Nightforce is excited to announce that select ATACR and NX8 riflescopes are now available in Dark Earth color options.
Also available is the Nightforce UltraMount in many commercial configurations: Dark Earth or Black anodizing, 1.54in or 1.93in height, and 0MOA or 20MOA bias options.
For more information on all of our new Dark Earth riflescopes and Nightforce UltraMounts, please visit our website or contact your local Nightforce dealer.
Army SF Veteran Kevin P Owens made quite a name for himself while serving in the military, but after retiring took on the position of Training Manager for FieldCraft Survival. He has created a great series of videos on a variety of topics. This is his latest.
Zeroing your rifle at 50 yards for a point blank zero of 200yards. BDC reticles are great but are only calibrated for one bullet and one density altitude
The Department of Defense made the following announcement:
Patriot3 Inc., Fredericksburg, Virginia (H92240-22-D-0008), was awarded a $10,000,000 maximum ceiling value, single award, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with an ordering period of up to five years for the acquisition of Patriot3 Inc. Jet Boots Dive Propulsion System(s) (JBDPS), JBDPS parts, and JBDPS repair/maintenance and training. Fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $110,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The majority of the work will be performed in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by fiscal 2027. This is a sole source contract under the authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation 6-302-1. U.S. Special Operations Command, Tampa, Florida, is the contracting activity.
The system uses low noise brushless motors and Lithium-Ion Batteries to achieve powerful propulsion at very low total system weight.
SWANSBORO, N.C. – April 18, 2022 – High Speed Gear® would like to take a moment to remind its customers what matters most.
Throughout the tactical community, there are many assets to defending your life. However, some of the most important items are the ones that can save a life. High Speed Gear® offers many options for carrying medical equipment on your person. Some of the more low-profile options would be the ReViveTM Medical Pouch and the Bleeder/Blowout PouchTM.
Both the ReViveTM Medical Pouch and the Bleeder/Blowout PouchTM offer an individual a quick access pouch to release life-saving medical equipment. The pouch can fit all necessary medical equipment (not included) to treat a small-arms gunshot wound.
“The design of these pouches, was to make sure users had one handed, quick access to the most important supplies while being extremely compact to save space.” Said HSGI® Senior Designer, Daniel Chaney.
The benefits of these pouches are considered greatly within the tactical industry. Both the ReViveTM Medical Pouch and the Bleeder/Blowout PouchTM were awarded gold status by the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA). These compact medical kits are not only space savers, but also money savers with the retail cost of the ReViveTM being $76 and the Bleeder at only $44.
For more information for the ReViveTM Medical Pouch, visit: ReViveTM Medical Pouch
If you would like to see more about the Bleeder/Blowout PouchTM, please see the link here: Bleeder/Blowout Pouch
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. — The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command hosted the Redstone Arsenal Center of Excellence — Advance Planning Briefings to Industry March 22-24 at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.
The annual event offered transparency in acquisition strategies by providing long-range technology and capability development objectives to members of industry. It also showcased potential business opportunities available with various Team Redstone organizations.
Due to COVID-19 conditions, the event was held virtually again. Although the auditorium was nearly empty, approximately 1,000 participants tuned into the three-day forum, which was packed with presentations from senior leaders throughout the federal government, as well as civic leaders, such as Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Madison Mayor Paul Finley and Madison County Commissioner Dale Strong.
Army Materiel Command Commanding General Gen. Edward Daly was the keynote speaker and described the APBI as critical and beneficial, as it provides predictability and situational understanding to the corporate sector.
Daly outlined the four Redstone Arsenal core competencies of logistics services; space operations and missile defense; research, development, test and evaluation; and intelligence and homeland defense.
“Those are what we are focused on during APBI,” he said. “Making sure the industry partners have predictability and situational understanding on where we are going depending on what they do in support of those areas.”
He said the theme of this year’s event, “government-industry partnership to support large-scale combat operations,” is more important than ever due to the real-world events occurring in Europe.
Daly said his priorities are aligned to those of the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Army and noted that industry partners could assist in those areas, such as modernization and identifying vulnerabilities in the supply chain — not just shortfalls and gaps, but also quality and cyber threats. His final message to the virtual audience was a reminder that when it comes to industry, the size of the company does not matter.
“This is not just about large industry partners; this is also about small businesses,” Daly said. “We have balanced this approach very carefully so that so we can simultaneously take care of small business efforts, as well as our corporate partners. We have a common bottom line, and that’s the support of the warfighter — that’s our single, common bond — our ability in those partnerships to take the right actions to support the warfighter.”
More than half of the 73 tenants that call Redstone Arsenal home spoke at the 2022 APBI, and event organizer, AMCOM Ombudsman Eric Lampkin said the event has steadily grown each year. With that growth, he said the virtual option, while necessitated for the last two events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will remain as an option, even when APBI returns to in-person attendees.
“Next year we anticipate doing a hybrid of both virtual and in-person,” Lampkin said. “The virtual option allows attendees to dial-in when it is relevant to their needs and as their time allows. However, nothing beats the ability to shake hands, meet face-to-face and network in-person, especially when it comes to the industry matchmaking event.”
The second day of APBI traditionally features a matchmaking forum, which allows small businesses to meet with large corporations, federal contractors and government organizations. Lampkin said hosting the matchmaking event virtually was challenging because you do not get those personal connections, so he looks forward to the crowds returning to the Bob Jones Auditorium next year.
Rodney Pennywell, who assisted Lampkin by coordinating the civic leadership involvement, attended the event as a small business owner. He said when he started attending APBI six years ago, the structure and focus were different; they did not address the needs of small businesses or provide opportunities for how industry could assist Redstone organizations.
He said, “Over the years, the presenters have dramatically tailored their message to the industrial base, particularly to small businesses, ensuring that they better understand RSA missions and related business opportunities. These presentations now truly address industry needs by giving advance notice of where the federal government requires industry assistance with developing innovative technologies and solutions to achieve long-term goals and objectives.”
Former AMCOM commander Jim Rogers works for a large defense industry partner and while he was not able to attend APBI this year, as the vice president of Army programs for his company, he encouraged employees from all over the U.S. to register and tune into the virtual event.
Rogers concurs with Pennywell. He said APBI is much more robust than it was when he served at Redstone 2010 through 2012.
“Our business areas are from the west coast to the east coast, and it’s not only the people who have interest in doing business with Redstone, but also our supplier diversity, which is the folks who are looking for small businesses who want to do business with us. So you have the whole gamut of people on the line listening about what is going on at Redstone Arsenal.”
The next APBI will be held in spring 2023 and Lampkin said the planning will begin about eight months prior to the kickoff. He said he hopes to be in person next year, with a virtual option for attendees, but regardless of the forum, the intent of the event will not change, which is securing partnerships between the Department of Defense and the private sector.
“It’s important that we communicate with industry so they know where to direct their energy and resources,” Lampkin said. “It’s value added to them and it’s also value added to us on the government side, because we can communicate the technology we are looking for, what we are trying to do, where we see ourselves in five years and where we need industry to help us get these things done.”
Lampkin added, “We have to have industry continuously engaged in the organic industrial base, continuously engaged in the defense department and continuously delivering technology so we can remain ahead of our near-peer competitors.”
By Michelle Gordon
The Colorado-based manufacturer of lightweight and packable inflatable packrafts, Kokopelli, has returned its full Kevlar X-Series Packrafts. Available again with a re-launch of the Nirvana Self-Bailing X and Rogue-Lite X.
Designed as packrafts, the X-Series boats offer the best of both worlds, being stronger than their TPU constructed packrafts and lighter than the PVC ones while adding the DuPont Kevlar used for the flooring into the sidewalls for increased durability, rigidity and strength.
Kokopelli has also included Leafield D7 valves, used on most commercial whitewater rafts, and an automatic pressure relief valve to ensure proper PSI remains ideal regardless of the water conditions.
Consumers can add TiZip storage, allowing inner pontoon access to keep essential gear dry for multi-day trips. The Rogue-Lite X compresses down to the size of a paper towel roll, while the Nirvana Self-Bailing X can roll into the size of a sleeping bag with a class I-IV rating on rivers.
“The X-series boats truly elevate packrafts to a whole new level. Never before has there been such a perfect mix of durability, packability and performance in a lightweight package,” said Kokopelli General
Manager Jeff Popp. With these boats, you get similar durability to a hard-shell kayak at a fraction of the weight. The added ability to pack it and take it places you’d never be able to take a kayak is icing on the cake.”
The D7 valves on these boats also include a lifetime warranty, while the TiZip zipper includes a one-year warranty.
“As a whitewater kayaker, this is the closest performance to a traditional hard shell I’ve ever experienced, and I can put it in my backpack,” said Zach Patterson of Kokopelli.
For more product information, go here.
HMS Conqueror was a nuclear-powered attack submarine and one of the Royal Navy’s most powerful ships in the 1980s. As part of the Falkland Islands Re-taken operation, she sank the Argentine Navy light cruiser ARA General Belgrano. It was only the second submarine torpedo sinking since WWII.
After returning to the U.K., the Conqueror would be tasked to steal a secret sonar array from a Soviet Navy ship. It was code-named Operation Barmaid, and the nuclear-powered sub would be fitted with a special pair of remote-controlled heavy steel cutting blades and television cameras, so they could sneak up on a Russian spy trawler towing a sonar array and just cut it off and then float away.
During the Cold war, the U.S. and the U.K. had a significant advantage over the Soviets regarding submarine warfare. We had two different types of SONAR, Active and passive. Active sonar sends out pings, which travel through the ocean before returning to the ship that sent them. Active sonar pings and machinery noise are detected by passive sonar. Passive sonar is challenging to use effectively due to the ship’s noise, particularly the propeller noise. A mile or more behind a boat, passive sonars are used. The easiest way to put it active SONAR is to put pings out and wait to hear if it bounces off anything. Passive is when you drag a cable behind you that has a bunch of microphones(hydrophones) on it, and you listen.
They noticed that Russian submarines were becoming quieter and faster in the late 1970s and feared that they were not making enough progress in naval technology. Because the array itself made no noise, learning about it required sitting in front of one and dismantling it. So, the U.S. and U.K. decided to steal one to see if the one the Soviets had was anything like the one they used. The plan was to sneak up behind the towed ship, a Polish intelligence vessel, and use the pincers to free the array.
It was a complicated plan. First, the Conqueror, led by Captain Christopher Wreford-Brown, had to intercept a Soviet intelligence ship in international waters. Detected would have meant immediate, lethal retribution to cut through a three-inch-thick steel cable.
Second, the sub had to operate while both ships were moving. Third, the submarine had to avoid the passive SONAR array and remove it from the trawler without being seen.
The submarine was ordered to steal a two-mile string of hydrophones from a Polish-flagged spy trawler near Russian waters. Known as AGIs (Auxiliary General Intelligence), these trawlers were common during the Cold War, often disguised as fishing trawlers. But most had no fishing nets.
They used American-made pincers to make it look like it had snagged and been torn off accidentally; it would make a lot of small compression-type cuts and not just one straight throw cut again so it would look like it was ripped off and not cut. The Conqueror had to enter the ship’s blind spot and cut the cable just yards from the vessel and its propeller.
It was on station for a while during the cutting phase, all nonessential equipment was turned off, and all hands were not allowed to move from their assigned stations. Once the cable was cut, the sub started to sink from the extra weight of the cable, and the crew had to allow this to happen until they could get away from the trawler. Once they were far enough away, the Conqueror crew sent out divers to retrieve the cable after being sent to the U.S. for analysis.
According to Stuart Prebble’s book Secrets of the Conqueror, one minor miscalculation could have spelled disaster for the entire operation.
‘The control room was tense,’ said one crew member. We expected to be discovered at any time and were prepared to flee.’
The Conqueror had twice attempted to cut the cable from the boat before succeeding in August 1982. It did not take the U.S. long to realize that the cable was made to the specification as the ones used by the U.S. and U.K. It is believed that John Walker, who spied on the U.S. for the Russians from 1967-1985, was the person that gave them the information.
Now that’s what I call an Easter Basket!
