June 2019 | Soldier Systems Daily Soldier Systems Daily

Archive for June, 2019

US Army To Procure New Variable Scopes For M4 Carbines

Thursday, June 6th, 2019

During this week’s NDIA Annual Armament Meeting LTC Steven Power, Assistant Program Manager for Individual Weapons under PM Soldier Weapons, PEO Soldier, briefed current and upcoming Small Arms efforts.

He covered a lot of ground, but the big surprise was that the Army would soon be releasing a requirement for a Direct View Optic which is a 1-6x variable scope. What makes this even more interesting is that these will be used in conjunction with the M4A1 carbine. There has been a great deal of criticism that the Army is ignoring the M4 as it moves towards a next generation rifle. While that program promises a huge leap forward and capability, it is still many years off. It’s great to see the addressing addressing near term concerns, and jumping on board with a variable power optic.

The Army already has some experience with a 1-6x optic. Just a year ago it selected the SIG SAUER TANGO6 for use with the new Squad Designated Marksman variant of the 7.62mm M110A1 rifle, manufactured by H&K. The first 117 of just over 6000 rifles have already been fielded at Ft Bliss. The plan is to provide an M110A1 SDMR to every Infantry, Scout, and Combat Engineer Squads in the Army.

Additionally, the LTC Power provided an update on the M4A1 fielding. They have fielded 250,000 M4A1s in the last year, but the Army finds itself in a position to buy more. An additional contract will be let soon to provide carbines for the next several years. This allows the Army flexibility to procure new weapons to replace those which of been coded out and support sister service requirements as well as military sales, when needed. The Army is currently at 79% of its desired end state of M4A1 modernization and plans to complete the process by FY22.

Just one year ago, the Army announced plans to procure a Sub Compact Weapons for use by personal protective details. Not only did the Army conduct a full competition for these 9mm subguns, but it selected a solution, issued a contract and recently conducted new Equipment Training for the B&T APC9K.

Modular Handgun System fielding is picking up pace as the other services begin fielding along with the Army. As of right now, there are still 335,000 9mm pistols left to field. It is available in two variants, the standard sized M17 and the Compact M18 model.

On the M320A1 40mm grenade launcher side, the Army will soon issue an award for the new Grenadier Sighting System. It will provide day/night capability and facilitate use of a new airburst 40mm round currently under development. The Army has committed $30 million to the first delivery order of GSS. The Army also plans to let a new production contract for additional M320A1s which were designed by H&K but currently manufactured by CAPCOM in Colorado.

Last but not least, LTC Power is leaving PEO Soldier for a year at the Eisenhower School (formerly known as the Industrial College of the Armed Forces) at Ft McNair. He’s done a great job and overseen the fielding of several capabilities including the Modular Handgun System.

Posted in PEO-Soldier, weapons | 9 Comments »

Admiral James Stavridis To Deliver Warrior East Keynote Address

Thursday, June 6th, 2019

ADM James Stavridis, longest-serving global combatant commander, will present the keynote speech at ADS, Inc.’s defense industry event Warrior Expo East to take place on July 10, 2019 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.

The subject is “The Key to Being An Effective Leader” which is based on his nearly four decades of military service, advocating a unique model of “leader as servant.”Register Now at warriorexpo.com/east-register

Posted in ADS, Advertiser, Warrior Expo | Comments Off on Admiral James Stavridis To Deliver Warrior East Keynote Address

75 Years Ago Today…

Thursday, June 6th, 2019

America and her allies assaulted fortress Europe. Within a year, Germany would be defeated.

Posted in History | 2 Comments »

Tonight Is The Night Of Nights

Thursday, June 6th, 2019

This is the “Tonight is the night of nights” speech which was read aloud to the 506th PIR, 101st AB at the departure airfields on the eve of D-Day, 5th June 1944. Written by Col Robert Sink. Thank God for men like this.

MEMORANDUM:

Soldiers of the regiment: June 5, 1944 – D-DAY

Today, and as you read this, you are en route to that great adventure for which you have trained for over two years.

Tonight is the night of nights.

Tomorrow throughout the whole of our homeland and the Allied world the bells will ring out the tidings that you have arrived, and the invasion for liberation has begun.

The hopes and prayers of your dear ones accompany you, the confidence of your high commanders goes with you. The fears of the Germans are about to become a reality.

Let us strike hard. When the going is tough, let us go harder. Imbued with faith in the rightness of our cause, and the power of our might, let us annihilate the enemy where found.

May God be with each of you fine soldiers. By your actions let us justify His faith in us.

Colonel Robert Sink Regimental Commander, 506th P.I.R, 101st Airborne Division

Posted in History, Profession of Arms | 2 Comments »

Textron Systems Lightweight Small Arms Technology Demonstrator in 6.8mm

Wednesday, June 5th, 2019

Textron Systems has been developing the Lightweight Small Arms Technology Demonstrator for many years. Initially, it was chambered in 5.56 mm and 7.62mm and later ported over to 6.5mm. In light of the US Army’s Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle PON, they created a 6.8mm variant which was used to inform the requirement and prove out the caliber choice.

A belt fed weapon, based on the same technology you see here, is one of six currently being evaluated by the Army under NGSAR.

What sets LSAT apart from all other weapons in the NGSAR PON, is that it uses a unique ammunition type called Case Telescoped which more resembles a shotgun shell than a traditional shoulder case ammo design. It’s very interesting to see how this technology works.

This short video is of a government test fire of a single magazine through a carbine. It was recorded while the video played during a session at this year’s NDIA Annual Armaments Meeting.

Posted in Disruptive Tech, weapons | 11 Comments »

USSOCOM Small Arms Update – 2019

Wednesday, June 5th, 2019

In the wake of United States Special Operations Command’s Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (TALOS) is the Hyper Enabled Operator concept. PEO SOF Warrior is applying that as Lethal Integrated Operator. They want to ensure the integration of individual data across the full battlespace for application where needed. We are finally at the point, due to sensors and communications infrastructure, to actualize the “every Soldier as a sensor” concept from the early 2000s. Operators will be able to leverage one another’s point of view, and unique access to items and targets of interest, in order to improve decision making, lethality and survivability.

On the kinetic side of Operator lethality, SOCOM is moving quickly forward with the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge adopted last year.

They have commenced on a Mid-Range Gas Gun – Sniper OTA through SOFWERX. Intended as a replacement for the SCAR MK20, numerous companies have submitted weapons. A shoot-off to cull the herd is coming later this summer. The requirement is simple. With each of three guns, shoot a sub-1 MOA group of five rounds.

In a similar vein, discussions continue with industry for a Lightweight Assault Machine Gun in both 5.56mm and 6.5 CM.

SOCOM is also interested in a Personal Defense Weapon for use by Naval Special Warfare. This is a kit consisting of upper receiver group and buttstock which will adapt the M4A1 into a concealable 300 BLK weapon. A 5.56mm capability for training is also desired. The PDW Kit is required to work with existing SOCOM issue 7.62mm suppressors.

As we mentioned earlier, SOCOM is moving out on the 338 Norma Mag Lightweight Machine Gun Medium with a Combat Evaluation of SIG’s SL-MAG to be conducted by MARSOC. To facilitate this test event, SOCOM is certifying a Machine Gun cartridge in 338 NM.

The Barrett MRAD was selected earlier this year as SOCOM’s Advanced Sniper Rifle. Calibers can be swapped by the Operator from 7.62mm NATO, 300 NM and 338 NM. Army, Marine Corps and Air Force have expressed interest in fielding ASR as their next sniper Rifle.

USSOCOM also has a handgun Suppressor requirement which they plan on satisfying in FY22. No further information was provided on this effort aside from that it will replace the current MK27 Suppressor.

*Capability photos are representative and not necessarily the actual item which will be procured.

Posted in SOF, weapons | 22 Comments »

Team Wendy Releases All-Terrain And Ballistic Mandibles

Wednesday, June 5th, 2019

New EXFIL® Ballistic / SL Accessories Provide Full-Face Protection

Cleveland-based Team Wendy®, which researches and develops high-quality headborne systems from the inside out, announced the launch of two new helmet accessories today: the EXFIL® All-Terrain Mandible and the EXFIL Ballistic Mandible. The mandibles attach tool-free to the EXFIL Ballistic and EXFIL Ballistic SL helmets fitted with either the EXFIL Rail 2.0 or EXFIL Rail 3.0 accessory mounting systems. Each mandible is designed to allow the operator to establish a cheek weld with his/her weapon, and when paired with the EXFIL Ballistic Visor, they provide full-face protection.

“The new EXFIL mandibles offer scalable, lightweight protection and attach quickly and easily to the helmet rail system, allowing the operator to be mission-ready in seconds,” said Team Wendy CEO Jose Rizo-Patron. “In designing this new ballistic helmet accessory, it was important for us to engineer a soft mandible option so that the operator can still deploy his or her weapon with ease and accuracy; this is critical for military and law enforcement.”

The EXFIL All-Terrain Mandible protects the face and ears against blunt impact and debris. Weighing 0.71 pounds (320 grams), it is composed of a vented nose piece, a VN vented foam insert, and a glass-reinforced polycarbonate and TPU frame. The outer cover is made of mesh and ultra-suede. The EXFIL All-Terrain Mandible meets blunt impact performance in accordance with Team Wendy impact test protocol TW-TP-1901 (10 and 14.1 ft/s NOCSAE drop, 150G max).

The EXFIL Ballistic Mandible shields the face and ears from fragmentation and blunt impact. Its ballistic coverage area is 72.03 square inches (464.70 square centimeters), and it meets a performance standard of 17gr V50 greater than or equal to 2,400 ft/s (731 m/s) and 9mm V0 greater than or equal to 1,400 ft/s (427 m/s). Like the all-terrain mandible, blunt impact performance is also in accordance with Team Wendy impact test protocol TW-TP-1901.

The ballistic mandible weighs 1.30 pounds (590 grams) and comes standard with two interchangeable nose pieces: a ballistic nose with a Cordura® and nylon/spandex cover and a non-ballistic, all-terrain nose with vents to allow additional airflow. The ballistic nose is made of a proprietary composite matrix, and the frame is glass-reinforced polycarbonate and TPU. The ballistic insert is composed of flexible ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fabrics in a nylon/TPU cover. The outer cover is made of Cordura and ultra-suede.

The EXFIL All-Terrain Mandible and EXFIL Ballistic Mandible retail at $265 and $492, respectively. They come in two sizes, size one and size two, corresponding to the operator’s EXFIL Ballistic or EXFIL Ballistic SL helmet size. Each is offered in four colors: Black, Coyote Brown, MultiCam® and Ranger Green. Both mandibles are now available for purchase on TeamWendy.com and through authorized Team Wendy dealers.

Learn more at www.TeamWendy.com.

Posted in Advertiser, Helmets, Press Release | Comments Off on Team Wendy Releases All-Terrain And Ballistic Mandibles

USMC Small Arms Update – 2019

Wednesday, June 5th, 2019

The Marine Corps is well under way with the Small Arms modernization initiatives announced last year.

USMC photo by Sgt. Aaron Henson

The biggest improvement for the Marine Infantryman isn’t a weapon, but it will make him much more effective. The Marines are moving very quickly to field the Squad Binocular Night Vision Goggle, with contract award mid-July.

The H&K produced M27 is being fielded to Marine Rifle Squads along with the M38 Designated Marksman variant.

The M320A1 40mm grenade launcher replaces the M203 and will be used in the stand alone mode.

Limited numbers of the Mk 13 Mod 7, sniper rifle have been brought over from SOCOM. The Marines consider this 300 WinMag Rifle as a bridge between the long serving M40 family and the Advanced Sniper Rifle in 7.62mm, 300 and 348 Norma Mag coming in the early 20s.

They are at the initial stages of replacing SMAW-D with the 84mm M3E1 Carl Gustaf. An interesting aside, the Marines are also making a T/O change. They will go from 8 to 4 TOW launchers per Battalion and increase from 8 to 12 Javelins.

Yes, that’s an M110A1 you see. The Marine Corps long ago signed up for the program, but there has been little indication of how many they plan to buy or how they will use them.

This is a slide indicating what the future holds for Marine Corps Small Arms. Some of these we have already seen draft requirements for, like the Squad Common Optic which is a variable power (6/8x). The SCO will go on every M27 currently being fielded to Marine Rifle Platoons. Expect a full Request for Proposals 1st quarter of 20.

The Marine Corps plans to suppress all of its M27s and eventually, its belt fed machine guns.

Army has lead on Next Gen weapons and the Marines are working with SOCOM to refine the Lightweight Medium Machine Gun requirement.

“Success is not found in contracts awarded…Success is found in confirmed kills”

PM IW

Posted in MARCORSYSCOM, Optics, USMC, weapons | 20 Comments »