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"A Revolution in Firepower" is the tagline for Calico Firearms, and its firearms are indeed revolutionary. Calico's firearms are lightweight, portable and packed with features. Before 1994, Calico Firearms built a 9 mm semi-automatic and a .22 semi-automatic in both carbine and pistol configurations. The carbine version looked futuristic and appeared in many science-fiction movies, including Spaceballs. The ammunition is located on top of the gun in a cylindrical-style magazine with the magazine part of the sight picture, allowing the user to keep an eye on ammo count during shooting as well as balance out the weight of the gun. Today, there are plenty of vintage models on the market but there is also a modern version in production. For more on the Calico M-900 Carbine, watch this "I Have This Old Gun" segment from a recent episode of American Rifleman TV.
Great powers have often used smaller conflicts as test beds for new weapon systems, and also as dumping grounds for obsolete machinery. The Spanish Civil War was one such conflict.