Mayflower Research & Consulting, LLC will be launching their new website in the next few days. Unfortunately, they have experienced several problems with their current site which have dropped orders and issues with the contact page as well as email. They always want to stay on top of things so they have invested in a ground up rebuild which will add several new features including: personalized account access, order tracking (once shipped), direct customer feedback through testimonials and customer rating of individual pieces of kit. Additionally, Mayflower is expanding at a controlled rate to meet the demand of both its valued customers (the pointy end in the war on terror both domestic and foreign) as well as their high end retailer accounts.
Here is a sneak peek of the new look. Be sure to checkout the new site once it is up.
2. Army Adopts KDH Plate Carrier – In fact, KDH wins every major armor contract in the latter half of 2009. After a GSA-based solicitation KDH was chosen to provide the US Army with 57000 Soldier Plate Carriers the first of which are to be fielded in January for use in Afghanistan.
3. UK Releases Multi Terrain Pattern – With a little help from Crye Precision the MoD adopted a new pattern blending the color scheme of MultiCam with the feel of DPM.
Blackhawk Products Group has launched their 2010 lineup. In addition to a myriad of tactical nylon and armor solutions, they have also expanded their clothing offerings. While their is quite a bit to choose from I thought a great starting point would be their new gridded fleece. The line is fairly extensive and includes the Thermo-fur jacket (shown), a gridded fleece jacket, 3/4 zip pullover and hoody, and something unavailable until now in the tactical industry a lightweight fleece vest. Only the Thermo-fur jacket features an exposed nap with the other tops in the line having the nap against the skin. Additionally, all of the garments feature an athletic cut and Blackhawk has incorporated the latest construction techniques including laminated chest pockets. I have a Thermo-fur and it is a very comfortable jacket and will zip in to Blackhawk’s Warrior Wear hard shell released last year to add insulation.
The garments are manufactured from a high loft gridded fleece and are offered in Black or Coyote Brown. Visit www.blackhawk.com for more information.
Our friends over at EOTAC gave a us a heads up about the new Tier 1 Group offshoot High Caliber Training. They both share the same 780+ acre training facility located near Memphis. They also share many instructors but T1G maintains a military and law enforcement focus while the HCT concentrates more on civilian training. However, it isn’t all that HCT does, as they run several LE courses as well.
Neither T1G nor HCT are part of the Freedom Group as often reported but rather are owned by Cerberus who also owns the Freedom Group. You can definitely see that they are sister companies when you take a look at the course catalog which caters to the Remington, DPMS and Bushmaster brands.
The new weapon sight selected for use by the MoD is a special variant that utilizes a 4 power optic in a custom chassis. It is not variable like the Spectre DR.
Photo: UK MoD
The new Spectre sight is seen on the L86 carried by the second Soldier from the left.
Developed based on a Kifaru message board poster who “envisioned a pouch carried on the chest that you could easily and quickly access a handgun from” the Koala was born.
The design is very versatile. Here is a list of the carry options: -Chest carry with an X-Harness and belly strap.
-Shoulder carry with a shoulder sling or contoured shoulder strap.
-Backpack with shoulder straps and waist strap with a dual adjust buckle.
-Lumbar pack with new Omni/Lumbar waistbelt
-Chest carry with a backpack using the new Lift-Kit
-Malice clipped onto a pack
-Malice clipped onto armor or a plate carrier
This article is really just an introduction. For a full synopsis make sure to visit Kifaru’s forum. The Koala will be available soon from Kifaru Tactical.
The Rho series is available in two weights. The standard wight is made from Polartec® Power Stretch® fabric and the lightweight is manufactured from Mountain Merino Wool. Merino is inherently no melt, no drip as well as anti-microbial. In both cases, the fabrics are extremely comfortable and stand up to plenty of abuse. The tops feature zippered collars and the bottoms come with pass through crotch. The standard version is available in Crocodile (shown) and the lightweight in Black. These are high performance, mountaineering grade pieces.
Sure it’s expensive, but it’s Arc’teryx. Don’t you deserve it?
New from Prospec Design Inc., the Kunai pen has been getting quite a bit of exposure here in the US thanks to tactical photographer, Ichiro Nagata. It is so elegant that I would refrain from calling it tactical yet it is strong enough to stand up the job of glass breaking with ease. The Kunai pen uses Parker refills.
Thus far we haven’t found a US importer so you will have to look for it on eBay.
Note that Ichiro is wearing protective clothing. Using the Kunai pen to break glass is dangerous and should only be accomplished by trained persons wearing the proper protective equipment.
It seems as though members of Congress have taken to talking to any old yahoo they can round up when they are on “fact finding” trips to exotic locales. It doesn’t seem to matter if any of what said yahoo complains about makes any sense.
Nothing like talking to GIs who have no idea what they are talking about. Of course the Soldiers were referring to the MOLLE rucksack. Somehow, the “plastic” frame is now an entire rucksack with matching plastic straps. Newsflash, I had the same problems with my arms and hands falling asleep back in the bad old days before we had high tech “plastic” rucksacks. The ALICE pack, affectionately known as the “big green tick” would put your arms to sleep just the same. This has much more to do with the load and a lot less to do with the pack.
Camo issues? Hello! The Army is knee deep in it. How about you give them a chance to at least bust their own time line before calling them out?
I am still scratching my head over the comments about needing a larger clothing allowance. I was under the impression that the Army is issuing FR ACUs to deployed troops for free. I guess the Overseas COLA isn’t enough to cover beer these days in Vincenza.
Interestingly, the letter wants to know what the Army is doing to “procure a superior replacement rifle, such as those used by our Special Operations forces (sic).” Do they mean like the SCAR? Excuse me while I guffaw. What wonder weapon are they talking about exactly?
Ok, so what do we have here? GIs want MultiCam. GIs hate their “plastic” rucksacks. GIs hate the M4 and want SOF weapons. GIs want even more of a clothing allowance (aka beer money). Hell, they could have found all of that out by spending five minutes on an internet message board.
Leadership and training are going to fix some of these issues long before the material developer can intercede. Until that happen clean your weapons and employ them properly, take a serious look at your load and accept some risk to lighten it, and use basic soldier skills to camouflage yourself and your equipment.
Released earlier this year by powerHouse Books, “Spacesuits: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Collection” is a great resource for those interested in the evolution of US Space Suit technology. I found the manufacturers to be very interesting and seemed to change as new programs achieved prominence at NASA. However, aside from the X-ray shots of several of the museums pieces, the gloves with inset steel fingernails and sharkskin pads is by far the most interesting attempt at mimicking the human hand. I only wish that they had included designs past Apollo-Soyuz in this book.
This has been an ironic week. First I got an email from a serving SF officer complaining about the Velcro all over the ACU. Nothing against his comments, it’s just ironic is all. Next, the Brits adopt a MultiCam offshoot called Multi-Terrain pattern. Immediately the Americans begin crying in their beer over the UK’s fortune and the Tommies start whinging that they adopted it. It seems their complaint is that they have more important things to spend money on than “Gucci” kit. Simply amazing. Who’s the spoiled brat then?
My final ironic moment was that as a rule, the Brits seemed surprised that their combat uniforms are made in China. Complain as we may about Berry, at least we know where our uniforms are made.
Got a Xenomorph problem? Then here’s the answer; modeled to look like the M-41A Pulse Rifle from the movie “Aliens” is the MAX-41A. Composed of a SWD M-11/9 submachine gun and a Remington 870 short barreled shotgun, it holds 50 9mm rounds via a Sumoi “Coffin” magazine and three 12 gauge, 2-3/4″ shells. That’s two in the magazine and one in the chamber. The MAX-41A also includes a red dot sight and digital shot counter, both of which power on with insertion of the magazine, as well as a collapsible stock.
The much anticipated PIG Plate Carrier has finally arrived, and SKD Tactical is currently taking pre-orders for the first production run due early spring 2010. Manufactured in the USA for Patrol Incident Gear by Eagle Industries, the PIG PC was conceived with input from law enforcement and military special operations personnel, that culminated in a design that is unlike any other plate carrier on the market today.
The PIG PC features an industry first, the adjustable plate stirrup that keeps the plate at the top of the carrier and centered, regardless of plate size (fits SAPI S-XL). Additionally, lowering the shoulder strap attachment point raises the plate placement on the upper thoracic cavity, an often overlooked achilles heel on most traditional plate carriers. They have also taken steps to answer the common complaint that carriers are uncomfortable by adding continuous padding on the rear carrier and shoulder straps. The rear padding will soon see a debut on a new Eagle pack design as well. Hybrid 500D Cordura and Nylon Pack Cloth construction reduces the weight to a minimum. Additionally, SKD has prepared an Ala Carte options system that allows users to order only the features they need.
SKD Tactical is offering a pre-order discount for a limited number of customers, on a first come first serve basis. For more information, visit www.skdtac.com.
There are three things we would like to see happen in the Soldier Systems world for our American Warriors.
1. A New Camo Pattern for the Army (and Air Force). Something effective would be nice.
2. Change the Color of Small Arms from Black to Anything Earth-tone. SOCOM seems to have figured it out with the SCAR. Flat Dark Earth works pretty well.
3. Fresh Drawers for the Marines. A little known problem is that Marine Corps has a policy to reissue cold weather long underwear once a Marine turns them in. We get being thrifty and all but come on. Who wants to wear a pair of underwear that some other guy wore for 12 months before you? The Army has a Soldier retain them throughout their career and the Air Force doesn’t want anything back that was worn against the skin. Maybe somebody on the Hill can see their way to a set aside for underwear.
We recently announced that the Canadian Modular Fighting Rig solicitation would have to be rebid. Well we are impressed. Public Works turned it right around and the tender is back on the street. That was quick. This is an indicator of how serious they are about this.
Entitled simply “Modular Vests“, the tender closes 14 January, 2010. Changes are small overall with the CTOMS pouches being separated from HSGI being one of the most glaring.
But these guys are all warm and snuggly in their snow camouflage. Strike – Hold! has put together a great post on various issue and commercial snow camo from around the globe. Enjoy…
I know, I know, these things have shown up all over the web. I have been asking and asking PEO-Soldier for pictures and they have politely informed me that they aren’t quite ready to release any photos yet. The UCP-Delta uniforms and equipment have been in theater for awhile now but the MultiCam test items just reached troops within the last two weeks. So I can understand their position. What’s the point of just looking at one side of the equation? I mean someone may see that only UCP-D photos are out there and say that the Army is biased and already made up its mind.
Ironically, we all get to see our first glimpses of UCP-Delta in use on CNN. And then, today, DoD’s Digital Imagery & Video Distribution System releases several photos of US troops in Afghanistan doing what they do; soldiering. It just so happens that some of them are wearing UCP-D.
Now, I am sure you have noticed that some of the troops in the photos are from the 82d Airborne Division (2d Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment to be exact). No, they were not initially intended to participate in testing. About 1,000 uniforms were made in UCP-D, plus about 200 extras. CJTF-82 made the decision on who would receive test items and not PEO-Soldier. 3-61, being a squadron, rather than a battalion, has well under 1,200 Soldiers and consequently, the decision was made to spread the wealth so to speak. Looks like the paratrooper wearing the Arc’teryx Kneecaps is a Grey Group customer (just sayin’).
Pictures of 4th ID Soldiers wearing MultiCam ACUs also began to show up. Unfortunately, it seems that their MultiCam TA-50 hadn’t been issued when these were taken.
The Army is indeed working a new Medium Rucksack. However, despite reports to the contrary it is still in development and will be, at least at this point a Government design.
The Army envisions a pack of about 3400 cubic inches with a load capacity of about 60 pounds. Prototypes have already been produced based on an in-depth Soldier load analysis conducted over the Summer and information obtained by Soldier Systems Daily indicates that they are pretty satisfied with the bag. What is left is the frame, a problem that also plagues the Marine Corps in their on-again-off-again quest for a new pack. As long as our personnel are wearing armor the interface between man and load is problematic due to the introduction of the armor plate on the back of the wearer. Add to this an external hydration bladder and the load begins to teeter back and forth along the long axis of the back. This is why it is so important that they concentrate on this interface.
Interestingly, yesterday when we mused what type of frame the new pack would have we were right on all counts. Three different frame designs will be tested including an external frame based on the current MOLLE frame yet smaller than even the 1606 Airborne frame, an “internal” frame consisting of foam stiffening, and a hybrid design designed in-house at Natick. Regardless of frame it will have a very minimal waistbelt, probably consisting solely of 1.5 inch nylon webbing and a side-release buckle. This is much akin the waistbelts found on the old ALICE pack. Additionally, the packs will be manufactured from 1000D due to durability concerns.
One hundred test units of each frame style will be produced and tested at Fort Bragg in February and March. No photos have been released of the pack bag nor of any of the frame designs although I have a suspicion that at least the bag will look something like the SOF Assault Pack.
It is important to note that the Army desires that the new Large Airborne Assault Pack and the Medium Rucksack turn out to be the same pack but the requirements are currently quite different. For example, the sizes are somewhat different and the airborne community requires that the air items be built into the assault packs design. Unless acquisition officials are able to reconcile the two requirements they will remain separate.
There is only one Sources Sought Notice on the street and that is for the Large Airborne Assault Pack. The Army has not solicited any industry input for its Medium Rucksack project, at least yet.
Britain’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has released a photo showing the multitude of patterns that were tested in order to settle on the new Multi Terrain Pattern.
Military.com’s Defense Tech Blog just published a teaser for an article on a new “Medium” pack for use in Afghanistan. The intent is to provide a pack that fits somewhere in between the current 2000 cubic inch Assault Pack and the 5000 cubic inch Modular Lightweight Load carrying Equipment (MOLLE) Rucksack. Interestingly, the initial variant of the current MOLLE pack was of Medium size and only after a couple of years did the Army change out to the current Large pack.In fact, the Large MOLLE ruck was only developed to support light forces like the 10th Mountain Division and there was a great deal of hand wringing over whether it would be appropriate to replace the Medium on general issue. It can be denoted from the earlier version by the addition of a halfmoon zippered compartment on the bottom which is used to carry the sleep system rather than a separate bag.
As you can see from this photo (actually an early medical version issued to Navy Corpsman supporting the Marines), the original pack was much smaller but fell in line with the modularity of the overall system. It could be used in conjunction with a variety of additional options including the side mounted sustainment pouches as well as the sleeping bag carrier. Later, with the advent of the Ranger variant of MOLLE a waist pack was added to the mix. When MOLLE was initially envisioned the concept was to provide a variety of modules that the user could add or subtract in order to mission tailor the load. There was concern about devloping a pack that could overload the wearer.
The US military used the All-purpose Individual Lightweight Carrying Equipment (ALICE) system up until the late 1990s which included medium as well as large packs. Both fit on a tubular metal frame so the concept of offering several pack options is nothing new. It seems that more and more often, the Army is learning that the Soldier needs several options in his “toolbox”. For example, SOCOM selected an entire suite of pack sizes for their troops.
One possible solution is the Mystery Ranch SATL which is issued to SOCOM and integrates MR’s proprietary Bolster Ventilation and Stability (BVS) system which was designed to increase the stability of the pack over body armor. Consider the SATL a daypack on steroids with external pockets to help compartmentalize gear. Its internal frame design helps stabilize teh load yet keep the pack’s weight to a minimum.
As you can see, over time the US has provided multiple pack sizes to its troops. It will be interesting to see how this “new” requirement pans out; whether it is an internal frame, external frame, or a frameless pack and whether it will be adopted into the MOLLE program of record.
Natick has issued a Sources Sought Notice for a Large Airborne Assault Pack. Oddly enough, the actual title of the notice is, “Tactical Load Carriage Equipment capable of being used in a combat environment that are additionally suited for Army Airborne Operations that are based in the United States or U.S. Possessions.” What a mouthful, and what the heck does that even mean? How about just shortening the title to, “Large Airborne Assault Pack?” Then you can get into that it will be used for both combat and training operations in the narrative.
Specific requirements include, “internal storage capacity of 2900 cubic inches. The large assault pack will be made of the same unique fabrics, finishings and findings available in the current Modular Lightweight Load Carriage (MOLLE) Large Ruck-Sack. Additionally the large assault pack must have an integrated single point release system and hook-pile-tape lowering line that is either permanently attached, or is part of the overall design of the assault pack, that is capable of meeting the stringent requirements of rotary and fixed wing personnel airborne operations. The large assault pack must have a storage pocket for the hook-pile-tape lowering line, 18 personnel attaching straps and the single point release handle when the large assault pack is not rigged for airborne operations.”
Please note that this is an assault pack. This means no frame required. On another note, I am personally no fan of permanently attaching air items to a pack that a guy has to schlep around all day, particularly a single point release. Additionally, carting your lowering line around only adds insult to injury.
Interested vendors have until 30 December to answer but have to include a jump ready pack in their answer. It is important to note that whether or not you answer the Sources Sought you may still answer a formal Request For Proposals if one issued, but it is important to the Government that you do answer this current request as the information gathered will help shape any further procurement decisions. They need to know what the state of the art consists of.
A similar project was undertaken in late Summer to support a requirement out of the 82d Airborne Division. Several commercial packs were assessed under conditions which included airborne operations overseen by the Airborne Special Operations Test Directorate (ACE Board) and the Advanced Airborne School. I received information during AUSA that a winner had been chosen and when I spoke to that company they were surprised to hear it. Even now, I have seen no formal award nor announcement on the project by the Army so perhaps this new project has supplanted the earlier work.
According to the article, which goes into great depth about their goals and methodology, “Dstl assessed whether a multi-terrain camouflage was better than the standard army woodland camouflage disruptive pattern material (DPM) or the desert DPM and if so what is the best pattern, or balance of colours. The two current camouflage schemes were tested alongside an existing off-the-shelf multi-terrain camouflage to see which performed best across various backgrounds that soldiers are likely to encounter across the landscape in Afghanistan.” Sounds an awful lot like what the US is currently doing.
Perhaps, based on the UK experience of adapting the Crye color palette to their pattern, the right answer for the US is to do something similar. It seems that the MultiCam pattern is challenging for the supply chain to sustain due to its complexity in printing. Apparently it is difficult for inspectors to quickly approve material printed in the pattern as they must look over the sample and decide whether it meets spec for color shading and blending. Due to the US obsession with so-called digital patterns, if a pixelated version were created, it would be much easier to print and quicker for the inspectors to proof. However, it would lose some of its effectiveness due to the loss of the fades in the pattern.
The UK MoD has released a photo that shows the new Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP) with the currently issued Woodland and Desert Disruptive Pattern Material (DPM) patterns.
The German Bundesamt für Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung (Federal Agency for Defense Technology and Procurement) in Koblenz, awarded Rheinmetall Defence a contract for pre-production examples of the IdZ-ES (Infanterist der Zukunft – Erweitertes System or Future Soldier – Expanded System) last Thursday, 17 December.
The program began in 2004 but in 2006 Rheinmetall Defence assumed lead for development of the system after an EADS led “Projekthaus System Soldat” version proved to have deficiencies. Rheinmetall claims this is an entirely new system. Full-scale procurement is to begin in 2012. Ultimately, they plan to purchase 1000 kits for all three armed services with each kit equipping 10 men.
The History Channel presents “Sniper: Inside the Crosshairs” tonight at 9PM Eastern. Portions of the show were filmed at Tier 1 Group’s facility near Memphis, Tennessee and this two-hour special will feature a discussion by EOTAC’s Fernando Coelho of ballistic gelatin and its use in wound profiles for various rounds.
