The information was published at Drone Safe UK:

On 13 March 2019 the drone flight restriction zone around airports and airfields changes. The government has introduced a new rule stating that the 1km restriction from the airfield boundary is replaced by a restriction using the airfield’s existing aerodrome traffic zone, which has a radius of either two or two and a half nautical miles and then five kilometres by one kilometre zones starting from the point known as the ‘threshold’ at the end of each of the airfield’s runways. Both zones extend upwards to a height of 2,000 feet above the airfield. It is illegal to fly any drone at any time within these restricted zones unless you have permission from air traffic control at the airport or, if air traffic control is not operational, from the airport itself.

The UK government also intends via new legislation to extend police powers with the police being able to stop and search people who are suspected of breaching the no-fly zone areas. Part of such proposed legislation will allow the police as long as they get a warrant to access electronic data stored in a drone.

For drone owners, there are already maps available that they can consult to see the restrictions at some of the major airports in the UK that can be found at the Drone Safe UK website.

Existing drone regulations already restrict drones from flying above 400 feet and violating rules can result into a prison sentence up to 5 years. Those who use drones for commercial activities such as surveying will need to ask permission if they will conduct it in a no-fly zone.

Some airsoft events use drones for various purposes such as for aerial videos of the game below or for reconnaissance. Events organisers should consult their maps if the game sites are within the restricted areas of airports and other installations that are considered to be off limits by the government.

The Halo live action TV Series surely is having a hard time getting off the ground. The TV series has been planned 6 years ago, but sometimes plans do not go accordingly. Whilst Microsoft gave the green light for production last year with Showtime behind this and that it will be shown as a paid series on cable, the pieces of the puzzle still need to fall into place.

The last year’s press release was that Rupert Wyatt (“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”) will be directing the 10-episode series. However, Wyatt then left the project a few months after the announcement due to conflict in schedules.

Otto Bathurst will be directing the popular video game franchise on the Xbox game console according to Deadline and Kyle Killen will be part of the show as writer, executive producer and showrunner. Otto Bathurst is known for the first directing the first episode of the “Black Mirror” in 2011 and the 2018 "Robin Hood" that got nominated for Worst Picture at the Razzies.

Furthermore, from the original 10 episodes, it will be a 9-episode season with 343 Industries, the game studio behind the Halo series and Amblin Entertainment of Steven Spielberg involved in the project. Bathurst will direct multiple episodes for the series. The series adaptation will take place in the universe that first came to be in 2001 and it will be dramatizing an epic 26th-century war by humanity against an alien threat known as the Covenant.

Will a live action Halo project be a success just like the video game franchise which is massively successful? The live action digital series “Halo: Nightfall” was considered to be not good and the planned Halo movie never happened. The production of the TV series is expected to start early this year.

CBS International will be in charge of international distribution.

The news that eHobby Asia may be closing down for good caught the airsoft world off guard. The company is facing high rents as Hong Kong is famously known for some the most expensive real estate in the world, and such a situation makes it hard to do business if it is dragging revenues down.

eHobby Asia went on a big sale promo last month and as of the first of February, the physical store was closed. Our news post speculating if the company has finally threw in the towel went viral, with airsoft players around the world lamenting the closure of the store where they got their first airsoft gun, their first airsoft gear by ordering online, or remembering the time they were able to drop by the store to gawk at the products on display.

There was a lot of outpouring of support from airsoft players upon hearing the news that the eHobby Asia may be gone for good, hoping that the company will soldier on to provide the usual business of supplying airsoft players worldwide with the airsoft guns and gear they need.

So we have good news, eHobby Asia will continue doing business!

According to a reliable source, eHobby Asia be will giving up its walk-in store on the ground floor as the rent is expensive. They will be focusing on the online business and will be still be holding office on the upper floors at their present location in San Po Kong and are more affordable (or perhaps a new place where they get a warehouse at better rates). The area does not have much foot traffic in terms of shoppers as compared to Dundas and Yim Po Fong Streets in Mong Kok which are also known as the “airsoft alley” and there are more shoppers there but also a very expensive area to rent for business.

The company will be revamping their online store so they can focus on pure online business play. There is no official announcement but there is still a lot to do for them as inventory is virtually non-existent as you cannot find almost anything at their online store, there are no airsoft guns on sale, and just some bits being sold there. They will have to replenish their stocks first before they can finally say they’re back in business.

So just patience before all will be normal again at eHobby Asia, and that will be good news to many airsoft players worldwide who connect to them for their airsoft needs mainly online.

Photo Source:eHobby Asia Facebook Page

It’s less than two weeks left before the trade event in which you can see a large presence of the global airsoft industry, the IWA Outdoor Classics 2019, takes place. We will be covering the event and our schedule for four days in Nuremberg, Germany is getting filled up quick. But one thing for sure, it’s going to be a four fun-filled days.

This will culminate in the large gathering of the airsoft industry, media, and community --- the Airsoft Meetup 2019. Now on its 8th year, it is one of the must attend events for airsoft at the IWA Outdoor Classics. If will be attending the meetup, you will get to rub elbows with the who’s who in airsoft and meet some of the names you read online in one room.

If you have not gotten your free tickets to the event, better go to the Airsoft Meetup website right now and get yours. Seats are reserved to a maximum of 100 attendees and last year, it was fully packed that others had to stand up.

With a revised schedule of 1400-1700H, companies presenting are RedWolf Airsoft, Gunfire, Airsoft Innovations, and Titan Power. The Panel Discussion, which was well received last year, is back and it has two components: Community Discussion for anything that affects the airsoft community; and the Industry Discussion in which company representatives talk about the state of the airsoft industry.

As always, to conclude the Meetup is the awarding ceremonies of the 9th Airsoft Players Choice Awards and winners who are present at the Airsoft Meetup get to receive their shiny salvers to proudly bring home.

Slickaxe of NLAirsoft.com and Master Chief of Popular Airsoft will again be the masters of ceremonies for this year.

Before, we publish the proceedings of the Airsoft Meetup a week after the IWA Outdoor Classics in which you get to watch all the video presentations. For this year, we will be livestreaming the event on Facebook and YouTube so if you won’t be attending the Airsoft Meetup this year, you and other airsoft players around the world can watch the livestream of the Airsoft Meetup in real-time. We’ll still post the different presentations as standalone videos a week after the event.

It’s still best if we get to see you at the Hong Kong Room, Level 1, Nuremberg Messe OST (East). Block off 1400 – 1700H on the 10th of March 2019 and we get to watch and listen to the movers and shakers in airsoft. See you there!

Famous German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch, whose airsoft versions of its guns are big favorites amongst airsoft, just got received a hefty fine leveled against by the Stuttgart Court District four days ago. After a 10-month trial involving employees of the company, the company got fined US$4.2 million in sales to Mexico that violated the War Weapons Control Act.

According to DW.com, former CEO Peter B. was acquitted while two employees, Marianne B. and Ingo S., who do mainly administrative duties, were found guilty. The fine is the approximate value of the G36 rifles that were sold to Mexico at the time of their sale, which will result into an actual loss for the company if it pays the fine.

The two employees found guilty were given 17 and 22 months of suspended prison sentences. A total of five employees were charged with prosecutors pushing for jail sentences to three of them.

Germany has strict arms export laws, not allowing for weapons sales to strife-torn regions. In this case Heckler & Koch violated the War Weapons Control Act by selling more than 4,000 G36 assault rifles and ammo to a government buyer in Mexico. These rifle were sold in 16 batches from 2006 to 2009 with the the guns finding their way into Mexican states that are rife with murders and kidnappings and are in the list of restricted locations such as Chiapas, Chihuahua and Guerrero.

The guns are believed to have been used in the 2014 kidnapping and most likely murder of 43 students from a teachers college in Iguala, Guerrero. The criminal incident drew widespread condemnation internationally.

The case was pressed by Juergen Grasslin, a veteran activist connected to the Global Net — Stop The Arms Trade NGO who brought the suit against H&K in 2010 and also blamed the German government’s failure in the oversight of weapons sales. He was actually surprised at the fine, thinking that it will only be based on the profits from the sale.

Here is the initial reaction of H&K as posted at their website:

We will examine today’s verdict carefully. We can however not understand the Court’s decision that we should not only forfeit the profit generated on the Mexico business but instead forfeit the entire sales price, despite the fact that none of the directors committed an offence. This should have been taken into account. In addition, the Court could have taken account in its verdict of the fact that from the beginning, Heckler & Koch has supported the proceedings and the active investigation and fully cooperated with the public prosecutor. This included the company initiating a comprehensive special investigation and providing the prosecutor with the detailed, over 100 pages long, report of this.

It is believed that the fine will have an impact on the finances of the company which has been experiencing financial difficulties. The company has over 700 employees located in Germany, France, the UK and the USA.

If you have no plans going out with your mates for a night out or an airsoft game this weekend? You might want to watch the finals of Battle Arena, the world’s growing force-on-force international airsoft tournament. For two days, the top Battle Arena teams from countries in Europe, North America, and Asia will be battling it out to determine which team will take home the honour of being the Season 5 winner.

If you think Battle Arena is like a live-action version of eSports such as Rainbow Six: Siege or Counterstrike, you cannot be far off the mark. Originated in Russia, more airsoft teams have gone through various country qualifications, from the U.S.A. to China just to make it to the world finals in Finland this weekend, and it will be hosted by ASA Airsoft located in Helsinki.

So how will the Battle Arena Season 5 Finals unfold this weekend? From 2 to 3 March 2019, 16 teams divided into four groups will go through the various scenarios. It is explained by the organizes in this Facebook post:

Better bookmark those video channels on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and VKontakte whatever is your preferred social media or video sharing platform.  The livestream will be available in English or Russian languages, so select which language you prefer. We don’t know if there will be live auto-caption on YouTube, but it’s best to just watch and see the leaderboards.

Will watching the Battle Arena Season 5 finals inspire airsoft teams from around the world to work on be being Battle Arena teams? The organisers surely hope so and interested airsoft game site owners can contact them on how to organise their own Batte Arena events so they can hold their own qualifier and send a team to represent their country. Game sites that have been certified by the Battle Arena organisers can hold qualifiers for the tournament.

Take note that the event will take place from 0900H on the 2nd March up to 1800H 3rd of March (UTC+2). In case you will miss recorded live sessions will be posted on social media sites that Battle Arena has a presence.

To the teams going to Finland, good luck!

The Russian Army is to start testing the RPK-16 LMG. First unveiled in 2016 by Kalashnikov Concern and revealed public in ARMY-2017, a contract for an undetermined number of RPK-16s was signed by the Ministry of Defense last year. In a press release by the Ministry of Defense, specialists of the Moscow Higher All-Arms Command School began experimental-military operation of the new LMG.

The RPK-16 derives some of its design features from the AK-12 program and it is intended to replace the RPK-74 LMG/Squad Automatic Weapon that is in use in the Russian military. In May 2016, the Russian Interior Ministry announced a tender for a contract for a new Light Machine Gun of the same caliber as the RPK-74 with interchangeable barrels, can be versatile to use in urban operations, and fires at 800 rounds per minute.

The RPK-16 is chambered in the 5.45×39mm cartridge and uses the traditional Kalashnikov gas-operated long-stroke piston system. It is also equipped with Picatinny rails to mount weapons accessories such as aiming devices, polymer handguard and a detachable suppressor. There is no integrated bipod and if needed, a bipod can be attached to it.

It has an interchangeable barrel system with a 550m long barrel for the light machine gun role and a 370mm shorter barrel if for use as an assault rifle. Barrel change can be done quickly without the need for tools and if used as an assault rifle with its stock folded, it can be used for close quarters.  The four-position telescopic stock also contains a cleaning kit.

A high capacity drum magazine containing 96 rounds can be used with it was developed and it can use existing AK magazines depending on the calibre of its configuration.

The soldiers from the Moscow Higher All-Arms Command School will assess the technical and accuracy characteristics, as well as the ease of operation and maintenance of these weapons. They will then give feedback for Kalashnikov Concern to make the necessary adjustments. Tests are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019 according to the company.

Next week is the IWA Outdoor Classics 2019 in Nuremberg, Germany wherein we shall see the airsoft industry in full force. But two days before is the ENFORCE TAC 2019 a more security-focused trade fair and we see more activity of the firearms industry as they present their products to potential defense and security buyers.

At this event, FN Herstal will put on display for the first time the .300 BLK version of their SCAR-SC, the subcompact carbine that is the smallest member of the FN SCAR family. The FN SCAR-SC was first unveiled at the Milipol France in 2017 and it was initially chambered in the 5.56x45mm. FN Herstal also mentioned that the .300 BLK was also in the works.

The FN SCAR-SC .300 version has a KeyMod receiver as compared to the 5.56mm which just has the usually Picatinny rails. It still sports the adjustable buttstock and is marketed towards law enforcement organizations.

Press release from FN Herstal below:

FN SCAR®-SC NOW AVAILABLE IN .300 BLK CALIBER: ONE OF THE NEWEST DEVELOPMENTS ON DISPLAY ON FN HERSTAL BOOTH AT ENFORCE TAC

Come new features from FN Herstal, the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of small arms, are to be discovered shortly.

At the end of 2017, FN Herstal launched its new FN SCAR®-SC Subcompact Carbine in 5.56x45mm (.223), especially designed for Law Enforcement personnel. A variant of the weapon will be introduced officially to the market at ENFORCE TAC on March 6-7 in Nuremberg, Germany. The FN SCAR®-SC is now also available in 7.62x35mm (.300 BLK) caliber. It features a standard telescopic buttstock and is available with a wide choice of buttstock types and accessories to accommodate the specific needs of the users. Additional developments will include all FN SCAR® carbines and rifles being now available with a receiver with Picatinny type side rails or KeyMod receiver.

Also showcased on FN Herstal booth, will be the FN SCAR®-L rifle recently selected by Bavarian Police as their next rifle (Mitteldistanzwaffe). The semi-auto weapon features a 13” barrel, KeyMod receiver, and RFID tag integrated into the receiver. The RFID tag is an in-house-designed electronic system developed by FN Herstal that allows digital identification of the weapon, hence enabling optimized inventory and in-and-out management of the weapon fleet. The RFID tag can be integrated in any FN SCAR® weapon, including precision rifles.

The entire FN SCAR® range and many more FN products dedicated to Law Enforcement and Security can be viewed at FN Herstal, hall 12, booth no. 0.538 at ENFORCE TAC 2019.

Nowadays, every time we travel, we always have batteries with us. They are either in our phones, headphones, laptops, activity trackers, smart watches, and cameras and many of them use Lithium-Ion batteries. Problem with batteries is that they can sometimes explode or burst into flames if they are have defects, damaged, or mishandled. Airlines are very much concerned about these that they require that passengers carry them in their carry-ons rather in the cargo with their checked-in luggage so that flight attendants can deal with such incidents quickly. But previously the ban has not been total.

The FAA, while it says the passengers carry their batteries with them in the cabin, had this provision in its 2018 Fact Sheet:

Devices containing lithium metal or lithium-ion batteries, including – but not limited to – smartphones, tablets, and laptops, should be kept in carry-on baggage. If these devices are packed in checked baggage, they should be turned completely off, protected from accidental activation and packed so they are protected from damage.

But now, the ban of Lithium-Ion batteries in checked-in luggages and placed in the cargo areas is now total with this interim rule issued by the Department of Transportation and the FAA last Wednesday, February 27, 2019.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), today issued an Interim Final Rule (IFR) to enhance air safety by revising the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) for lithium ion cells or batteries transported by aircraft.

“This rule will strengthen safety for the traveling public by addressing the unique challenges lithium batteries pose in transportation,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao.

This IFR prohibits the transport of lithium ion cells or batteries as cargo on passenger aircraft.  In addition, the IFR requires lithium ion cells and batteries to be shipped at not more than a 30 percent state of charge aboard cargo-only aircraft.

“PHMSA is enhancing passenger safety by permitting personal electronic devices onboard aircraft while ensuring cargo shipments of batteries are transported separately,” said PHMSA Administrator Howard “Skip” Elliott.

Lithium-Ion Cells (Source: Wikimedia)

So how does this concern the airsoft player? Apart from photographers and videographers, airsofters probably are some of the battery laden airline passengers as they carry batteries for their AEGs and action cameras. With Lithium-Ion batteries now growing in use for AEGs, airsoft players who use air transport to travel to events will have to ensure that all batteries, Lithium-Ion or not, are in their carry-ons.

One of the better investments when transporting batteries is the inexpensive explosion proof and fire resistance storage battery pouch that you can order online. This will allow you to safely carry the batteries with you in the passenger area of the airliner.

We are doing an upgrade of the Popular Airsoft content management system since we have been using an old system for many years now and it’s showing signs of age. There will be times that the site will be offline, but we will put notice on this.

There will be no site content updates during this upgrade period and the site will be frozen.

There will be intermittent operations for the site as we prepare also for the IWA Outdoor Classics 2019 and hopefully, the site will resume normal operations one way or another.

In case you will need updates, we will be doing updates via the Popular Airsoft Facebook Page if the site goes offline during the upgrade process.

Our apologies.