This Red, White and Blue plate carrier is made from 500D Cordura and is outfitted with an integrated kangaroo M4 mag pouch, 3D spacer mesh padded shoulder pads, PALS webbing along the cummerbund and kangaroo pouch, and laser cut PALS loop panels.
www.shellbacktactical.com/shellback-tactical-stars-and-stripes-plate-carrier-preorder
Rheinmetall has unveiled the first of three Lynx KF41 Infantry Fighting Vehicles designed, developed and manufactured for the Commonwealth of Australia’s $AUD18.1 billion (11.1 MrdEUR) Land 400 Phase 3 program.
Lynx is a next generation tracked, digitised and highly protected Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) built to meet the stringent military requirements of Land 400 Phase 3. The Australian Army needs a new IFV for close combat to close in and defeat an enemy in the most dangerous and lethal environments for Australian soldiers.
Rheinmetall is delivering each of the Lynx vehicles to compete in the test and evaluation trials as part of the Risk Mitigation Activity (RMA) to be conducted around Australia over a 12 month timeframe from November 2020. If successful, the Lynx fleet will be manufactured in Queensland at Rheinmetall’s new Military Vehicle Centre of Excellence (MILVEHCOE) at Redbank south-west of Brisbane.
The RMA trials will incorporate a range of tests including lethality, mobility and protection. The vehicle unveiled will be the focus of blast testing at a dedicated Commonwealth facility in coming months.
Lynx was unveiled at a closed ceremony with selected Australian industry partners at the MILVEHCOE. Each of the Lynx vehicles delivered into the RMA trials will incorporate a significant level of Australian industry content and local partners to the Rheinmetall offer for Land 400 Phase 3 will be announced in coming weeks.
“Rheinmetall looks forward to demonstrating the capability of this next generation infantry fighting vehicle,” said Rheinmetall Defence Australia Managing Director Gary Stewart. “We believe Lynx is the best vehicle in its class and sets a new standard in protection and the lethality needed to survive and defeat any adversary.
“Lynx has been developed so it is positioned at an ideal level of maturity when Australia needs it to enter service – and it will have a growth path to extend these capabilities through its 40-year life.”
Lynx has been selected by the Hungarian Armed Forces for the delivery of more than 200 vehicles in the first launch order for the vehicle globally. Rheinmetall Defence Australia will export turrets to the value of $150 million manufactured by Australians – and will soon announce further export orders into the Hungarian program including orders for Australian SMEs.
Rheinmetall is delivering 211 8×8 Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRV) to the Australian Army after the vehicle was selected by the Commonwealth after 12 months of RMA trials by Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel in 2016-2017.
The company is establishing a local industrial capability in Australia for the design, development and manufacture of military vehicles that creates high technology enduring jobs for hundreds of Australians by localising design and manufacturing expertise in electro-optics, weapon systems, fire control and sensor systems, turret manufacturing, variant design and manufacture, integration, armour systems, simulation, training and fleet sustainment.
“Design, development and manufacture of the Lynx in Australia for the ADF will build on the advanced manufacturing jobs at our new MILVEHCOE, as well as a strong industrial network of SMEs across Australia,” Mr Stewart said.
Both the Boxer and Lynx are modular. That means the vehicle can be split in two, with a mission module sitting on a common drive module. This allows for swap out of mission modules for operational needs, reducing through-life cost for the introduction of new technology, and ongoing fleet management.
“Rheinmetall has taken all of the significant benefits of the Boxer and ensured they are part of the Lynx KF41 package,” Mr Stewart said.
“Our partnership with Army and the Commonwealth to deliver the Boxer for Land 400 Phase 2 presents the opportunity to deliver develop a complete armoured vehicle fighting force for the ADF.”
Based on a comprehensive understanding of today’s most realistic threats faced by homeland and private security professionals, PPSS Group have today announced an official replacement for their highly acclaimed polycarbonate-based stab resistant body armour.
The firm’s product video, featuring the CEO Robert Kaiser being beaten and stabbed wearing the body armour is widely regarded as ‘physical evidence’ of its precise performance level and quality.
Kaiser said: “Following years of relentless R&D we have concluded that Polycarbonate as a raw material is, or at some point will no longer be good enough. Its lack of certified spike protection resulted in it becoming ‘morally’ very difficult for us. We learned to accept that improved protection from knives, machetes, razor blades, shanks and indeed spikes was needed.”
“We concluded that carbon fibre composites are the only real reliable and forward-thinking solution. Carbon fibre is enabling us to offer truly superior levels of stab protection alongside substantial weight reduction, lower thickness, and finally also fully certified spike protection. This at no extra cost”
According to their CEO, certified spike protection is crucial, especially to correctional and prison officers who face some of the cruellest makeshift weapons, such as shanks and spikes daily.
Spike protection has now also become of equal importance to private security professionals, simply due to the type of weapons appearing on the streets in recent years.
Comparing it with the company’s highly successful polycarbonate-based stab resistant vests, the new body armour is even lighter, thinner, more effective and more functional.
Certified Performance Levels:
• CAST KR1/SP1 Stab & Spike – (CAST Body Armour Standard 2017)
• NIJ Level 1 Stab & Spike – (NIJ Standard 0115.01)
• VPAM K1 Stab & Spike – (VPAM KDIW 2004 – Edition 18.05.2011)
• VPAM I1 ‘Needle Protection’ – (VPAM KDIW 2004 – Edition 18.05.2011)
• VPAM W1 ‘Impact Protection’ – (VPAM KDIW 2004 – Edition 18.05.2011)
Over the past ten years, PPSS Group’s body armour have been offering the most reliable levels of protection from edged, protecting security professionals and law enforcement, prison, immigration, and customs officers worldwide.
S&S Precision created a MOLLE adapter for the PECI TFFS (Tactical Flotation Support System) model 5326. The TFFS 5326 is usually attached to either side of a web belt at the wearers waist and provides 80 lbs of buoyancy.
This adapter will work with PALS platforms including the S&S Precision PlateFrame Modular cummerbund.
Construction is well on its way at TYR Tactical® HQ in Peoria, AZ. Their $14M New Armor Manufacturing Facility will house state-of-the-art presses and autoclaves to support hard armor production. This much needed expansion, along with their current in-house Ballistic Test Range, will give them unmatched armor development capability.
Watch Phase One Now:
So why now?
Owner & CEO Jason Beck had this to say about the driving force behind the Armor Facility Expansion: “As one of the few remaining family owned businesses in our industry I feel a responsibility to always be the guy making everyone else strive to get better. I felt the armor industry had grown stagnate, become too reactionary, and too contract focused. The industry stopped innovating and the end user community simply deserved better. We have had a very productive year in spite of the ongoing pandemic. Investing back into the company and our people seemed like the right thing to do. We are building a world class armor production facility and adding next generation equipment, to continue to push our industry and build kit for the Next Generation Warrior®. Innovate or Die®!”
Fischer Connectors Group, the leader in rugged connectivity solutions for harsh environments, is proud to present its spin-off Wearin’™, the provider of new wearable connectivity solutions.
Wearin’s solutions integrate wearable technology into ergonomically designed gear, helping reduce weight, simplify use and enhance situational awareness.
Easy-to-use, rugged & lightweight, Wearin’ connectivity solutions are suited for the Generic Soldier Architecture (GSA), Soldier Modernization programs and C5ISTAR applications.
At the recent AUSA NOW, Wearin’ unveiled a connected vest designed to meet SWaP (Size, Weight & Power requirements) and enhance soldier mobility, performance and safety.
The Wearin’ connected vest offers a distributed data (USB 2.0) and power bus, eliminating external cables and multiple batteries. Connector receptacles sewn in strategic locations turn the soldier’s vest into a flexible hub delivering power and data.
Communications gear, sensors, cameras, night vision systems, smartphones, tactical computers, GPS devices and other essentials can be fastened with matching plugs built directly into the device.
The new ready-to-use connected vest is Wearin’s Starter Kit, now commercially available. It includes:
• 1x tactical plate & load carrier (vest)
• 1x tactical wearable hub USB 2+ / plug & play with standard wiring integrated within the vest without break-out cables
• 6x Fischer LP360™ cabled receptacles integrated into the vest, i.e. sewn thanks to the new Fischer LP360™ Quick Detach System* including an adapter, a sewing junction, and a retaining ring
• 1x cable with a Fischer LP360™ plug and Fischer UltiMate™ 80* plug (6-pin NATO STANAG 4695 compatible)
• 1x cable with a Fischer LP360™ plug and a USB type A
• 1x Fischer LP360™ LED
• 1x Fischer LP360™ USB 2.0 adapter
Optional applications include the Fischer LP360™ Rugged Flash Drive and the Fischer LP360™ BodyCam*.
* Fischer Connectors’ NEW products commercially available as of September 2020
Wearin’ for Defense & Security. As part of the Fischer Connectors Group, Wearin’ combines the agility of a start-up with the expertise of one of the world’s leading manufacturers of rugged connectivity solutions for harsh environments. With a global network of specialized partners in wearable technology, data management, garment manufacturing and other fields, Wearin’ breaks the silos of product development to help create comprehensive, rugged and reliable military-grade wearable ecosystems. www.wearin.tech.
AG-Tactical is pleased to offer its French and European customers a limited-edition release of the JPC 2.0 in MultiCam Tropic and MultiCam Black. Getting these plate carriers made and available to our customers has been of the most frequently received e-mails to our customer service team since our release of the JPC in MultiCam Arid. Crye has just shipped out the finished items and the consignment is on its way to us as you read this post. Pricing and release date will be published shortly.
For those wondering ‘Who is AG-Tactical?’
AG-Tactical is a French company.
We offer the very best in U.S. made tactical gear and aim to stock product from the most innovative brands in the world – Eagle Industries, Drifire, AXL, Crye and many more.
Our catalogue will continue to evolve in order to offer our French and European customers the best of what is available on the market.
Also, we are always on the lookout for unique projects, specific products and personalized colors.
This special edition has been made possible thanks to Crye Precision, also with some small input from our friend Chris from TheFull9. Chris has been a friend of ours for some years and advises us on a few atypical and specific projects.
We invite you to read his very detailed reviews at TheFull9.net; we plan to have our future collaborations with him featured there in some detail.
Stay tuned!
A few years ago, German armor company Mehler bought Lindnerhof-Taktik GmbH which introduced load carriage to their offerings and then UF PRO which specializes in clothing. These two brands joined Mehler Law Enforcement GmbH and Mehler Engineered Defence GmbH, forming Mehler Vario System GmbH. This made them a very effective, vertically integrated company to support military and law enforcement across Europe.
They just recently introduced Modular Universal Scalable Technology or M.U.S.T., an integrated solution which offers, armor, load carriage and clothing.
To kick things off, they’ve offered three examples of systems available under M.U.S.T. Here is the Ultra light setup, the RECCE.
The minimalist version (RECCE) is based on the ultra lightweight plate carrier. Together with a 2-row waist belt and ultra light VPAM 6 plates for the front and back, a plate carrier can be configured which can be easily worn, even for long periods under a STRIKER STEALTH SMOG or MONSOON rain jacket. The system is complemented by a tactical climbing harness and a sleeve for attaching MOLLE equipment and holsters.
One of the things you have to remember as an American reader is that they are a European company and use European standards for armor. In particular, you will note the VPAM (Association of Test Centres for Attack-Resistant Materials and Designs) testing standard, which is applicable in many countries, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium and Norway.
Check out their website for information on additional M.U.S.T. solutions.
