SIG MMG 338 Program Series

Archive for October, 2022

Allen-Vanguard Fit Vital ECM Equipment to 19 Vehicles Supporting a Peacekeeping Mission in Africa

Monday, October 31st, 2022

Allen-Vanguard, a global leader in providing customized solutions for defeating Radio Frequency (RF) based terrorist and extremist threats, has fitted vital life-saving ECM equipment to 19 vehicles for an African nation that is a major contributor to peacekeeping missions in Africa. The Allen-Vanguard Field Service Representative (FSR) team has been deployed in-theatre for over a month to supervise the equipment installation and to provide essential end-user and maintenance support training.

A key component of the protection provided by Allen-Vanguard ECM comes from the hard work of the Threat Management Team (TMT). This is a full-time cell of specialist RF engineers and ECM/EOD SMEs whose sole job is to remain abreast of the RCIED & Drone threats and to ensure Allen- Vanguard’s ECM capabilities deliver maximum protection. This team uses world-leading open-source data and operational feedback from deployed assets to monitor regional threat trends for RCIEDs and Drones. Threats are then analysed, characterized and exploited to identify their weaknesses that can be used in the development of waveforms to most effectively defeat that threat. The 19 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), which have a peacekeeping role, have been fitted with Allen- Vanguard’s highly versatile and fully programmable 3XXX ECM suite. This equipment operates Allen-Vanguards core ECM technology which has been operationally proven both in the African region and globally and is updated with the latest waveforms produced by the TMT.

Allen-Vanguard has over a decade of experience in providing African Union countries, and those other nations operating in the region, with superior ECM protection using the full range of their RF dominating products. A vital component to the successful deployment and use of this life-saving capability is the Allen-Vanguard FSR team. These are experts in their field who convert the risk profile and mission requirements of the customer into the required ECM capability to be fitted, and then ensure this configuration delivers maximum protection for the deployed troops. The FSRs not only design the protection portfolio and then supervise the installation but also provide the essential end-user training and support the maintenance capability to ensure the ECM is both up to date with the latest threat software but also deployed nations can correctly test and maintain their own equipment.

Allen-Vanguard’s Business Director for Africa, Stuart Wilson, said “I am very proud of the hard work and dedication of all our Allen-Vanguard specialists to ensure that the ECM systems we fit for our customers provide the very latest and best possible protection in the region. It is very rewarding to know that our systems help protect our customers from the very real threat of IEDs in the region.”

GA-ASI to Deliver MQ-9A Reapers to Poland

Monday, October 31st, 2022

World-Leading RPA Capabilities Will Fortify Poland’s National Defense and Security

SAN DIEGO – 31 October 2022 – As part of a lease agreement, Poland will take delivery of MQ-9A Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI). The new agreement between GA-ASI and the Polish Ministry of Defence has a net value of $70.6 million.

“GA-ASI’s support for Poland and the NATO alliance is steadfast as they confront the ongoing war in the region,” said GA-ASI CEO Linden Blue. “We look forward to delivering our proven MQ-9A platform system to Poland to enhance the nation’s ability to conduct persistent airborne ISR and support its Defense Forces.”  

MQ-9A Reapers are operated by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain. GA-ASI’s newer MQ-9B variant has been acquired by the UK and Belgium. The MQ-9B maritime surveillance configuration (SeaGuardian®) recently began operations in support of the Japan Coast Guard.

MQ-9A Reaper has endurance of over 27 hours, speeds of 240 KTAS and can operate up to 50,000 feet. It has a 3,850-pound (1,746-kilogram) payload capacity that includes 3,000 pounds (1,361 kilograms) of external stores. It provides a long-endurance, persistent surveillance capability with Full-Motion Video and Synthetic Aperture Radar/Moving Target Indicator/Maritime Radar. An extremely reliable aircraft, MQ-9A Block 5 is equipped with a fault-tolerant flight control system and triple redundant avionics system architecture. It is engineered to meet and exceed manned aircraft reliability standards.

Huckberry x Merrell Moab 3 Smooth GTX

Monday, October 31st, 2022

For years the Merrell Moab was a go-to boot and although it has been updated over time, it seems to have fallen out of favor.

Huckberry has teamed up with Merrell to offer a version of the MOAB in Aluminum, which looks kind tannish. The only issue the tactical user should have are the Blue laces, but that’s an easy fix.

Features:

-Super breathable GORE-TEX® waterproof membrane

-Uppers made from full-grain leather and breathable mesh

-Non-marking Vibram® TC5+ outsole delivers an all-around balance of grip, traction, durability, and flexibility

-Bellows tongue keeps out debris

-Toe cap for ultimate protection

-Breathable mesh lining, laces, and webbing all made entirely from recycled materials

-Kinetic Fit™ ADVANCED removable contoured footbed with reinforced heel cushioning

-Molded nylon arch shank

-Merrell Air Cushion in the heel absorbs shock and adds stability

-Super Rebound Compound provides durable shock absorption in the heel to help reduce torque and allow for a smooth transition into the midfoot

huckberry.com/store/merrell/category/p/71991-moab-smooth-gtx-exclusive

SOFWERX x Joint Special Operations University Geopolitical Mapping & Social Network Analytics Collaboration Event

Monday, October 31st, 2022

Do you have expertise in geopolitical mapping and social network analysis?

SOFWERX, in collaboration with USSOCOM and the Joint Special Operations University (JSOU), will host a series of events in November to find solutions for a Geographic Information System (GIS) generated Geopolitical Toolkit and associated Social Network Analysis to help SOF professionals assess and visualize where geopolitical flashpoints might emerge. 

Warfighters will interact with potential solution offerors and further communicate operational needs and desirements. The goal is develop GIS-generated Geopolitical Toolkit (or atlas) and social network analysis to help SOF professionals assess and visualize where geopolitical flashpoints might emerge. The prototype must be baselined on the Campaign Plan for Global SOF Operations (CP-GSO). The aim is a single operating picture that combines the GIS-generated Geopolitical Toolkit, leveraging data analytics to construct network models that inform SOF interventions.

Request to Attend NLT 16 November 2022 11:59 PM ET

More information at events.sofwerx.org/map.

Aspetto, Inc Also Catering To K9s

Monday, October 31st, 2022

We’ve always had you covered from head-to-toe at Aspetto with everything from gear, ballistics, and other wearable tech. Now, we do the same for your K9 unit. Aspetto is proudly partnering with state-of-the-art canine companies such as Recon K9 (known for creating unique and specialized gear for dogs) as well as GUNNER kennels.

CEO Joe Graves gladly linked up with Aspetto EXCLUSIVELY this year to offer GUNNER Kennels through their GSA schedule (GS-07F-146GA). “We’re thrilled to be able to bring America’s safest kennel to our military members and first responders on such a large scale.” This means Aspetto can outfit entire K9 teams with every solution necessary – the proverbial “one-stop-shop”.

The double-walled GUNNER Kennel line boasts the highest crash-test safety rating out of any other kennel. The GUNNER testimonials prove the survival rate of their passengers; and with customizable sizes, your K9 can be guaranteed a good fit. In addition, the accessories assure the utmost comfort for your dog. You can add a bar-mount fan, water dish, bite guards, weather shields, and different comfort pads based on what you need. Being able to get a laser-engraved name plate for your dog is the cherry on top.

Just like both GUNNER and Recon K9, Aspetto also wants to see your furry Co-Pilot be as comfortable and safe as possible. See for yourself the nearly 30,000 products available to your unit and outfit yourselves with the best brands on the block at Aspetto’s GSA Catalog!

G-Code Firebase

Monday, October 31st, 2022

It’s like a cushioned rubber boot for your mag. Grippy tread stabilizes on any surface angle.

Designed to fit multiple magazines.

Sold in pairs in Black, Coyote and Ranger Green.

www.tacticalholsters.com/product/firebase

Cold War Veterans Promote Knowledge Sharing at Future Force Experiment

Monday, October 31st, 2022

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Bill Veitch, Jim Bailey and Russell Lange are expert military analysts who intimately understand the challenges the Army and its sister services are likely to face in the next 10-20 years. As Cold War Veterans and former air defense artillery Soldiers, the trio have firsthand experience preparing for the potential of major operations against formidable adversaries.

“We can drill down on the growing pains that the Army is having as it modernizes, coming out of counter-insurgency and going into large-scale combat operations,” said Veitch, an operations research/systems analyst with 49 years of experience working for the Army, including 28 years of experience serving as a Soldier.

Given their enduring commitment to the Army, the careers of Veitch, Bailey and Lange collectively represent roughly 130 years’ worth of military insights — insights they are now leveraging, along with a keen awareness of the changing nature of warfare, to help prepare future generations of warfighters.

“Most of the Soldiers today, their basis of experience is brigade-centric, because the brigade was the unit of action throughout the wars in the Middle East. But in the Cold War, the division and the corps were the central building blocks of combat power,” Lange explained.

Veitch, Bailey and Lange, who work for the U.S. Army Joint Modernization Command, have played an integral role in ensuring that Project Convergence 22, an all-service and multinational innovation experiment currently taking place at U.S. military installations across the Western United States, is actively utilizing, disseminating and preserving valuable warfighting knowledge.

New to the experiment’s data collection and analysis efforts this year is the Table of Knowledge, or ToK, an on-site group of military professionals with specialized technical skills who can directly inform and troubleshoot experimentation.

“During PC21, we identified a big gap within the way that we collected data and the way that we conveyed the message back to the leadership,” said Bailey, lead analyst for Scenario Alpha of PC22. “We weren’t really presenting the facts in the correct languages.”

To remedy the issue ahead of PC22, Bailey brainstormed solutions with Lange and Veitch, eventually coming up with the Table of Knowledge concept, which promotes sharing and integration of field experience and technological expertise. Representatives from Army Futures Command’s Capabilities Development Integration Directorates, or CDIDs, populate the table, providing a centralized and easily accessible resource for robust information on capabilities ranging from fires, air defense artillery, cyber and intelligence to maneuver and sustainment.

“They serve as subject matter experts, so that when an issue or problem occurs in the [exercise control center], we have the right people in this ToK to start troubleshooting and pursuing a response or an answer to the issue,” Lange said, referring to the many activities being monitored simultaneously by the experiment’s exercise control center.

“It’s like a think tank,” Bailey said of the effort. “We do a lot of cross-domain talk.”

Whether addressing an issue through the perspective of multiple areas of expertise or via one specific lens, the ToK was built to offer highly customizable information.

“It’s a Swiss Army knife,” Veitch said.

The presence of CDID points of contact at PC22 also means CDID commanders located around the country can quickly obtain information on how experimentation is progressing. At the same time, experiment participants can draw on CDID expertise to resolve any gaps in understanding.

Individuals occupying seats at the ToK are not only well-versed in their subject matter, but also eager to ensure others comprehend and are able to apply useful information.

“These are the up-and-coming captains and majors who are going to lead the Army of 2030,” Veitch said. “They’re seeing firsthand where modernization is going, how it is going to impact them and what they can do to influence it.”

Capt. Jessica Burris of the Intelligence CDID is one of the ToK experts assisting PC22 participants with inquiries related to new technologies undergoing assessment. Since the start of the experiment, she has been busy providing guidance on aspects of sophisticated sensor-to-shooter systems and other prototypes that rely on intelligence collection, processing, exploitation, and dissemination to operate.

“It’s incredibly beneficial,” Burris said of the ToK, adding that the availability of subject matter experts “provides a lot more context to issues or situations with pre-prototypes.”

Burris added that CDIDs are especially well-suited to offer guidance because they are the organizations within the Army tasked with developing new capability requirements, and have a thorough understanding of how in-development technologies and solutions should be operating.

Omar Gutierrez, an operations research/systems analyst with The Research and Analysis Center, has been working alongside the ToK and has observed just how influential the new resource can be.

“Every conversation I listen in on is rich,” he said of the interactions observed, noting that experts are consistently purposeful about “talking through an integration lens.”

Gutierrez has also seen how conversations that take place at the table encourage a more holistic appreciation of what the event’s various experiments collectively aim to accomplish.

“The operational ‘so what’ — that matters a lot,” Gutierrez said.

By Maureena Thompson, Army Futures Command

Growing Additive Manufacturing Maturity for Airbreathing Hypersonics (GAMMA-H) Prototype an Opportunity to Propel Manufacturing to Hypersonic Systems

Sunday, October 30th, 2022

The Department of Defense (DoD) is requesting prototype solutions for its Growing Additive Manufacturing Maturity for Airbreathing Hypersonics (GAMMA-H) challenge as part of the Department’s ongoing efforts to expand current manufacturing processes to intricate hypersonic weapons parts.

Currently, traditional manufacturing processes are unable to meet the intricate geometric specifications that advanced hypersonics require. GAMMA-H will contribute towards advancing additive manufacturing processes that can meet the propulsion and temperature requirements that modern hypersonic airbreathing systems demand. “We need to be pushing the envelope with materials produced using the additive manufacturing process” stated Keith DeVries, Deputy Director of the OSD Manufacturing Technology Program (ManTech). “The science has proven it’s possible, but the practice is not widespread enough. GAMMA-H will encourage further adoptions of this groundbreaking technology,” he said.

The objective of GAMMA-H is not only to decrease the number of individual parts that need inspection, shipment, and construction through additive manufacturing, but also to give small businesses and non-traditional defense contractors opportunities to engage in defense manufacturing. “GAMMA-H solutions will bring significant improvements to how we apply additive manufacturing to airbreathing hypersonics. This will only be achieved through the partnership of large companies, small businesses, and academia,” noted DeVries. He added, “We are very interested in expanding our roster of partners — of all sizes — that are contributing to the hypersonic mission.”

The GAMMA-H Request For Solutions (RFS) was released in October 2022, National Manufacturing Month. Supported by the Fabricators and Manufacturers’ Association (FMA) along with the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Manufacturing Month is a national effort to promote manufacturing practices and processes, as well as to highlight efforts across the nation to train the workforce needed to support domestic manufacturing.

“National Manufacturing Month gives a voice to the national manufacturing base and encourages the small and medium manufacturing base to engage in all advanced manufacturing practices,” stated DeVries. “By tapping into the innovations of our advanced manufacturing base, the DoD will be better positioned to solve the hypersonics airbreathing maturation challenge.”

The GAMMA-H prototype opportunity is scheduled to be released through an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) vehicle from the Strategic & Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S2MARTS) with joint support from OSD Manufacturing Technology Program (ManTech) office.

About S2MARTS

Managed by the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL), the Strategic & Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems (S²MARTS) is the premier rapid OT contracting vehicle for the Department of Defense (DoD) in trusted microelectronics, strategic & spectrum mission, and other critical mission areas.

Learn more about S²MARTS and explore open opportunities at s2marts.org. To be notified when new S²MARTS opportunities are posted, subscribe to NSTXL and they will be sent to your inbox, no membership required.

About OSD ManTech

The Office of the Secretary of Defense Manufacturing Technology (OSD ManTech) Program seeks to enhance the national security of the United States by furthering advanced manufacturing technologies and processes through joint, interagency, and public-private collaborations. Located within the Science and Technology Futures Program under the Office of Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the OSD ManTech Program focuses heavily on satisfying the manufacturing technology needs for the DoD’s critical technology areas. These areas include Biotechnology, Quantum Science, Future Generation Wireless Technology (FutureG), Advanced Materials, Trusted AI and Autonomy, Integrated Network Systems-of-Systems, Microelectronics, Space Technology, Renewable Energy Generation and Storage, Advanced Computing and Software, Human-Machine Interfaces, Directed Energy, Hypersonics, and Integrated Sensing and Cyber.

About USD(R&E)

The Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)) is the Chief Technology Officer of the Department of Defense. The USD(R&E) champions research, science, technology, engineering, and innovation to maintain the United States military’s technological advantage. Learn more at www.cto.mil, follow us on Twitter @DoDCTO, or visit us on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/ousdre.