B5 Systems

High-Capacity Ammunition Carriage System

The Army developed he “new” High-Capacity Ammunition Carriage System in 45 days for use by troops in Operation Enduring Freedom. As soon as I saw it I raised an eyebrow. Unfortunately, it already existed in the form of the MICO from Tyr Tactical. The MICO was developed on Tyr’s own dime and debuted about a year ago. If time was of the essence, it sounds like the Army wasted 45 days to redevelop a commercial product that already existed.

Since we haven’t actually seen the High-Capacity Ammunition Carriage System, it might work entirely differently from the MICO. For instance the MICO uses a dedicated frame while the Government model attaches to a Down East frame. However, conceptually, they work the same way. Granted, it’s been done before to varying degrees of success, but something had to inspire the idea. We have been at war for nine years and no one asked for this until now? Was there at the very least some outside inspiration? Take a look at both versions and you be the judge.

But then again, maybe they were just inspired by Hollywood.

Naw…I’m not buying it either. If anyone in Government ever questions why Industry has animosity toward them, this might just be a good place to start.

Good on Kit Up! for breaking this story.

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17 Responses to “High-Capacity Ammunition Carriage System”

  1. Strike-Hold! says:

    If a private company ripped off someone else’s design like that, there would be lawsuits…

  2. deadcat says:

    Anyone think this is an incremental system to be integrated with the HULC exoskeleton? That would be cool. I’d take a reduction in rank to man monster.

  3. tim says:

    I remember seeing one from the 70’s? for the M-16, now i can’t find a reference to it on the web. I saw one being tested because I remember it overheating the barrel causing it to droop and it chuffing a rd right though the top of the barrel.

  4. MarkM says:

    If you want an overview of the Govt adopting a bit of gear without working with the inventor, check into the Wiggy’s Sleeping Bags and Kit.

    This stuff happens repeatedly. It seems if you won’t give the concept to Uncle Sam, then an overzealous department figures out how to get around your intellectual property rights and offers the design in the contract documents to bid.

    The difficulty is that if it’s not patentable and obviously protected under law, you could be infringed by competitors – which now includes the Department of Defense. As long as the public accepts it and Congress allows it, be prepared to get put out of business.

    It’s not like the GOA even tries to toe the line on Net 30, anyway. Your suppliers demands are not Uncle Sam’s problem.

    Latest case in point – who worked with the Army on the mountain boot, set up the design, fielded it for testing, modified it as needed – and then lost it when Belleville won the contract?

    I’m surprised some suppliers will even bid on stuff with that kind of treatment. It’s not the soldiers fault they get the gear they do when it’s the Gov’t who rickydoos the whole process in a backhanded attempt to “protect” the taxpayer.

  5. Juan Bravo says:

    SSD, the real question is, did DoD use the ‘Dillon Aero’ feed system? Which is what TYR’s MICO is based on… I believe.

  6. Doc says:

    Hey has anyone noticed the frame on the Tyr Mico has a Mystery Ranch frame BVS and all.

  7. Curious says:

    I can not imagine wanting to be strapped into a contraption like that.

    It would take way to long to dump and go to a secondary weapon while trying to get off the x.

    But then again I’m one of those old school nuts that will only use a two point sling

  8. @tim

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPrJVD2xc1A

    Is this perhaps what you were referring to?

  9. […] Fed AR 10 Now this is cool. I found this link while reading about the latest developments in back pack systems to feed machine guns. I will not comment on if this is a good move or not, because I have yet to […]

  10. Joe Ranger says:

    Finally a way for an infantry soldier to carry 2000 rounds of 7.62 without any issues! It will only weigh 160 pounds added the weight of the weapon of course! Listen, this is some stupid crap no one wants. Stop wasting money on this type of
    stuff. The genius behind this contraption is definately a veteran of the current war we have been fighting in the mountains of Afghanistan. Stop this stuff and put money into making our gear and kit lighter and deadlier.

  11. FormerSFMedic says:

    @JoeRanger- It doesn’t hold 2000 rounds of 7.62. The TYR version holds 500 or 1000, depending on the operator and the mission. You said nobody wants this crap, but your missing the point of why this story came about in the first place. Soldiers in the field wanted this thing sooo bad they built versions of it themselves! Natick, in all their wisdom, saw this and decided to give the troops what they wanted. 45 days later, Natick had a prototype built for combat. Now, I think this is total shit just like everyone else. I believe Natick wasted 45 days, when they could have just bought one from TYR.

    The point is, troops do want this thing and the government stole a design to give it to them. By the way, I run TYR kit almost exclusively. It is without a doubt the best stuff I have ever used.

  12. Res says:

    TYR’s MICOs have a NSN issued… or that is what TYR’s guys said in Lightfighter forum.

  13. Golf1echo says:

    Go to the Special Operations Museum in Fayettville, NC….you will see Delta used something very similar back in Panama when they rescued “Moose” from the prison.

  14. Res says:

    @Curious

    “It would take way to long to dump and go to a secondary weapon while trying to get off the x.”

    Maybe MICO combined with HighGroundGear HG830?
    http://www.highgroundgear.com/products/hg830-modular-pack-quick-release-waistbelt

  15. Travis says:

    Yeah, I’m sure someone designed this whole contraption and didn’t think about, “What if someone wants to take it off?” In a day and age when we have QR everything from packs to body armor, I’m pretty sure you can drop this as easy as a ruck.

  16. Curious says:

    Travis –

    There’s a bit more involved than just QR buckles on the pack.

    Currently one can just drop the weapon and transition to a secondary very quickly.

    With this weapon now attached to the pack by the belt ( which will hang up on everything and anything ) one has to complete at least two more actions to be free of it.

    Now imagine trying to sprint to cover / concealment while completing these actions.

    To me this thing is nothing but a big old ball and chain and I’ll take a box mag over it any day

  17. Scott says:

    “If anyone in Government ever questions why Industry has animosity toward them, this might just be a good place to start.”

    Except without the Government contracts, the fanboys wouldn’t be able to afford the stuff and they’d go out of business. Then what would we argue on the Internet about?