Soldier Systems

Blue Force Gear has got a lot going on. Recently Stephen Hilliard came on board and brought with him his design expertise in nylon gear. Already available are two unique products; the Tourniquet NOW! Strap and the Ten-Speed Mag Pouch.

Designer Stephen Hilliard designed the Tourniquet NOW! Strap in order to replace the expedient rubber band system used to attach tourniquets to load carrying equipment. The strap is simple and folds the tourniquet at the ready. The Tourniquet NOW! Strap is available in Coyote Brown, Foliage Green, and Camo Green.

BFG developed the Ten-Speed Mag Pouch after owner Ashley Burnsed saw a bicyclist with his water bottle in an elastic carrier. Weighing in at three ounces, and most of that is BFG’s new MOLLE-compatible attachment system, the pouch’s open topped body is manufactured from elastic and designed to provide positive retention of magazines or other items such as flash bangs. It is truly a specialist item that closes flat when not in use. Current variants are available with a dark olive green body edged in Multicam.

In addition to those tactical nylon accessories, the gang at Blue Force Gear has several other products lined up for release over the next couple of months.

Finally, Blue Force Gear is expanding their relationship with Larry Vickers beyond just slings and introducing a line of 1911 parts called Vickers 1911 gear. Although not yet available for sale on the site, a Hammer, Sear, and Disconnector kit should be up by the end of the week in both standard and slotted styles.

For more information contact Blue Force Gear.

Photos from Blue force Gear.

We are beginning to see a lot more products on the market tailored specifically for working canines. Tactical Assault Gear has just released a new canine vest which is already in use by DOD canine teams, and various SRT as well as Border Patrol canine units.

The vest is constructed from 1000D Cordura and mesh panels. It also features rigger belt style adjustment straps with metal buckles for durability, a drag/carry handle, MOLLE webbing, as well as an adjustable camera mount. Due to the construction details, the vest can be used to secure the canine while rappelling and fast roping.

Additionally, the vest is designed for freedom of movement by the canine yet maintain durability for prolonged operations. The canine vests are manufactured in the USA and can be custom fitted and adapted for specialty requirements.

Available in Coyote, Black, Ranger Green, UCP, and Multicam. Contact TAG to order.
Photos courtesy of TAG.

Designed to carry the newer “nunchuk”-style breaching charges directly on the back of an armor vest, TAG’s new Breacher Pouch is made in the USA from mil-spec materials.

To order contact Tactical Assault Gear.

Picture courtesy of TAG.

We are always interested in innovative solutions for attaching pouches to PALS webbing. Israeli company Smamit has developed the “Smamit PaLoop” to attach US MOLLE and British Osprey pouches onto PALS Webbing commonly found on everything from packs to body armor. It is made from 25 mm mil-spec nylon webbing with a Nexus 25 mm Delrin Looploc attached on one end. You weave it through webbing bars on the back of the pouch like a Tactical Tailor MALICE clip. All of their production pouches as well as custom solutions are available with the PaLoop attachment.

Sequence of attachment for Smamit’s PaLoop.

For more information on their entire product line check out their website.

All photos courtesy of Smamit.

Undergarments
Men’s boxers, women’s panties, short and long-sleeved T-shirts, a bra, and long underwear pants will be fielded in the same Sand color as the current ABU T-shirt. The garments can be worn alone or in concert with one another along the lines of the Army’s Gen III ECWCS.

Airman Battle Ensemble
The FR Airman Battle Ensemble will be fielded in the ABU’s digital Tigerstripe pattern which adapted the Army’s UCP colorway by adding a fourth color; Slate. Since the garment consisting of a jacket and trousers is designed specifically for combat the overall design has been altered slightly from the ABU although it’s general appearance will remain the same.

The jacket unfortunately retains the front zipper as well as the same useless, four chest pockets found on the ABU/BDU but adds zippered pockets on the upper sleeve as well velcro pockets on the forearm.

The trousers a near exact copy of the FR variant of the ACU.

Airman Battle Shirt
Along the same lines as the Marine Corps’ FROG shirt and Army’s Combat Shirt, the ABS will feature a moisture-wicking torso mated to FR sleeves with padded elbows and the same sleeve and forearm pocket setup as the Battle Ensemble jacket. Currently, the ABS has a mock turtleneck like the ACS. The torso will be a a solid color and the sleeves in digital Tigerstripe.

Foul-weather Jacket and Trousers
For inclement weather the Air Force is planning a lightweight rainsuit. There is also discussion of a solid colored fleece jacket although no one has gone so far as to consider a program on the level of FREE or Gen III ECWCS for the Air Force.

Accessories
FR socks, balaclavas, gloves, as well as belts are under development and will join the other equipment as they are ready for fielding although most of these items are available commercially.

Armor
Although not officially a component of ABS-G, the Defensor Fortis Load Carrying System (DF-LCS) developed for ACC’s SF community and soon adopted for all Security Forces AF-wide is now available in the Air Force digital pattern. Additionally, an Air Force unique body armor system is under development.

Eagle Industries has been showing this assault pack at trade shows since SOF Week but they have been shy about releasing photos in order to foil counterfeiters. Designed at the request of a demanding user, early versions featured removable shoulder straps so that it could attach directly to a chest rig. Eagle has improved the design in order to offer comfortable, permanently affixed straps as well as retain the modularity of the design. Additionally, the large beavertail pocket is designed to hold a helmet with NODs mounted.

As you will see in the Military Times video below, the pack is laden with features. Eagle reps informed me that it will be available after SHOT show along with quite a few other surprises.

Mayflower Research and Consulting has been the subject of several articles on Soldier Systems Blog. You can find them here. Mayflower tends to keep a low profile and in respect of that, we don’t post nearly enough about what they are up to. However, sufficed to say, they are working on a commercial line. In our last article on Mayflower (13 Sept 08) we claimed that their ecommerce site would be up in four weeks. Looks like we were pretty close.

The website is here. Check it regularly.

Diamondback Tactical has just released a sale catalog. There is also a “Lucky 21″ sale featured on the back cover of the catalog. When you purchase any combination of three pouches from the list of 21 different pouches shown, you get them for $21.00 while they last (buy as many as you like but hurry, they’re limited to stock on hand).

Sale prices in this catalog are good through December 31, 2008. Certain restrictions apply.

The sale catalog is available here.

As many of you know, longtime friend and all around good guy Logan Coffey was killed on April 20th, 2008. He started by sewing in his barracks room and went on to found Tactical Tailor. Among his many achievements was the invention of MALICE clip.

Tactical Tailor has revamped their website and added a small section Logan. You can see it here.

Support Tactical Tailor.

St. Louis, MO – Eagle Industries today announces the launch of its new, Eagle-branded “LE” product line specifically designed to meet the needs of the law enforcement community.

Eagle Industries has a long history of success providing high quality, trusted gear to law enforcement officials. The new “LE” product line marks the first time that the company has offered a comprehensive catalogue of Eagle-branded nylon gear uniquely designed to meet the needs of the law enforcement community.

“Eagle has for thirty years operated with ‘Quality by Design’ as our guiding principle,” said Eagle Industries Vice President Scott Carver. “By creating the new LE Division, we are able to better focus our development and design resources on understanding and responding to the needs of our loyal customers from the law enforcement community.”

The LE Division of Eagle Industries offers police tactical nylon products ranging from ballistic vests to equipment bags and pouches to holsters and other accessories. LE Division products are made of U.S. materials and assembled at an Eagle Industries-owned facility in the Dominican Republic.

“By establishing an assembly operation in the Dominican Republic, Eagle is certain to remain competitive in the law enforcement, homeland security, private label and international markets,” said Eagle Industries Director of Law Enforcement Programs Ben Lenett. “Owning and operating the facility allows us to maintain control over the quality of our products and our production schedule to best serve the needs of our law enforcement customers.”

Eagle Industries’ LE Division products are made from U.S.-produced materials, in line with the company’s commitment to domestic sourcing.

About Eagle Industries
Eagle Industries is a world leader in tactical nylon gear for the military and law enforcement community. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Eagle Industries began its business in 1974 in the owner’s basement and was incorporated in 1982. Today, Eagle Industries employs more than 2,300 people worldwide and manufactures and distributes more than 5,000 products. Eagle Industries continues to abide by its “Quality By Design” guiding principle and remains a family-owned and managed company. For more information, visit www.eagleindustries.com.