July 2025 | Soldier Systems Daily Soldier Systems Daily

Archive for July, 2025

BFG Wins DLA Contract for its VCAS Sling

Monday, July 7th, 2025

POOLER, GA. – Blue Force Gear, Inc. (“BFG”), the world leader in load carriage equipment innovation, is honored to announce they were the sole awardee of a Defense Logistics Agency contract for their legendary Vickers Sling, in support of the U.S. Marine Corps.

The competitively awarded contract recognizes Blue Force Gear’s proven track record of delivering superior equipment that meets the demanding requirements of military operations. The patented Vickers Combat Applications Sling (VCAS) has been extensively tested and validated by military personnel, establishing itself once again as the gold standard for weapon retention and a crucial accoutrement for small arms.

“We are honored to be Competitively Selected as the sole awardee for a contract with Defense Logistics Agency in support of the U.S. Marine Corps,” said Ashley Burnsed, CEO of Blue Force Gear. “We want to put the best products in the hands of our fine Marines, Soldiers, and Airmen that we trust to protect us. Our VCAS Sling has proven itself downrange countless times, and we’re proud to continue supporting those who serve our nation with unwavering dedication.”

Blue Force Gear was founded in 2004 with a commitment to serve the U.S. Armed Forces with domestically produced material and products manufactured on American soil. BFG has maintained an “Always Made In America” standard, ensuring that every product meets the highest quality?requirements while supporting American workers and manufacturing.

The Vickers Sling revolutionized the way automatic rifles are carried. Developed with former 1st SFOD-Delta operational member Larry Vickers, the VCAS Sling is a two-point quick adjust, tailless sling that bridges the gap between transporting and fighting in all fields of fire. When sized properly, the VCAS Sling becomes another point of contact, creating a more stable and reliable shooting position. The VCAS Sling has been in service for over a decade?with every branch of the U.S. military as well as many allies worldwide.

Standard Issue Vickers Sling™

Posted in Advertiser, Press Release, USMC, Weapon Accessories | Comments Off on BFG Wins DLA Contract for its VCAS Sling

Galvion CORTEX Offers Headborne Integration

Monday, July 7th, 2025

Galvion CEO Todd Stirtzinger looked at me and said, “We are not only going to transform how helmets are made, but how they are used.” That was how he opened our meeting during last month’s SOF Week in Tampa, Florida and it certainly got my attention.

He led me to a helmet with multiple enablers and began to explain Galvion’s digitally enabled smart helmet, CORTEX.

The project stemmed from development for the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory Future Integrated Dismounted Soldier Vision (FIDSV) program. Further work has been accomplished on behalf of US Special Operations Forces. Integration is an ongoing process.

What’s amazing about CORTEX is that a Soldier can dump out his bag of kit and Galvion can integrate it, digitally. Enablers like smart watches, biometric sensors, strobes, laser detection systems, night vision, and thermal optics are no problem. They’ve encountered it all. The system is hardware agnostic and relies upon software, cables, and connectors to act as bridgeware so that everything comes together as a system, no matter who manufactured it. It is both modular and scalable and offers both data and power management.

Using the helmet as a platform, edge processing is accomplished with a module featuring an internal battery and purpose-built android-based operating system which is compatible with Tactical Awareness Kit, the de facto command and control interface for the Dismounted Soldier. This increases Soldier acceptance and facilitates faster integration of new systems.

CORTEX is powerful. It will automatically detect whether a visual augmentation system is compatible with Augmented Reality inputs. This places key data in the VAS field of view, in the direction it is found in real life. Key ATAK functions can be accessed with a quick button press via the built-in 4-key controller at the temple, eliminating the need to open the EUD. This moves the data from the usual torso mount and puts it in front of the eye so the Soldier can concentrate on the battlespace.

Everything is streamlined to make the data more digestible. There’s nothing worse than being overwhelmed with extraneous data and icons cluttering the field of view. Consequently, the AlertCentr plugin for ATAK is configurable by the Soldier who can setup multiple profiles for different phases of a mission. Navigation waypoints, target data, blue as well as red force information, and drone feeds can all be toggled data on and off based on what is needed for the task at hand.

With multiple system communication protocol options (USB, ISW, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi) and onboard battery, CORTEX is designed to fit Galvion’s Caiman and Hellbender helmets, although it has also been integrated unto select helmets from other manufacturers, based on customer needs.

With a combination of cabling running under rails (VAS connector, 4-key controller, Laser Sensor) as well as some exposed connection cabling, Galvion informs me that in the not-too-distant future, cables won’t be visible. They’ll be incorporated inside. As Mr Stirtzinger alluded to in his opening statement to me, Galvion is going to change the way helmets are made. The result will be a more elegant way to integrate power and data into the helmet.

The system is already fielded in limited numbers with interest growing. Integration with new peripherals continues, along with functionality as more customers adopt the CORTEX ecosphere.

www.galvion.com

Posted in Digitization, Helmets, Power | 2 Comments »

AV-14 Infantry FPV Goggle

Monday, July 7th, 2025

Introducing the AV-14 from Ascend ISR, the First American-Made FPV Goggle System.

The Ascend ISR Systems AV-14 is a rugged, low-profile FPV monocular developed at the request of a U.S. Army Special Warfare Group seeking a combat-ready FPV solution that integrates directly into their equipment ecosystem. Designed for drone operators and dismounted teams alike, it delivers unmatched situational awareness in a compact, durable package.

Built from aerospace-grade 7075-T6 aluminum, the AV-14 is machined for the unforgiving tempo of light infantry operations. Integrated dovetails are cut directly into the housing, enabling native compatibility with Wilcox G24 mounts, J-Arms, PanoBridges, and virtually all industry standard PVS-14-style mounting systems. Powered by a single 18650 rechargeable battery, the AV-14 delivers five hours of continuous runtime.

The AV-14 is compatible with ALL analog FPV systems currently on the market. Operational with a flick of the switch, the AV-14 offers instantaneous boot-up and can toggle on the fly between RGB and thermal views when paired with upcoming our aerial platforms.

ascendisr.com/products/av-14-infantry-fpv-goggle

Posted in Optics, UAS | Comments Off on AV-14 Infantry FPV Goggle

Commentary on a Concept to Create US Cyber Force

Sunday, July 6th, 2025

This is where I provide some commentary on commentary and originally appeared in Soldier Systems Digest, Vol 5, Issue 26.

The Pentagon knows its cyber force model is broken. Here’s how to fix it

The authors of this article revive the argument for establishing a US Cyber Force. I agree, except that the designation of Cyberspace as the fifth warfighting domain was myopic in the first place and establishing a “Cyber” force only gets part of the job done.

The reality is that Cyber is SIGINT by other means and that SIGINT is one of many elements of electromagnetic warfare. The EM spectrum is the true fifth domain.

To solve our current shortfalls, we must look to the past to face the future.

First, establish the US Security Service (USSS) as the sixth military service with specialization in offensive Cyber, Electromagnetic Warfare, and SIGINT. This requires a fix to the Title 10 / Title 50 issues which caused this bifurcation of effort in the first place.

Second, reconstitute service level versions of the Security Service which were stood down and merged with other Intel organizations in the 70s and 80s. Like the USSS, these service elements will provide offensive Cyber, EW, and SIGINT capabilities to support their own service branch.

Third, merge the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command once again into a single entity with additional technical control over Electromagnetic Warfare and an understanding that this entity controls offensive actions in addition to collection. Once again, the tweaking of Title 10 / Title 50 issues is critical.

Fourth, leave cyber security to the services as they establish and manage their own networks.

The new US Security Service will provide the National Cyber Force as well as the lead on national level EMS collection efforts and EW policy and execution. It will also provide forces to support joint warfighting at the Strategic, Operational, and Tactical Levels. Finally, it will establish a SOF component to support properly USSOCOM with a full seat at the table.

Unfortunately, cyber has become a generic term used by operations personnel to describe the full gamut of EW activities. While CEMA has been used here in the US as well as in the UK, Cyber ElectroMagnetic Activites seems to have lost favor even though it better describes the capability. As EW elements are embedded in Army formations under the Transformation In Contact initiative, Army combat arms Soldiers and Leaders will begin to use the term EW to generically refer to what is, EW. Unfortunately, they won’t be getting everything. The Army’s concept of EW is a stripped down capability which provides elementary direction finding and jamming, which makes it a hammer when it could be a scalpel. Signals will be geolocated without ample characterization and either jammed or passed to fires for destruction. This will invariably lead to the denial of exploitable nodes or the destruction of deceptive emitters while the real ones escape notice.

The Army is actually exacerbating the issue. The Army is combining USAREUR’s 2nd Multi-Domain Task Force with the 56th Artillery Command referring to “cyber” and traditional fires and defensive and offensive fires. The Army got the CEMA element correct in the 2nd MDTF, combining Cyber, EW, and SI in one organization. The danger is placing all of that capability under a commander who only understands that targets get destroyed.

–Eric Graves
Founder
SSD

Posted in Army, CEMA, Cyber, EW | 10 Comments »

US Army Releases TC 3-20.31-040 Direct Fire Kill Chain

Sunday, July 6th, 2025

The recently released TC 3-20.31-040 Direct Fire Kill Chain provides the standardized direct fire kill chain for crews, teams, squads, and small units. It provides coordinating principles for the actions of these entities that serve to establish cohesion through a common, standardized engagement process. The concepts in this training circular apply to all direct fire weapons, weapon systems, and small units in the armored brigade combat team, Stryker brigade combat team, and Infantry brigade combat team. This training circular is intended for all Army personnel, commanders, and staffs for use at Soldier through brigade combat team levels.

The purpose of the direct fire kill chain is to provide a standard description of all the tasks and actions of the firers, teams, squads, crews, and platoons employing direct fire weapon systems. This allows Soldiers and leaders to maximize the effects of lethal fires against any threat while simultaneously reducing or eliminating fratricide and collateral damage.

The direct fire kill chain is a deliberate, ongoing series of interconnected tasks, actions, and functions that enable the rapid and effective application of the appropriate combat power on a confirmed threat to achieve the desired tactical effects on the target.

Get your copy at armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN44092-TC_3-20.31-040-000-WEB-1.

Posted in Army, Profession of Arms | Comments Off on US Army Releases TC 3-20.31-040 Direct Fire Kill Chain

250 Years of Army Uniforms with Beetle Bailey

Sunday, July 6th, 2025

Who better to showcase 250 years of Army uniforms than the iconic Beetle Bailey?

Since 1950, Beetle Bailey has brought laughs to generations of Soldiers and civilians alike. Take a look back at how this iconic character has evolved over the decades.

Courtesy of US Army

Posted in Army, History | 3 Comments »

Saturday Night Feature: Special Operations Weatherman Documentary 1968 (USAF SOWT)

Sunday, July 6th, 2025

Posted in AFSW, Air Force, History | Comments Off on Saturday Night Feature: Special Operations Weatherman Documentary 1968 (USAF SOWT)

What is a Reconnaissance Operations Commander?

Saturday, July 5th, 2025

This video by 2 Lt Mathieu Sly discusses the Reconnaissance Operations Commander course, one of the most challenging and rewarding training programs in the Canadian Army.

Posted in Forces Focus, International, Training | Comments Off on What is a Reconnaissance Operations Commander?