KitUp! and their parent, Military.com ran a good report last week on the Army’s fielding of enhanced flash hiders as the first step of a weapons signature management strategy. We only have a couple of things to add to their story. As we understand it, the Army also purchased flash hiders from BE Meyers as well as AAC and SureFire. Additionally, the current M16 Birdcage-style flash hider dates back to the M16A1. The M16 originally had a 3-prong flash hider that was more effective but was prone to breakage. The design was altered in order to close the pointy end of the thing so that it would not get caught in vines. Reportedly, troops also used the flash hider as a lever to open C-ration crates until it was changed. It will interesting to see how these new flash hiders fair under field conditions although some of these early concerns have been taken into account.
Finally a quick plug for KitUp! If you are not checking it regularly, you should be. KitUp! along with Military Morons are two sites that we feel are complimentary to Soldier Systems Daily.