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AFRL Technology Aids Operators During Afghanistan Evacuation

Saturday, April 29th, 2023

ROME, N.Y. (AFRL) — Engineers from the Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, refined a fielded tool called the Tactical Awareness Kit, or TAK, to aid operators in the fall 2021 Afghanistan evacuation. The kit has also been adapted to fit the missions of local, state and federal agencies in fighting wildfires and responding to natural disasters.

TAK is a technology developed by AFRL scientists and engineers that has been transitioned to and used by numerous U.S. and international warfighters, including special operations and civilian users.

A U.S. Air Force security forces raven, assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, maintains security aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft in support of the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan, Aug. 24, 2021. Support from Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, systems like Tactical Awareness Kit, or TAK, helped facilitate safe extractions of families and US civilians. (U.S. Air Force photo / Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen)

As U.S. warfighters completed the main evacuation effort in Afghanistan in 2021, many Afghan allies and U.S. civilians still needed to get to safety. AFRL’s Information Systems Division, part of the lab’s Information Directorate at Rome, New York, employed the use of TAK to connect evacuees safely and securely with operators.

“AFRL’s unique system ensured that only the sender and recipient could access the needed information for the extractions,” said Capt. Landon Tomcho, an AFRL program manager. “Furthermore, the TAK system is already established in the operator community. The agile development principals integrated into the TAK ecosystem since its transition allowed the AFRL teams to apply their expert knowledge to rapidly create and employ a scenario-specific solution.”

AFRL’s Information Directorate monitored the efforts in Afghanistan and worked to understand the operating environment and situations before planning the implementation of changes needed for use. However, getting to delivery and implementation of TAK took tenacity, development, and dozens of phone calls, said Tomcho. These efforts resulted in AFRL connecting with the proper entities to put the TAK secure communications tool into the hands of the warfighters conducting the extractions to help direct individuals to safety and keep them safe.

A U.S. Marine with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Central Command escorts a family during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 21, 2021. U.S. service members assisted the Department of State with a non-combatant evacuation operation in Afghanistan. Support from Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, systems such as the Tactical Awareness Kit, or TAK, helped facilitate safe extractions of families and U.S. civilians.

“Having a flexible and secure means of communication would be critical to the former special operators who joined the extraction missions,” Tomcho said. “These operators had all the right tactical skills; they just needed a bit of extra technology to provide greater situational awareness.”

Ryan McLean, director of TAK product center, said his team is proud to support the Information Directorate by tackling issues such as humanitarian assistance.

“As the Allied information dominance platform, TAK delivers world-class situational awareness through a family of networked geospatial products,” McLean said. “Capt. Tomcho’s successful efforts show how the TAK products enable a rapid convergence of innovation, initiative and impact when lives are on the line.”

Additionally, instead of using an app on a dedicated device to track critical assets, the platform was re-tasked to a web portal environment, said Tomcho. The access portal allowed operators to see specific location coordinates for the extractions from any device with an internet connection. Since the platform was secure, it was the optimal solution for communication between operators and the extraction parties. It provided greater access to ensure they could receive communications and critical information in limited access environments. Because of the security, hackers are unable to decipher information.

Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, researchers and technical teammates re-tasked a current fielded tool called Tactical Awareness Kit, or TAK, to directly assist extraction efforts by operators in Afghanistan in the Fall of 2021 and increase the chances of success. USAF tactical air control warfighters demonstrated the capabilities of the TAK system — similar to those used during operations to evacuate U.S. citizens and allies in Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo)

“In the end, AFRL researchers deployed a highly successful secure communications solution to operators that saved numerous lives,” Tomcho said.

AFRL’s application was leveraged to communicate information only the sender and recipient could securely verify, facilitating efficient and safe extractions.

www.afresearchlab.com

By Marc Denofio, Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Guest Post, TAK | 3 Comments »

FirstSpear Friday Focus – Light Weight Assault Ghillie

Friday, April 28th, 2023

Developed in conjunction with Treadswift, the LWAG is a lightweight concealment cloak that can be used for disrupting visual, infrared, or thermal detection. Utilizing lightweight, weather resistant mesh and Trelleborg combination patterning, the LWAG can be garnished with jute, vegetation or used as is. Generously sized to cover equipment, but still easy to stow on your pack or load carriage, it has stretch cord for underarm positioning and a security strap for the front that can be adjusted for height and girth. The hood of the LWAG is secured in place with large smock style buttons.

Check out FirstSpear to find American Made kit and accessories, Built For The X.

Posted in Advertiser, Camo, FS Friday Focus, Guest Post | 12 Comments »

AF Research Lab Re-Ups Affiliation with Longtime Liquid Crystal Industry Partner AlphaMicron Inc to Meet DoD Needs

Friday, April 28th, 2023

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, OHIO (AFRL) – Longtime Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, industry partner AlphaMicron Inc., is utilizing a 2021 Ohio Federal Research Network, or OFRN, funding award to expand the capability of its patented guest host liquid crystal technology, called e-Tint, to electronically dimmable protective eyewear for the Department of the Air Force, or DAF, Department of Defense and commercial markets.

The $1.35 million award, comprised of $900,000 from the state of Ohio and a $450,000 AlphaMicron, or AMI, cost share, enables AMI to apply emergent fundamental research toward the expansion of its e-Tint technology for the development of advanced sun protection devices for pilots and special warriors, as well as specialized laser protection film for civilian and military eyewear, said Principal Electronics Engineer Dr. Darrel G. Hopper in the Airman Systems Directorate of AFRL’s 711th Human Performance Wing.

In its persistent mission to mature its technology and create advanced applications, AFRL has partnered with AMI — a global leader in liquid crystal-based light reactive technologies — since its founding in December 1996 as a spinoff of Kent State University’s Liquid Crystal Institute, Hopper said.

“Most recently, AMI was a performer under the 2018 Electronically Dimmable Eye Protection Devices Small-Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) program sponsored by the Airman Systems Directorate,” Hopper said. “During the 2020-2022 Phase II award, AMI partnered with Bowling Green University, Kent State University and Miami University to develop next-generation electronically dimmable eye protection devices enabling them to work toward the 70% transmission window needed for current and future DAF applications.”

The image depicts AlphaMicron Inc., or AMI’s prototype progression over the course of 20 years. AMI’s first dimming proof of principle prototype from 1997 was eventually integrated into a Full Complex Curvature Helmet F-35 Visor prototype for the U.S. Department of the Air Force in 2017 to help mitigate pilots’ difficulties managing light transmission during flight. The initial collaboration between AFRL and AMI resulted in the creation of e-Tint, an electronic tint-on-demand liquid crystal technology that can be applied to flexible plastic substrates, such as pilot visors, instead of traditional glass. e-Tint switches from clear to dark faster than an eye can blink — about 0.1 of a second— and is fail-safe in a power outage. This technology was used to create the world’s first electronic switchable eyewear which was field tested by the U.S. Army and is now being issued to soldiers through the Approved Protective Eyewear List.? In addition to current applications, the technology is being developed for augmented reality applications and see-through displays, where simultaneously controlling ambient and display light is important, said AMI’s Chief Technology Officer and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bahman Taheri.(U.S. Air Force photo)

The AFRL-sponsored 2018 STTR award expedited AMI’s process of qualifying and applying for the OFRN funding, as AMI was able to sustain the same academic partnerships it had developed under the previous effort, Hopper said.

AMI’s OFRN effort was one of five selected in the OFRN round five: Sustaining Ohio’s Aeronautical Readiness and Innovation in the Next Generation, or SOARING, Opportunity Announcement. According to its website, OFRN awards funding for projects that help expand Ohio’s research capabilities and grow its workforce in the areas of defense, aerospace, energy and health.

“AFRL’s history with AlphaMicron is long and rich,” said Personal Protection Direction Lead Dr. Matthew Lange in AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate. “This OFRN funding is so important because it is what gets this kind of technology done. It’s enabling the continuation of solutions that are relevant to DOD needs.”

The storied relationship between AFRL and AMI led to the development of foundational optical technology with numerous commercial and military applications, said Dr. Richard Vaia, chief scientist, AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate.

“This ensures critical suppliers have multiple revenues for pervasive aspects of critical technology for future DAF systems,” Vaia said.

AMI’s collaboration with the DAF dates back to its first Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR, award in 1997 under the Variable Transmittance Visor program, Hopper said.

Prototypes produced under this first agreement eventually led to future collaborations with AFRL.

In 1997, AFRL partnered with AMI to address light management issues in fighter pilot helmets; researchers were challenged to develop variable-tint visors that would enable pilots to see clearly in flight, despite fluctuating lighting conditions. When pilots encountered sudden washes of intense sunlight mid-flight, they struggled to read and track the data on their aircraft-mounted and head-mounted displays, Hopper said.

“There was a need for some way of controlling visor tint, as it was affected by the transmission of light when the pilots would go above or below the clouds,” said Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer Dr. Bahman Taheri, who co-founded AMI with two other colleagues in 1996. “This was a safety hindrance. So AFRL asked us to join them to find a solution [based on the then-new guest host liquid crystal technology].”

AFRL and NASA have been working on solving this problem since the 1970s, Hopper said. It has taken the industry 20 years to realize the need for this type of technology for near eye applications. This need has accelerated with the recent emphasis on augmented reality glasses where displayed image contrast can be washed out because of the background ambient lighting conditions.

The initial collaboration between AFRL and AMI resulted in the creation of e-Tint, an electronic tint-on-demand liquid crystal technology that ultimately helped mitigate the pilots’ difficulties managing light transmission during flight. According to AMI’s website, e-Tint switches from clear to dark faster than an eye can blink — about 0.1 of a second— and is fail-safe in a power outage. Notably, the technology can be applied to flexible plastic substrates, or surfaces, instead of traditional glass, to benefit Airmen and Guardians.

“The Air Force was very specific about what it wanted,” Taheri said. “There were all of these boxes we needed to check. And one of them was they wanted to be able to encapsulate the layer of liquid crystal — which is very thin, 6 microns, so about one-tenth of the diameter of a human hair — between plastic. Glass is brittle and flat, not flexible and curved. If you drop it, it breaks. Flexible plastic substrates do not shatter, and they’re lightweight.”

All of these qualities make plastic desirable to glass when it comes to developing agile solutions for pilot eyewear, Taheri said, but the task of translating the liquid crystal technology to flexible plastic substrates was not without its challenges.

“Precisely because it’s flexible, it can be difficult to apply that thin layer of liquid crystal between two pieces of plastic and maintain uniformity,” Taheri said.

Around 2010, AFRL Chief Technologist Dr. Timothy Bunning led efforts within the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate to bring AMI on board to partner with members of his research team in what was then called the Functional Materials Division. Bunning’s group was working on expanding in-house liquid crystal research and develop resilience technologies relating to laser and flash eye protection. Bunning, who served at the time as division chief and, later, as the directorate’s chief scientist, assembled a research team that included Lange, Dr. Michael McConney and Dr. Timothy White, among others.

Together, the AFRL and AMI researchers sought to translate AMI’s preexisting e-Tint technology on flexible plastic substrates to variable-tint visors for DAF pilots.

“Our efforts with AMI were very fruitful,” Bunning said. “In AFRL, we are list-makers, we are very structured, we are always proactively pushing the bounds of the research. Our collaboration [with AMI] allowed us to combine efforts to reduce the risk of these new technologies, and it also led to some high-end publications in prominent scientific journals.”

White, who has since transitioned out of AFRL to take up a professorship in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado-Boulder, said the vibrant partnership between his research team and AMI successfully resulted in the pursuit of both near- and far-term laser and flash eyewear protection solutions.

“Alpha Micron was and continues to be an incredible partner for the DOD to work with,” White said.

Taheri said his various collaborations with AFRL have opened doors to do more of what he genuinely enjoys.

The graphic illustrates how reorienting liquid crystal (yellow) causes dichroic dye (red) to reorient along with it, which changes the transmission of light. In 1997, the U.S. Department of the Air Force identified a need for controlling visor tint in pilot eyewear. Visor tint was affected by light transmission when pilots would go above or below the clouds, as sudden washes of intense sunlight mid-flight impacted their ability to read and track the data on their aircraft-mounted and head-mounted displays. To address this safety issue, AFRL partnered with Kent State University-based AlphaMicron Inc., or AMI, a global leader in liquid crystal technology, to find a solution based on AMI’s proprietary polarizer-free, guest-host liquid crystal system known as e-Tint. AMI’s Chief Technology Officer and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bahman Taheri likens this system to a molecular version of a Venetian blind. (Courtesy photo / AlphaMicron Inc.)

“Working with AFRL gave and continues to give me a glimpse into what the future of eyewear is going to be,” Taheri said. “This helped AMI create the e-Tint technology for head-mounted displays, and ambient and intense light management for the warfighter. It is the reason that AMI’s CTRL Eyewear is now the only electronic military grade eyewear in the Army’s Authorized Protective Eyewear List (APEL). It took 25 years for the consumer electronics companies working on advanced electronic AR glasses to realize this need.”

Most recently, AMI has set its sights on expanding its technologies beyond near eye applications to the commercial automotive and architectural sectors. The company plans to leverage its preexisting connections to major automotive Tier 1 companies to apply electronically dimmable technology to replace electrochromic mirrors in electric cars, and to integrate sunroofs with switchable glazing technology. These measures will help maintain more consistent temperature control and extend battery life in electric vehicles.

“With the advent of electric cars, what [the auto industry] is really starting to want is this switchable glazing that can be applied to the glazing in the vehicle to stop the car from heating up when it’s parked,” Taheri said. “Heat can be a big drain on an electric car battery when you are trying to cool it down and having a sunroof that ‘switches’ makes a big difference there.”

Taheri said he credits his company’s collaboration with AFRL for giving AMI a head start in this field.

“Because of our interaction with AFRL, AMI is now the main supplier of the much-needed dimming element to many of these top tier companies,” Taheri said. “In that same tone, I genuinely believe that the work currently being performed for the AFRL [with Dr. Lange and his team] is also decades ahead of its time. I have no doubt that it will be the solution to some of the problems not yet realized in the consumer market.”

The company’s commercial expansion can only mean good things for the future of AFRL, Lange said, as the development of any new industry technology can provide fresh avenues for meeting DOD supply chain needs.

“It’s so important to continue to support our industrial base at all levels in order for them to be successful,” Lange said.

Hopper, Lange and Taheri said they look forward to future AFRL collaborations.

“Some of the coolest projects always come from the Air Force,” Taheri said. “My team always wants to gather in on those because they know there’s going to be a tough problem to solve.”

-Gail Forbes, Air Force Research Laboratory

Posted in Air Force, Aviation, Eyepro, Guest Post | Comments Off on AF Research Lab Re-Ups Affiliation with Longtime Liquid Crystal Industry Partner AlphaMicron Inc to Meet DoD Needs

Innovative Technology Supports Remediation Success at Lake City Army Ammunition Plant

Thursday, April 27th, 2023

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Some of the statistics at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant are attention-grabbers and provide context for the ongoing work and challenges at the small-caliber ammunition production facility.

For starters, the plant annually produces more than 1 billion rounds of ammunition per year on its 3,935 acres in Independence, Missouri.

The installation was established in 1941, and the environmental impacts of that production — particularly in the early years at the facility — generated large quantities of potentially hazardous wastes, including oils/greases, solvents, explosives and metals — some of which were released into the environment.

In 1980, LCAAP instituted an environmental restoration program, and in 1987 the cleanup at LCAAP was added to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priorities List. This cleanup is divided in 36 discrete areas of concern and four operable units to allow for the comprehensive planning, remediation and measurement needed for a project of this scope and scale.

“The environmental restoration program is important at LCAAP. The health and safety of personnel at the installation and in the surrounding community is significant,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Denton, LCAAP commander. “Our teams are continuing a robust monitoring program to ensure that our staff and the local community are not impacted by legacy contaminants. That includes monitoring from things like vapor intrusion, as well as surface water and sentry boundary groundwater monitoring across the entire installation.”

Denton said that as a mature site with continuing remediation needs, the LCAAP team is working to continually improve and upgrade the use of cutting-edge technology to produce high-resolution site assessment, aggressive monitoring, and treatment of non-aqueous phase liquids — known as NAPL, while maintaining a strong community involvement program. This includes the establishment in 1997 of a Restoration Advisory Board, with both regular meetings and information sharing, as well as an extensive archive of data at the local public library.

Part of successfully managing a remediation site of this complexity is understanding the need for developing new solutions to existing issues.

For example, the cleanup of waste pits that contain an estimated 2 million pounds of petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents and extensive NAPL contamination. The LCAAP team had been using limited zero valent iron and established barriers to prevent movement of the contaminants and used hydraulic fracturing techniques. However, the restoration timeline estimated for the site remained at hundreds of years using these methods.

The team, in collaboration with Army contractor Environmental Chemical Corporation, is now at work using an in situ thermal remediation system that has allowed for treatment of 28,000 bank cubic yards of the waste pits contaminated with NAPL. The process uses thermal gas conduction and high-resolution site assessment as well as dye-enhanced laser induced fluorescence.

“The DyeLIF system provided real-time NAPL results, allowing for a real-time, dynamic and adaptive strategy to deal with a complex problem,” said Sara Clark, environmental coordinator at the Joint Munitions Command. “This high-resolution site assessment has been used to generate more than 100,000 readings to create a precise 3D model of the NAPL contaminants within these pits.”

Another example is the use of the in situ thermal remediation system to heat soil, groundwater and NAPL contaminants within the waste pits to the boiling point of water for effective extraction and treatment, which dramatically improved restoration timelines.

The team is employing similar methods on other sites at LCAAP and working to build actionable models for use at other sites with legacy contaminants. These efforts have gained LCAAP’s team Secretary of the Army recognition for innovative planning and implementation of remediation efforts. The team has been selected to represent the Army in the Department of Defense Environmental Awards competition in recognition of this work.

By Thomas Milligan, USAEC

Posted in Ammo, Army, Guest Post | Comments Off on Innovative Technology Supports Remediation Success at Lake City Army Ammunition Plant

SPARTANAT Presents: An Interview with FROG.PRO

Tuesday, April 25th, 2023

The SPARTANAT Interview with FROG.PRO: “WE DON’T SET OURSELVES ANY LIMITS” was originally posted in their native German language at www.spartanat.com/2023/02/interview-fabio-von-frog-pro It is a great follow up to the tour of the factory we posted yesterday.

FROG.PRO is gear with function and design from Italy. During our home visit in Parma we talked to FROG.PRO founder Fabio Casali and got into gear-philosphing with the classic questions: Where are you from? Where are you going?

Happy birthday Fabio, FROG.PRO is getting 10 years old. Where are you actually standing as gear company?

Time to party! Ten years have gone by very quickly. I started out as a craftsman offering repairs and custom products and I’m now running a little gem. FROG.PRO today is a small company with less than 15 employees, organized and managed to obtain a very high value for the user and for those who work in the company.

Value in terms of product, as we are committed to offering different solutions from the rest of the market and with attention to the smallest details (that’s why you at SpartanAt nicknamed us “Armani Gear”, right?). When we design a new piece of equipment we don’t set limits: we use the best materials and integrate all the features that can improve the use of the product. Savings policies are then adopted by limiting fabric waste in cutting operations, optimizing sewing processes, taking care of supply logistics, but never at the expense of the product.

Value also in terms of quality of life for those who work with us. We have always invested in the implementation of technologies to facilitate and improve everyone’s work; and in the improvement of the workplace, as I believe that to create excellence you need to live in an excellent way, to breathe beauty and feel it deeply. For this reason we have always kept the manufacturing in house, guaranteeing 100% made in Italy products.

Therefore, I do not feel like expressing a judgment on the positioning on the market, as we are a unique reality in our field, aimed at those who share our values.

Ten years ago: where did it start?

The idea of founding an equipment manufacturing company came to my mind during my military service in the 2º RGT Alpini. Immediately after the leave, I looked for a temporary job that could make me earn some money and in 2013, overcoming the skepticism of relatives and acquaintances, I finally started the company FROG.PRO. I was alone. I rented a 70s workshop of about 80 square meters near my parent’s house: it wasn’t nice, but it was my laboratory, where I could finally give free reign to my creativity. Although I had already learned how to sew, I immediately collided with many problems related to the management of an entrepreneurial activity. I had to learn how to manage sales through social media and website, use a camera and photo editing softwares, create administrative documents, managing the relationships with banks, etc. Luckily, I am a very resilient person and I managed to take advantage of all the obstacles that stood in front of me to draw positive experiences and enrich my cultural background.

What was your experience in those 10 years?

During these ten years I lived through beautiful experiences alternated with really bad and stressful moments. In the company I celebrated with my team the goals achieved. I got angry at myself and at them for failures. I shared with them looks of satisfaction after very intense periods in which we all gave our best. I laughed a lot. I cried. I met many people and with some of them I formed friendships that still last today. I had a lot of different experiences. Looking back, I can say that I enjoyed every single moment of this awesome journey.

What can we expect from FROG.PRO? What is upcoming?

Over the past two years we have expanded our workshop to nearly 600 square meters as well as optimizing and automating many internal processes to structure the company for future growth. The products we make today are the result of these organizational efforts combined with all the passion we always put into our work. Recently, we finished the development of the new HAWK plate carrier, new cummerbunds, new pouches and we also patented a new quick detach system for modular panels called U.LOK. In addition to this, we will dedicate this year to completing the offer of our current catalogue. The best is yet to come…

FROG.PRO on the Internet

SPARTANAT: www.spartanat.com

Posted in Guest Post, Industry, International | 1 Comment »

Black Hills Designs – SHOVE-R

Monday, April 24th, 2023

The Black Hills Designs SHOVE-R shove knife is the hyper minimalist entry tool designed to be with you when you need it.

What is a shove knife and why do I need one?

In simplest terms: A shove knife is the old creditcard + door trick

Traditionally a shove knife is made out of metal and presents a long rigid item to conceal with a width measured in inches, the objective of the SHOVE-R is to make sure that you are equipped at all times.

3x for $35

If you are intrested in purchasing or becoming a dealer contact us at:

www.blackhillsdesigns.net

Prior and current mil/leo discount available.

Posted in Gadgets, Guest Post | Comments Off on Black Hills Designs – SHOVE-R

USSF Completes Service Dress Uniform Fit Tests

Monday, April 24th, 2023

WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Space Force completed its final service dress uniform fit test March 27-31 at the Pentagon. The initial fit test was conducted February 13-17 at Peterson Space Force Base.

Fit tests are an essential process in developing the prototype’s sizing and fit. One hundred Guardians worldwide were selected as fit test participants, an important milestone in delivering a first-rate uniform.

“From the word ‘go’ we have been committed to keeping Guardian feedback at the forefront of developing the service dress,” said Col. James Jenkins, director of the Office of Change Management Team. “We know Guardians are excited for a uniform they can call their own and we are accelerating as quickly as possible to deliver a product they can wear with pride.”

The Space Force unveiled its initial service dress uniform prototype in September 2021, quickly followed by a uniform roadshow garnering Guardian feedback.

“We used Guardian focus groups and roadshows to narrow service dress design options,” said Wade Yamada, U.S. Space Force Director of Staff deputy. “We listened intently to Guardian design and fit requests. In many ways, Guardians helped select our current service dress design.”

The next step in developing the service dress uniform is the wear test to assess the durability, functionality and comfort of the prototype. The wear test will begin in summer 2023.

During the wear test, Guardians will wear the uniform three times a week and provide detailed feedback assessing the prototypes.

“We are excited by Guardians’ input into their future uniform,” said Catherine Lovelady, Office of Change Management Team uniform lead. “We are passionate about ensuring our members continue to have a voice in shaping a unique Space Force uniform.”

Guardian feedback will continually be at the forefront of uniform development as the service works toward delivering to the force in late 2025.

Story by SAF/PA Staff Writer, Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

Photos by Andy Morataya

Posted in Clothing, Guest Post, Profession of Arms, Space | 7 Comments »

SPARTANAT Presents: “On Tour: FROG.PRO workshop visit”

Sunday, April 23rd, 2023

SPARTANAT’s ON TOUR: FROG.PRO workshop visit was organized finally posted to their site at www.spartanat.com/2023/02/on-tour-werkstattbesuch-frog-pro in their native German language. This is a translation of that article. They’ve been gracious enough to share it with our readers.

ON TOUR: FROG.PRO workshop visit

We, too, have undertaken an Italian journey. No, not like Goethe, who traveled south of the Alpine ridge from 1786 to 1788. We were only there for two days and only got as far as Parma. And there not because of the famous culinary – although we can’t complain there – but because of the good gear. FROG.PRO, the Armani among Italian gear manufacturers, is at home there, we were with them in the workshop.

How Gear is created? Gear is created from material. Also at FROG.PRO, ten minutes from downtown Parma and yet outside the city, the raw material is important and the stocked warehouse is the basis that gear can be produced in different materials and colors.

But the sum of the parts is then more than the parts for themselves. FROG.PRO relied on laser cutting early on, and that shows in the workshop equipment. When you see the parts, you know where you stand.

This is what a panel looks like on the computer that controls the laser cutter. Here, the viewer can already recognize FROG.PRO’s characteristic design language: MOLLE with point openings.

And this is what it looks like when the suction stops working and the lid of the large laser computer opens. You can never have enough MOLLE …

The Italians produce on a daily basis. And in addition to the laser cut parts, all the other ingredients are added. They all add up to a whole: this will be Orthos Med Pouches.

Other color fancy? No, this is still not fashion, but MOLLE for IFAK bags for rescue forces, which are in hi-vis eye-catching colors.

Only who must come and everything exactly and exkat assemble. At the industrial machines sit seamstresses who build from the individual parts, the gear that you all know. Here again is a civilian IFAK in the works.

Work that requires a lot of patience and accuracy, because equipment consists of many parts and is constructed step by step. Until the FROG.PRO product is ready.

Also still there: classic MOLLE straps that provide mounting options on equipment.

And not to forget: lots of plastic parts with special functions.

These are some jobs that FROG.PRO has created. All Gear is produced locally by local workers.

At the end comes the shipping. What is ready is packed. Before that, the quality control department takes a close look at everything and makes sure that everything is as good as you expect from FROG.PRO.

At the same time, the Italian equipment manufacturer has a wide range that wants to get to the man: here is the very special Sniper CORE Chest Rig. It has been designed with special forces, we will soon present it to you separately.

Other items are more mundane, belts for example. Below the inner belt, above the equipment belt and above the padding that can be velcroed into the belt, which prevents the War Belt from slipping when worn over the jacket.

And, of course, plenty of different pouches for all the purposes you need to use.

“The Italian has a deeper feeling for the high dignity of art than other nations,” Goethe wrote in his famous Italian travelogue. Sounds pompous today, but it has a kernel of truth that can be found not only in the many fashion companies in the area and Milan and Parma. Fabio Casa, the founder and the soul of FROG.PRO, brings functionality and style together and both together result in his designs best equipment from Italy: FROG.PRO just.

FROG.PRO im Internet

SPARTANAT: www.spartanat.com

Posted in Guest Post, Industry, International | Comments Off on SPARTANAT Presents: “On Tour: FROG.PRO workshop visit”