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AUSA 25 – Tropo Performance All-Weather Active Insulation Jacket by GORE-TEX Brand

Wednesday, October 15th, 2025

W.L. Gore & Associates (Gore), creators of the GORE-TEX Brand and global leader in high-performance waterproof, windproof, and breathable fabric technologies exhibited several new products including the Tropo Performance All-Weather Active Insulation Jacket.

Developed in-house, the proposed All-Weather Active Insulation Jacket is intended to replace both Gen III ECWCS levels three and four in the Soldier’s rucksack (seen below).

It’s a straight forward design sized to both under armor and as a stand-alone jacket and delivers active breathability during high-output use and static warmth when stationary, keeping the insulation dry from the inside and out. There’s plenty of ventilation for high activity with Targeted Ventilation Underarm panels and mesh pocket bags promoting airflow during aerobic activity. Speaking of pockets, there are five with three external and two internal pockets. Ready for use, it offers Velcro options for name/rank placement on sleeve or chest.

The shell material is WINDSTOPPER fabric which delivers:

• High resistance to air penetration to block the wind and maintain consistent warmth

• Fends off light rain and snow while maintaining insulation performance/protection

• High moisture vapor permeability allows Soldier’s perspiration to escape during periods of high activity

• Outer shell fabric sheds moisture even without DWR

Inside, Polartec Alpha Direct insulation delivers:

• High-efficiency warmth with superior compressibility to reduce bulk

• Extremely open structure to increase airflow and prevent overheating during high activity

• High moisture wicking capability to quickly pull moisture off the Soldier’s body

Between going from two garments to one and with these materials, the jacket educes weight by 51% and pack volume by 38.8%.

The materials also keep insulation and base layers dry in adverse weather while maintaining breathability and comfort (low water pick-up). A 14% improvement in moisture vapor transmission vs ECWCS L3/L4.

Aside from its volume advantage, All-Weather Active Insulation Jacket meets the visual and nIR requirements of the OCP camo pattern (option to include SWIR), unlike the ECWCS L3 Fleece.

Submitted for formal evaluation under the Soldier Enhancement Program, it has been deferred to the next board for consideration. Previously, examples have been wear tested by several Army units in relevant field conditions.

Posted in Advertiser, AUSA, Clothing, Materials | 2 Comments »

AUSA 25 – Northrop Grumman Precision Grenadier System

Wednesday, October 15th, 2025

During AUSA I got to spend some time with a model of the Northrop Grumman Precision Grenadier System which is one of several counter defilade and counter UAS weapon systems currently being evaluated by the US Army.

They’ve been at this project longer than most with early experience during the XM25 Punisher program. A study undertaken years ago for OICW (which the XM25 was derived from) led them to the 25mm ammunition size. Others are using 30mm or even 40mm.

So far, they’ve developed rounds for air-bursting, proximity, close quarter battle as well as target practice and they produce them themselves.

I find the airburst round to be the most impressive. It is a programmable, dual-warhead high-explosive fragmenting round that can be fired in both airburst and point detonate. By dual-warhead they mean that there are explosive charges at both the front and rear of the warhead.

To arm the round, the target is lased (in this case with the XM157) using the middle button. The Grenadier can use the plus and minus buttons above and below the lase button to add or subtract a meter per detent to where the warhead will detonate. This, combined with the dual-warhead would allow for a round to detonate above an open trench or fighting position, or within a room of fired through a window, door, or breach.

The High Explosive Proximity incorporates a proximity sensor to identify and explosively fragment the projectile in-flight to defeat stationary or moving UAS. This round does not require programming.

The CQB round uses buckshot for trench clearing a close-in CUAS.

The training practice round is a marker similar to the 40mm ammunition used in the M320 and is ballistically matched to the 25mm HEAB and 25mm PROX rounds.

Is my understanding that the army is considering replacing the M3 20 grenade launchers in the squad with PGS and that PGS will be the Grenadier’s primary weapon.

Because they selected 25mm, Northrup Grumman offers three round as well as five round removable, box magazines.

Lastly, I’d like to mention that the weapon weighs in at 12.9 lbs loaded with 5 rounds and 11.4 lbs empty and is ambidextrous in controls and ejection. There are ejection ports on either side and the weapon can configured to use either one. For charging, the black lever at the top is spring loaded and nonreciprocating. The shooter pulls it to either side and it snaps back onto the carry position once it is released.

Posted in Ammo, AUSA, weapons | 11 Comments »

Trust Automation to Showcase Counter-UAS Solutions at AUSA Annual Meeting

Wednesday, October 15th, 2025

Trust Automation to Showcase Counter-UAS Solutions at AUSA Annual Meeting

Trust Automation Inc., a leader in motion control, power management and electronic systems for defense and commercial applications, will showcase its advanced counter unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) capabilities at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting & Exposition, October 13-15, 2025, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

At the core of Trust’s C-UAS offering is the Government collaborated Small-Unmanned Air Defense System (SUADS), which provides both fixed-site protection — such as Air Force base defense operations — and rapidly deployable defense for key assets and units in combat zones. SUADS delivers layered, adaptable protection designed to detect, track and defeat Group 1, 2 and 2+ UAS threats through scalable, modular, upgradable architecture.

Complementing SUADS is Trust’s weapons-mountable GAT™ UAS Jammer, which empowers individual warfighters to directly counter local hostile UAS activity across C2 and GNSS bands. Combined with Trust’s broader suite of radio frequency countermeasures, these solutions provide military forces with flexible, mission-tailored options to neutralize evolving aerial threats.

Trust invites defense professionals, military leaders and industry partners to visit Booth 1939 at AUSA 2025 to explore its C-UAS technologies and discuss mission-specific requirements. With more than 40,000 attendees and representation from over 90 countries, the event is an ideal venue to discover how Trust is advancing the defense against unmanned threats.

Learn more at: trustautomation.com.

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AUSA 25 – SIG SAUER Displays Lighter NGSW Product Improvement Effort Weapons

Tuesday, October 14th, 2025

At this year’s annual AUSA show, SIG SAUER displayed versions of the Product Improvement Effort or PIE guns developed in partnership with the US Army.

The goal of the effort is to address Soldier recommendations for the M7 and M250 along with program requirements. SIG refers to the resulting weapons as the M7 Enhanced Rifle and M250 Enhanced LMG.

The Army conducted several Soldier Touch Points with SIG and conducted a firing schedule to evaluate the PIE versions of the M7 and M250.

The main concern is weight of the M7 rifle and that is where most of the changes are focused. They ended up developing two versions of the PIE M7, a rifle and carbine. The point of the carbine was to accelerate the evolution of the M16 platform which eventually became the M4 carbine and see where they would end up.

The M7 with 13.5″ barrel currently weight 8.3 lbs dry, without ammo, suppressor, or XM157 FCS. The weights for the two PIE variants are:

M7 7.6 lbs

M7 Carbine 7.3 lbs

Although most of the weight difference between the M7 and the Carbine variant is due to a shorter 10″ barrel and handguard, there were several other changes overall.

– The side-folding buttstock has been eliminated, but length remains adjustable.

– The upper receiver and operating system have been refined to eliminate weight.

– Tapered barrel.

The handguard facilitated access to the barrel change bolts which have been slightly strengthened.

The Army is considering whether the Carbine length barrel meets their lethality requirements.

Additionally, there is a lot of talk on the internet regarding barrel life. The program requirement was for 5,000 rounds which is the same specification as the M4. However, SIG has noted barrel life for the M7 in excess of 10,000 rounds.

As for the M250, the changes have been to accommodate Soldier requirements rather than weight as the Automatic Rifle is already lighter than the M249 SAW it replaces.

The changes are:

– Streamlined and improved gas system

– Improved bipod

– Hinged retainable Handguard to accommodate barrel change

– Quick Change Barrel (although they weren’t shown I’ve seen different barrel lengths)

– Extended pic rail on feed tray (optimized for XM157 Fire Control System)

– Cross pins for pintle T&E and mag bloc

– Improved lock and interface for buttstock durability

– Improved magazine which holds the top round in place when it has not yet been fed into the weapon.

– Opened up trigger guard for gloves

The NGSW weapons are chambered in 6.8x51mm and use a common suppressor. SIG also developed a PIE version which is slightly shorter and has a removable heat shield.

The Army is currently evaluating the PIE variants of NGSW to determine if any of the changes will be incorporated into the program. Regardless, the XM157 Fire Control System remains a part of the program and it doesn’t seem to be shedding any weight.

Posted in Advertiser, AUSA, weapons | 49 Comments »

AUSA 25 – 250th Anniversary Pistol by SIG SAUER

Monday, October 13th, 2025

SIG SAUER has created a US Army 250th anniversary commemorative MHS pistol. This first article will be presented to the Army during this week’s AUSA meeting.

It features a black nickel finish and heritage walnut grips. This model will be available for sale to the public soon.

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Gentex and Anduril Advance Partnership to Deliver AI-Driven EagleEye System

Monday, October 13th, 2025

CARBONDALE, PA, October 13, 2025 – Gentex Corporation, a global leader in integrated helmet systems and communications solutions, is proud to announce the advancement of its partnership with Anduril Industries in the development of EagleEye, a next-generation, AI-enabled integrated family of warfighter systems designed to deliver mission command, enhanced situational awareness, and increased survivability directly into the warfighter’s headborne system.

EagleEye builds on the foundation laid by the U.S. Army’s Soldier Borne Mission Command (SBMC) program, through which Gentex provides advanced helmet and communications integration to support the Army’s mixed-reality command architecture. Representing the next evolution in headborne systems, EagleEye embeds command, control, and AI-driven situational awareness directly within the helmet platform, transforming the protective system into a fully networked node of mission command.

“The SBMC program established the framework for digital mission command by connecting the soldier to the tactical network,” said L.P. Frieder III, President & CEO, Gentex Corporation. “EagleEye expands on that vision by integrating command, control, and AI-driven situational awareness directly into the protective system. The platform is a natural extension of our mission to keep soldiers protected, connected, and fully mission-ready in today’s complex battlespace.”

With decades of experience designing and manufacturing trusted headborne systems for the U.S. Department of Defense and allied forces worldwide, Gentex delivers integrated helmet and communications solutions fielded across multiple U.S. Army and Air Force programs. These systems are engineered to integrate seamlessly with current and emerging platforms, including next-generation Army helmet families.

As part of the EagleEye program, Gentex will contribute the advanced head protection and communications architecture that forms the foundation for the system’s modular mixed-reality platform. The partnership merges Gentex’s expertise in integrated protection, communications, and optical technologies with Anduril’s advanced mission command software, heads-up display (HUD) technologies, and distributed sensing capabilities. Together, these capabilities transform the helmet into an intelligent node of the mission network, reducing weight and cognitive load while enhancing survivability and decision-making for the modern warfighter.

Gentex’s contributions to both SBMC and EagleEye underscore its central role in advancing fully integrated soldier systems. While SBMC established the digital and software backbone of mission command, EagleEye extends that ecosystem by embedding command and control (C2) capability and digital vision technologies directly into the warfighter’s protective gear, effectively bringing the network to the edge and empowering the individual operator.

Gentex will highlight its involvement in the EagleEye program and its broader soldier modernization initiatives during the 2025 Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. Visit Gentex Corporation at Booth 8219.

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2025 AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition

Monday, October 13th, 2025

The federal government might be shut down, but AUSA’s annual meeting is in full swing.

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See the Ghost Robotics Vision 60 at AUSA

Friday, October 10th, 2025

Ghost Robotics will be at AUSA 2025 with the Vision 60, joined by Robotican’s Rooster hybrid drone.

Find us at Booth 4125 and see how ground and air systems work together for real-world missions.

Don’t miss out on the live demonstrations! See you there.

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