December 2009 | Soldier Systems Daily Soldier Systems Daily

Archive for December, 2009

Camo Test Photos from Afganistan

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

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’).

The Tactical Assault Platform (TAP) is in UCP-Delta.

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.

Tags: UCP-Delta
Posted in Camo, Load Carrying | Comments Off on Camo Test Photos from Afganistan

The New Army Medium Rucksack

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

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.

Posted in Load Carrying, Packs | Comments Off on The New Army Medium Rucksack

MTP – The Competition

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

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.

Click on the photo for a larger view

Tags: MTP
Posted in Camo, Foreign | Comments Off on MTP – The Competition

Back to the Future – Rucksack Style

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

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.

Tags: MOLLE
Posted in MOLLE, Packs | Comments Off on Back to the Future – Rucksack Style

Army Seeks Airborne Assault Pack

Monday, December 21st, 2009

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.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Army Seeks Airborne Assault Pack

Testing the New British Camouflage

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Our friend Dom Hyde, posted this article from the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).

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.

Tags: Crye Precision, MTP
Posted in Camo, Foreign | Comments Off on Testing the New British Camouflage

UK MoD releases MTP Photo

Monday, December 21st, 2009

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.

Posted in Camo, Foreign | Comments Off on UK MoD releases MTP Photo

German Military Awards Pre-Production Contract for Future Soldier System

Monday, December 21st, 2009

The German Bundesamt fÃ¼r 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 â€œProjekthaus System Soldatâ€ 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.

Posted in Contracts, Foreign | Comments Off on German Military Awards Pre-Production Contract for Future Soldier System