A unique waterproof fuel used by British soldiers to heat their rations and warm their drinks is set to spark interest at next week’s EUROSATORY event in Villepinte, France (13-17 June).
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) have awarded a four year contract to the UK-based survival equipment specialists, BCB International Ltd (Hall 6 G798), for the supply of a new operational ration cooker and fuel. BCB’s ‘FireDragon’ fuel is an innovative solid biofuel made from ethanol.
The contract marks a move away from hexamine fuel which the British Army supplied to troops for over forty years for cooking in the field. Hexamine was a potentially dangerous and outdated substance.
As BCB’s Managing Director, Andrew Howell, explained the fuel had to meet the UK MoD’s robust and rigorous requirements: “The UK MoD were looking for a solution that amongst other things was lightweight, could boil 500ml of water in under 11 minutes, was easy to light and extinguish, burned cleanly and is easily transportable. Our solution which includes a new folding cooker and a fuel pack weighs less than 300g and the FireDragon fuel will boil 500ml of water in under 8 minutes.”
Mr. Howell confirmed that other Armed Forces that currently issue their soldiers with Hexamine are taking a close look at BCB’s FireDragon fuel: “More and more Armies are taking a long hard look at the drawbacks of Hexamine and a second look at the benefits of FireDragon. The ‘FireDragon’ fuel is good news for their troops. It will enable their soldiers to cook their ready to eat meals with a safer and cleaner fuel. Our fuel is non-toxic, non-drip and made from 100% natural ingredients, including sustainably sourced ethanol. FireDragon is patented worldwide. It burns cleanly and leaves very little residue; thereby allowing soldiers to spend less time on cleaning their cooking equipment and more time on their vital operational roles. The fuel can be packed with rations which will help reduce transport costs.”
“Wherever they operate, whether in driving rain, the freezing arctic or searing heat, the fuel will enable soldiers to heat their rations whenever required.”
Tags: BCB
It’s very good stuff, a lot better than Hexi and the tablets can be used a aha d cleaner…
* a hand cleaner
Oh God. Flashback triggers trying to scrub off those damn stains off the cups canteen with tiny brillo pads that came with the ADF ration packs.
It was worth the $9 to go buy a new on to turn in to CIF. I think I retired with like 5 blackened canteen cups.
Sounds like badmin more than anything else…
…and PC/Green hippie trash makes its way to military ration heating. All the good buzzwords like: sustainable, carbon neutral, non-toxic, etc.
…and heating up drinks? You mean heating up tea. It’s like Prayer time to the Brits. “We’ll hit the OBJ, enshallah, after tea time!”
I’ve had Brit rations and I was overjoyed that it had all this stuff in it it was like twice as big as an MRE. Like 30 tea bags, that I chucked. Then, I found out it was an entire day’s ration and I wanted my MREs back! Felt jipped!
Yeah screw all these new, clean, more efficient methods and their less wasteful materials… let’s go back to the good ol days of trying to light the planet on fire instead. Then we can boil water for tea anywhere and won’t have to worry about winter stopping us from wearing our flippy floppies!
Obviously a true believer…
You won’t have to worry about flip flops, you’ll only need to know how to swim.
“Hexamine was a potentially dangerous and outdated substance.”
Ha! I know what that means (rhymes with flapper)
If people weren’t careful with their hygiene then they could go down with Hexi poisoning, which although not life threatening isn’t very pleasant in the slightest
Got a few blocks here to try out. According to BCB when they contacted me, the old blocks used to give off a bit of cyanide when burnt. So yeah, anything that doesn’t do that (and hopefully lights easier) is a big win compared to hexi blocks.