Troop Performance

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Got an Innovative Idea? DARPA is interested in Soldier Systems

Monday, March 26th, 2012

The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Tactical Technology Office (TTO) is “soliciting executive summaries, white papers and proposals for advanced research and development of Innovative Systems for Military Missions.” What interests us in particular is the area that is called out; “Ground and Soldier Systems” as well as several “cross-cutting capabilities: Design Synthesis, Manufacturing, Qualification and Verification & Validation (V&V), and Autonomy.”

According to TTO:
Submitting an executive summary and white paper are opportunities for proposers to have DARPA personnel review their proposed technical concept and receive feedback regarding the relevance of their idea to the TTO mission.
For the purposes of this BAA, relevance to the TTO mission applies to all submissions and is evaluated as follows:
1. The proposed technical effort is evaluated as applicable to the focus areas.
2. The proposal is important to TTO’s area of responsibility as outlined in the BAA.
3. The submission is suitably structured to produce a TTO program or product.
4. TTO has the appropriate personnel to manage the effort.
5. The proposed effort would lead to a useful addition to the TTO program portfolio.
6. There are funds available for the proposed effort.
7. The effort is not duplicative of ongoing efforts in TTO.

As this is a Broad Agency Announcement it will be open for one year unless otherwise directed. To learn more, visit www.fbo.gov.

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Posted in Contracts | 3 Comments »

New ECH Relies on Dyneema Material

Friday, March 16th, 2012

Ceradyne was recently awarded a contract for their Enhanced Combat Helmet for use by the US Army and Marine Corps. One of the key ingredients to the success of their design was DSM’s Dyneema HB80 unidirectional (UD) composite. HB80 happens to be the only material that passed stringent ECH testing and is currently used in vehicle armor applications.

In a press release, Dr. James Zheng, chief scientist Soldier Protective and Individual Equipment, PEO Soldier said, “The ECH program represents a major advance in helmet technology that can deliver enhanced superior protection for our troops. Our close collaboration with leading industry partners such as Ceradyne and DSM Dyneema enabled us to utilize their valuable technological expertise and support, resulting in the new ECH helmet.”

www.dyneema.com

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Posted in Contracts, Helmets, Materials, PEO-Soldier | 5 Comments »

Ceradyne Awarded LRIP for ECH

Friday, March 16th, 2012

Ceradyne, makers of the Enhanced Combat Helmet (ECH) has received the first (~$3 million) of possibly two low rate initial production orders. Ceradyne expects full rate production to commence during second quarter of calendar year 2012 with totals to exceed $170 million. It’s good to see this program moving forward after it was plagued with curing issues after showing initial success. According to Ceradyne and the Marine Corps, slight changes in the manufacturing process to accommodate the transition of tech development to production had to be dealt with to ensure consistent performance.

Called the Ceradyne Diaphorm Ballistic Helmet, the winning ECH design is twice the price of current Army and Marine Corps helmets, but provides up to 70% improvement in ballistic protection. In addition to delays, the program has received criticism over its arbitrary protection level (an undisclosed .30 threat) since there has been no move to dissipate the energy of such a round. Additionally, the size, weight and shape of the Army’s ACH was chosen for the ECH. Rather than decreasing weight and maintaining current ballistic protection to make troops more agile and to help offset the added weight of applique sensors and lights, the choice was made to maintain the current burden on the wearers neck and increase ballistic protection. Instead of telling industry that they wanted to defeat a threat, the Marine Corps wrote a requirement that boxed everyone into a narrow set of solutions.

On the other hand, both Soldiers and Marines will be receiving a new, more protective helmet. What’s more, the legacy Army’s ACH and USMC LWH both rely on Aramid fabric (Kevlar) while the ECH uses an advanced thermoplastic (PE) product. Reliance on Aramids for ballistic armor such as the IOTV and IMTV result in heavier armor systems. Hopefully, this paradigm shift in headborne systems will open up new materials options for body armor.

www.ceradyne.com

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Posted in Contracts, Helmets, Materials | 8 Comments »

BAE Awarded IOTV Contract

Friday, March 16th, 2012

BAE Systems has been awarded a four-year Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) contract to produce Improved Outer Tactical Vests (IOTV) and accessories used by the US Army. That DLA awarded the contract lets you know that this is a sustainment contract.

“This award reinforces our position as a valued partner in the body armor market” said Don Dutton, vice president and general manager of Protection Systems at BAE Systems Support Solutions. “DLA continues to see demand for sustaining these life-saving products, as well as the value and quality that all of our equipment affords.”

The company has received an initial $48 million in orders, which are expected to be completed by February 2013. The total value of the contract orders could reach approximately $267 million over the next four years.

www.BAEsystems.com

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Posted in Armor, Contracts | 13 Comments »

Personal Augmentation Technology – Call for White Papers

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

The US Army Research Development Engineering Command, Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC), Natick, MA, is conducting a Request for Information for Concept (White) Papers on Personal Augmentation Technologies for the Warfighter and Homeland Defender.

They are interested in technologies and concepts that provide improvements in strength, endurance and/or ergonomics while maintaining user safety and reducing muscular fatigue, physical injury, and soreness during various load carriage and various tasks, are of interest. Example load carriage tasks include heavy and repetitive lifting, load transport, and difficult load tasks in unique environments. Ease of use and integration with current and future user clothing and individual mission equipment are factors of interest. Long operating life from a reliable power source, and low cost are also factors of interest.

There are 4 specific personal augmentation technology types sought:
1. Agility – Lightweight, low-powered, quick reaction physiological assist device for dismounted users. Injury reduction, high mobility, and endurance are key focuses.
2. Support – Physiological assist device that helps wearer to conduct sustainment and logistics tasks including heavy supply lifting, loading, unloading, and transporting at a Forward Operating Base (FOB) or alike. Injury reduction, strength assist, and throughput/production augmentation are key focuses.
3. Extreme Support – Specialized physiological assist device designed for specific tasks in extreme environments. Able to interface with special tools to conduct specific tasks. Example users include wild land firefighters and urban search and rescue. Injury reduction, strength assist, and high mobility are key focuses.
4. Depot / Industrial – Specialized physiological assist device designed for specific tasks in unique depot environments. Able to interface with special tools to conduct specific tasks. Injury, stress, and fatigue reduction and throughput/production augmentation are key focuses.

Interested parties have until March 31 to submit white papers in accordance with NSRDEC Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) 11-13, under topic # C16- Future Warrior Technology Integration, which can be found at https://www3.natick.army.mil/. Proprietary information will not be shared outside of the Government.

Check out the solicitation on FBO.

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Posted in Contracts, Training | 6 Comments »

The Brookwood Army Camo Improvement Effort Submission

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

We got some photos of Brookwood’s finalist submission for the US Army Camouflage Improvement Effort and at first we didn’t want to offer them because the patterns didn’t seem to share a common geometry. We were actually hoping to get some better photography that would show the patterns’ common features. Turns out, having a true family of patterns with common geometry was just general guidance and not a factor in selection and the Brookwood patterns don’t include this feature. So here they are.


Thanks for the photos LH

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Posted in Camo, Contracts, PEO-Soldier | 35 Comments »

Army Interested in Consolidating iCVC and A2CU

Tuesday, February 28th, 2012

The Army has released an RFI, looking for information on combining their Improved Combat Vehicle Crewman Coverall (iCVC) and Army Aircrew Combat Uniform (A2CU). These FR (and electrostatic dissipative) garments are worn respectively by mounted crewmen such as tankers and aviators such as pilots.

Specifically they are looking for “capability statements from companies for the purpose of identifying potential sources to assist in the development of an innovative Design and Specification” for a garment that:
Is a single uniform which meets the requirements of both the Aviation and Armor communities.
Constructed of a light weight, breathable and durable fabric (lighter weight than the current iCVC Coverall fabric and more durable than the current A2CU fabric).
Is equal to or is lesser in cost than the current iCVC Coverall.
Can be used in either a one piece or two piece configuration.
Provides a sizing system matching the Army Combat Uniform and Army Combat Uniform-Alternate Sizing spectrum.

They’re also not planning on giving up camouflage printing or Permethrin treatment.

The root designs of both uniforms predate the adoption of both UCP and OCP with the iCVC being a one-piece coverall and the A2CU a two-piece. Interestingly, USAF airlift and rotary wing crews have recently adopted the A2CU as well as a commercially developed two-piece FR garment because the issue CWU-27/P flight coveralls can be so uncomfortable in the hot environments found in Southwest Asia.

One additional aspect of both the iCVC and A2CU is that they are both components of the Fire Resistant Environmental Ensemble (Free). By combining the two products into one, and keeping the various other components of FREE in mind vendors can increase the utility and performance of both systems.

Another interesting issue is that a significant number (>20%) Army aviators are female. This may be a factor in combining the two garments.

In addition to design disparities, the two garments are made from different FR fabrics. It seems that during testing for alternative FR fabrics, the two communities preferred the fabrics they are using.

Hopefully, a common sense approach will be reached that can accommodate the needs of both communities.

Posted in Clothing, Contracts, FR | 1 Comment »

Army Preparing to Produce Baseline Camo Gear for Testing

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

Natick has released a Special Notice making known their intent to “negotiate on a sole source basis with Beyond Clothing, LLC” to produce 310 sets of “AOR 1/2 Fabric (50/50 Nyco), Helmet Covers, Pants and Blouses. These uniforms are among the baseline uniforms required for camouflage testing and evaluation.”

Army-style uniforms and OCIE do not exist in the AOR 1 & 2 patterns. What’s more, the patterns are restricted, so any gear must be manufactured by a company already certified to handle the fabric. OCP, or as it is commercially known, MultiCam is the other baseline pattern for the upcoming field trial phase of the US Army Camouflage Improvement Effort. Due to its use in Afghanistan, there is already an ample supply of the equipment available.

One interesting note. Currently, OCP is only issued as the FR ACU and not the standard FR ACU. While much work has been done to color match dyed TenCate’s Defender-M fabric used to manufacture the FR ACU, the pattern may look differently than it would when printed on 50/50 NYCO. This is a variance that will have to be considered in performance unless the Army also pursues the acquisition of an adequate number of OCP NYCO test uniforms. If they are commercially sourced, further care will need to be taken that such uniforms are not in the so-called MultiCam VS print which does not provide NIR protection.

These ‘baseline’ Government issue patterns will be pitted against four commercial families of patterns to determine the best performer and possible new Army issue camouflage.

The commercial finalists are:
ADS Inc as Prime, partnered with Guy Cramer
Brookwood Companies
Crye Precision
Kryptek

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Posted in Camo, Clothing, Contracts, PEO-Soldier | 23 Comments »

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