In 2009, the Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group undertook a Soldier’s Load Assessment to make our Army more agile. We posted a list of the equipment that they fielded to a deployed battalion in Afghanistan as a test. If you ever wanted to know the rest of the story you can read it now thanks to ADS who was central to the quick turn around on this project. They have published an excellent (if we do say so) history of the subject and it can be downloaded as a PDF document.
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This free webinar is presented by IDGA in conjunction with Kaysun Corporation on September 21, 2010 at 12:00:00 PM EDT. Kaysun’s CEO Benjamin Harrison and Sales Engineer Mario Del Real will discuss how plastics can be used to help lighten the load.
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We recently learned about Hyperlite Mountain Gear which manufacturers ultra lightweight shelters made from Cuben fiber, a non-woven material used as sail cloth. They offer packs as well as one and two-man shelters and tarps including their flagship ECHO I Ultralight Shelter System. Consisting of a Cuben fiber tarp, a detachable mesh tent insert for insect and ground water protection, and a detachable vestibule for wind and storm protection, the ECHO I weighs a scant 1.36 lbs (21.8 oz) with guy lines. Don’t let the photo with the white color turn you off. Cuben fiber can be dyed virtually any color. In fact, Hyperlite Mountain Gear has a digital camo version.
BAE Systems has developed a new equipment ensemble that sheds 35% of the weight burden carried by current Soldiers. ULW focuses on five key product areas including helmet, vest/soft body armor, armor plates, load carrying equipment, and an integrated power supply.
“What ULW provides to the armed forces is options,” said Sean Martin, Business Development Director for BAE Systems’ Personnel Protection Systems business. “ULW is a flexible, modular soldier equipment platform that can be modified a number of ways, and provides multiple mission-specific options. Its ergonomic design features new, lighter weight advanced materials, which provide greater comfort and needed mobility without sacrificing protection.”
In addition to lightweight versions of the Advanced Combat Helmet and body armor systems, ULW offers something that current equipment does not; the “Integrated Power System”, a wearable power supply that is conformal in shape to the armor plates. Additionally, the recharge system is compatible with both NATO standard 28 VDC slave cables as well as 110/120 VAC shore power.
The ULW system is on display at both Eurostatory and SOFIC. If you are in Tampa, be sure to drop by their booth #1515 to check out not only ULW but also BAE is unveiling the Sentinel off-road patrol vehicle.
There have been numerous questions floating about the equipment chosen for the Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group fielding of a battalion’s worth of lightweight COTS equipment to the 4th ID for their current deployment to Afghanistan. In an effort to dispel any rumors, we got a list of the equipment issued but have removed sensitive materials including any references to armor.
See the entire list after the jump.
Wearing their Rapid Equipping Force hat, The Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group set about to assemble a package of Commercial Off the Shelf Soldier Systems equipment to conduct a demonstration with members of the 4th Infantry Division deploying to Afghanistan. The aim was to demonstrate that these alternative technologies will enhance the combat effectiveness of our troops fighting in the brutal terrain of Afghanistan.
Unfortunately, a long brewing battle between the Army’s Acquisition community and the REF seemed to come to a head two weeks ago when the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology halted the shipment of the equipment package into theater and began to ask some very pointed questions about the capability of the armor package chosen. Long-term friction has come about as the REF continues to conduct rapid identification, assessment, and fielding of critical warfighting technologies while the traditional acquisition system takes a much more methodical approach and fielding of new systems requires longer lead times.
The system in question is the MBAV cutaway plate carrier produced by Eagle Industries used in conjunction with a hard plate only certified for use by USSOCOM. All of this is fully in the Army’s purview and unknown to most sitting on the sidelines of this issue, PEO-Soldier is in the midst of an evaluation of five cut away armor plate carriers. It is highly probable that the cutaway system chosen by AWG is also a candidate in this PEO-Soldier evaluation.
The situation seemed to take on a life of its own and after two weeks of consideration the Army has chosen to field the experimental package and it will be shipped for use by 480 Soldiers across two battalions of the deploying 4th ID. According to Army sources, short notice testing was completed to provide a safety release of the equipment. However, the new lightweight hard armor plates used by SOCOM will be replaced by the Army’s current issue plates.
Data collection will be accomplished by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab.
With over 24,000 hits yesterday, it was impossible to make final adjustments to the shopping cart system but you can now at least look at their wares. However, they won’t be able to take orders until Monday thanks to an IT contractor. Now I know why I used to pick on the AV club guys in High School.
At the OR Summer Market last August we took a look at a dizzying amount of fabrics. For us, only one or two really stuck out. One such fabric was from Cubic Tech Corp. Primarily they are sail cloth manufacturers and their product was used to bring the America’s Cup home to the USA. Non-woven flexible composites made from Cuben Fiber offer customizable ply orientations which afford directional stability and strength, as well as real rip-stop. A broad selection of films add the flexibility of an array of properties including toughness, low gas permeability, and visible & UV light protection. The material is intended to be glued rather than sewn and this could ultimately lead to stronger as well as lighter equipment.
Is the market ready for this yet? Not completely, but we hope that someone will take up the charge and try it out. Arc’teryx has already released a pack with welded seams on the commercial market and issue dry bags feature RF welded seams. At least initially we expect for such products to be for very specialized applications, but as the technology is refined perhaps one day everyone will carry equipment manufactured from ultra lightweight fabrics engineered specifically for the application.
They can even offer laminates in colors.
Check out Cubic Tech Corp for more info.
