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Blue Force Gear Helium Whisper Pouches Awarded NSNs

Monday, January 7th, 2013

Blue Force Gear has just announced that several of their Helium Whisper pouches have been issued National Stock Numbers. This is a watershed event as it signifies an official adoption of a next generation of load carrying systems by DoD that will begin to replace legacy MOLLE systems. It also means that aside from the adoption of Helium Whisper by USSOCOM elements, other organizations will be able to leverage this lightweight technology to improve their load carriage systems. This is some very big news.

Here is their press release:

Blue Force Gear announced today that seven of their Helium Whisper backed pouches received National Stock Numbers (NSNs). These Patent pending Helium Whisper pouches fulfill an immediate SOCOM Load Carriage System Contract and can be purchased by government customers with access to DLA.

“We’re excited that our lightweight pouches have been chosen to receive NSNs,” said Ashley Burnsed, Blue Force Gear’s CEO. “Our goal is to improve the soldier’s safety and survivability. Having NSNs on these pouches makes it easier for units to procure the lightweight equipment they need to get their jobs done.”

The pouches that received NSNs utilize Blue Force Gear’s Patent pending Helium Whisper technology which reduces weight by up to 60 percent over the pouches previously carried by troops. The U.S. military has identified weight reduction of individual combat equipment as a top priority due to the tremendous impact that loads have on combat survivability and long term orthopedic health. Helium Whisper is combat proven with elite personnel and is available now as a solution for customers seeking better performance.

NSNs for Blue Force Gear Helium Whisper Pouches:

NSN: 8465-01-612-3165
3 MAG TRIPLE SHINGLE FOR 5.56
MFR P/N: HW-TSP-M4-3-MC

NSN: 8465-01-612-3184
DUMP POUCH
MFR P/N: HW-M-DP-S-MC

NSN: 8465-01-612-3188
SMALL GP
MFR P/N: HW-M-UPZ-S-MC

NSN: 8465-01-612-3195
MEDIUM VERTICAL GP
MFR P/N: HW-M-UPZ-V-M-MC

NSN: 8465-01-612-3191
MEDIUM HORIZONTAL GP
MFR P/N: HW-M-UPZ-H-M-MC

NSN: 8465-01-612-3179
GLOCK 19 SINGLE MAG (OPEN TOP)
MFR P/N: HW-TSP-PISTOL-1-MC

NSN: 8465-01-612-3168
SCAR SINGLE MAG
MFR P/N: HW-TSP-SR25-1-MC

www.blueforcegear.com

Tags: Blue Force Gear, Helium Whisper
Posted in Contracts, Load Carrying | 3 Comments »

US Army Seeks to Replace Improved CVC with Enhanced Model

Thursday, December 20th, 2012

The US Army is looking for qualified vendors with improvements to the improved Combat Vehicle Crewman (iCVC) coverall that may be utilized to develop design and specification enhancements for the new enhanced Combat Vehicle Crewman (eCVC).

In this US Army photo you can see the current iCVC which saw evolutionary improvements over the previous legacy design which goes back to at least the 1970s. It is an FR one-piece garment that is also issued in OCP (MultiCam).

The Sources Sought Notice released yesterday by the Natick SSC Contracting Office on behalf of US Army Product Manager, Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment (PM-SCIE) eCVC will consolidate the capability requirements of the one-piece improved Combat Vehicle Crewman (iCVC) Coverall into a single uniform and other enhancements over the current iCVC.

The eCVC shall be a two piece uniform ensemble which can be joined together creating a one piece coverall which does not compromise FR protection.

The eCVC two piece configurations shall allow the Mounted Soldier the ability to have more functional movement in a dismounted position with a full combat load and utilize the Army Combat Shirt (ACS) when in a dismounted operation, as well as reduce heat burden.

The big issue here is that they want to make the CVC a two-piece garment that can be converted into a one-piece. This is to enhance cooling and comfort. Additionally, we understand that there is interest in combining the Army Aircrew Combat Uniform (A2CU) with the CVC to reduce the burden on the supply chain.

Interested parties should respond by 1200 EST on 1 February 2013.

Posted in Clothing, Contracts, FR, PEO-Soldier | 8 Comments »

BAE Systems Receives $35 Million Order from DLA for IOTVs

Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

BAE Systems has received an order from the Defense Logistics Agency for $35 Million to supply Improved Outer Tactical Vests. The IOTV is the standard armor vest for the US Army and comes in 11 sizes including long versions. It incorporates soft armor panels and is designed to accommodate hard armor plates in the front rear and to the sides in the cummerbund.

DLA Troop Support ordered the vests as part of a four-year contract issued in March, which could reach a cumulative value of $267 million. BAE Systems has thus far received a total of $83 million under the contract. They report that the production will occur at the company’s Jessup, Pennsylvania facility, and this order is scheduled to be complete by October 2013.

“This tactical vest is a necessary and life-saving piece of equipment for the Soldier,” said Eric Gavelda, director of Warfighter Protection at BAE Systems’ Protection Systems business. “The vest helps shield vital organs and protect against a variety of battlefield threats. Our ultimate goal is to help our warfighters return home safely to their families.”

Since 2007, BAE Systems has produced more than 800,000 outer tactical body armor vests for US troops serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world.

www.baesystems.com

Tags: BAE Systems, DLA
Posted in Armor, Contracts | 34 Comments »

Draft RFP Released for Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System (CSASS)

Wednesday, November 28th, 2012

Back in July, the US Army released a Sources Sought Notice for a Compact Semi-Automatic Sniper System or CSASS. Now, Project Manager Soldier Weapons has consolidated the info received from industry in a Draft Request for Proposals for the new M110 carbine variant. The can be used by industry as a sort of warning order to prepare for an actual procurement by the Army.

Manufactured by Knights Armament, the current M110 is a lightweight, direct gas operated, semi-automatic, box magazine fed, 7.62 x 51mm rifle intended to engage and defeat personnel targets out to 800 meters.

According to the FedBizOpps announcement, the Draft RFP seeks the best value to “manufacture a complete system or reconfigure some or all of the existing 7.62 x 51mm M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System (SASS) currently available in Army inventory.”

The Army anticipates a full and open competition for a single award Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) with two options:

Option one (1) will create five (5) one(1) year ordering periods with Firm Fixed Price (FFP) delivery orders. The minimum ordering quantity for this five (5) year option is 30 DT/OT units and a maximum ordering quantity of three thousand, six hundred forty three(3,643) CSASSs. The Government will have 24 months from contract award to exercise this option.
Option (II) is for the purchase of a technical data package. The government will have 36 months from date of contract award to exercise option II. Additional delivery orders cannot be placed until the successful completion of Milestone C/TC-STD.

It is anticipated that the winning manufacturer will initially provide “thirty (30) CSASS for Developmental Testing (DT)/Operational Testing (OT) which is expected to last 2 years, (2) An additional maximum quantity of three thousand, six hundred forty three (3,643) CSASSs…”

As with all Draft RFPs there’s no guarantee the Army will actually issue a final RFP and this Draft is valid until January 14 2013 just in time for SHOT Show so that Army Acquisition officials can speak openly with industry about this weapon.

Notice that they are still talking full and open competition for remanufacturing of M110s or a completely new weapon that meets their requirements.

Posted in Contracts, PEO-Soldier, weapons | 20 Comments »

Despite Reports to the Contrary the US Army Has NOT Chosen a New Camouflage

Monday, November 5th, 2012

About a month ago, a deployed reader informed us that he had heard that the US Army had selected a new camouflage pattern. He sent us a simple, two page PPT that he has received via email and showed the pattern as well as a few made up dates for issue. Overall, it was a sophomoric attempt but he asked us to confirm his suspicions that it was untrue. After looking at it I had my doubts but in the offhand that it might have been a local distillation of an official announcement I sent it to the PAO at PEO Soldier. Their reply? It was an interesting fake. Remember, idle hands do the devil’s work. I’d say someone was bored and decided to pull a prank. It seems to have gotten out of hand. I’m not going to post the PPT or the alleged winner because the finalist was just as surprised to see it as PEO Soldier was. Since the initial incident I’ve had to field queries from the field numerous times, so I’m using this bully pulpit to help stem the flow of misinformation.

You may see this PPT floating around email, especially if deployed. Alternatively, it may have been printed out and posted on a unit bulletin board. Regardless of where you see it, it is untrue. If your chain of command sends it to you, politely request that they check with PEO Soldier.

The easiest way to tell it’s a fake? When have you ever seen a Power Point presentation that was only 2 slides? And consider this, have you ever seen a PPT without the issuing unit’s logo all over it?

Please remember, the US Army Camouflage Improvement Effort has downselected to four families of patterns from:

-ADS Inc as Prime, partnered with Guy Cramer
-Brookwood Companies
-Crye Precision
-Kryptek

As they continue to conduct research, I wouldn’t expect any word on a selection for a month at least. Don’t worry, if we hear anything tangible, we’ll they you know. Until then, Keep Calm and Reload (the page).

Tags: ADS Inc, Brookwood Companies, Crye Precision, Guy Cramer, Kryptek
Posted in Camo, Contracts | 17 Comments »

Army Awards Rothtec Contract for Soldier and Small Unit Digital Ink Jet Printed Camouflage

Saturday, October 20th, 2012

It’s very promising to see the Army looking for Soldier and Small Unit Digital Ink Jet Printed Camouflage. The current Camouflage Improvement Effort is all about current state of the art wet printing and providing a static family of camouflage patterns that are within their own environmental zones of Woodland, Desert and Transitional, universal in nature. For example. When the Army selects a woodland pattern this fall, it will have to work in all green environments, which if you’ve spent any amount of time in different areas occupied by things green will know that they can be vastly different.

The real golden ring in this camo game is to be able to dynamically blend in with the background as you move around. Short of that you have two schools of thought; it’s either universal patterns or to be able to rapidly develop and produce into finished goods camouflage patterns for specific environments. The former is less expensive but easier to deal with logistically and operationally, the latter is expensive and difficult to manage.

This is where this contract award comes in. The US Army has awarded Rothtec Engraving Corp $1,334,156.00 to “develop a new highly innovative technology for rapidly designing and printing new and existing camouflage patterns with infrared reflective capability onto military textiles.”

www.fbo.gov

Tags: Rothtec Engraving Corp
Posted in Camo, Contracts | 4 Comments »

DBT Wins Body Armor Contract For FBI

Friday, September 28th, 2012

Diamondback Tactical announced that after a down select, it has been awarded the body armor contract for the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

“We are truly honored to have been selected as the exclusive provider to the FBI,” says Andrew Bair, CEO of Diamondback Tactical, “and we are committed to delivering our highest quality armor system to support the Bureau and protect its personnel. In addition, we are proud to have a premier customer like the FBI recognize the quality and market leadership of Diamondback Tactical, and we look forward to continuing our service and support to its critical mission.”

Prior to the contract award, Diamondback Tactical was the sole-source supplier for mission-specific tactical armor kits for the FBI-Defensive Systems Unit. With the new award, Diamondback Tactical will remain the exclusive provider for supplying the FBI with a tri-compliant ballistics package which is tested in accordance with the NIJ Standard-0101.06, the FBI 4.0 Protocol and the DEA (2009) Protocol.

“Diamondback’s state-of-the-art armor system is optimized for the demanding performance and functional requirements of the FBI and its agents, and we look forward to demonstrating our superior capabilities throughout the length of this five-year contract,” says Mike Runella, Director for Specialty Programs and Contracts at Diamondback.

Diamondback Tactical has a dedicated program management and production team aimed at meeting the requirements for the FBI under this contract.

www.diamondbacktactical.com

Tags: Diamondback Tactical
Posted in Armor, Contracts, LE | Comments Off on DBT Wins Body Armor Contract For FBI

Bates Awarded US Army Contract for Mountain Combat Boot

Friday, September 14th, 2012

Bates Footwear, a division of Wolverine Worldwide, announced that it will manufacture Temperate Weather Mountain Combat Boots for the U.S. Army under a new U.S. Government contract issued by Natick Contracting Division. Bates will produce 64,000 pairs of the newly designed Mountain Combat Boot within the next six months at their U.S.-based facility in Big Rapids, Michigan. I’ve been to this factory and the employees are top notch folks. Literally, different generations of the same family work side by side to produce quality, Berry Compliant footwear for our armed forces. It’s impressive.

U.S. Congressman Dave Camp noted, “Bates produces some of the world’s most technologically advanced footwear for U.S. troops. Every time I visit the Big Rapids plant I leave more and more impressed by the dedication, commitment and tireless work ethic of the employees at Bates. This is great news for the Big Rapids community and fourth district of Michigan.”

This contract award, combined with the brand’s other recent contract awards for Army Hot Weather Mountain Combat Boots, brings the cumulative value of the Mountain Combat Boot contracts to just over $15 million in 2012.

“We are very proud of our recent Army Mountain Combat Boot contract awards,” said Mike Stornant, Vice President and General Manager of Bates Footwear. “This is a relatively new product for the Army, and we are pleased they have chosen Bates based on our quality performance and ability to respond to the short-term delivery schedules required under these contracts. We remain committed to the U.S. Army and Department of Defense as we provide U.S. troops with the highest quality footwear that supports and protects them in their warfighting efforts.”

www.batesfootwear.com

Tags: Bates Footwear
Posted in Boots, Contracts | 6 Comments »