Helmets | Soldier Systems Daily Soldier Systems Daily

Archive for the ‘Helmets’ Category

UNICOR Suspends Helmet Production

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

Rep. Chris Carney from Pennsylvania’s office issued a statement that Federal Prison Industries aka UNICOR has ceased production of ballistic helmets and waived right of first refusal for future helmet bids. UNICOR enjoys preferential treatment in contracting for many items purchased by the federal government. In addition to manufacturing the more than 44,000 Advanced Combat Helmets recently recalled by the Army, UNICOR currently holds two helmet contracts. One contract with the Army is for 600,000 ACH and the other with the Marines is for 100,000 lightweight ballistic helmets. In both cases helmets have failed to pass first article testing and consequently not a single helmet has been delivered for either contract, both of which are 18 months overdue.

Tags: UNICOR
Posted in Helmets | Comments Off on UNICOR Suspends Helmet Production

Army Helmet Recall – the Plot Thickens

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

Last week we began to hear some rumblings from industry that the Advanced Combat Helmets sold to the Army by ArmorSource were actually produced by sub-contractor UNICOR (federal prison industries). UNICOR has first right of refusal for numerous commodities purchased by the government. For example, try to buy office furniture for a government building without going to UNICOR first. UNICOR is no stranger to manufacturing helmets, nor to making a mess of the deal. Some PASGT Helmets produced by UNICOR between 1980 and 2006 were found to have been incorrectly manufactured with not enough Kevlar. At that time, UNICOR was working as a sub-contractor to produce helmets for Sioux Manufacturing Corporation. So, unfortunately for ArmorSource (formerly known as Rabintex USA), the Army’s statement last week about removing the helmets from service makes it seem that they are under investigation by the Department of Justice. Perhaps they are, but the investigation is being handled by the US Attorney for Eastern Texas which also happens to be near the UNICOR facility in Beaumont, Texas that produced the helmets in question. This makes it seem to be a UNICOR-centric issue and begs the question whether UNICOR has any business manufacturing personal protective equipment for the military.

Tags: ArmorSource
Posted in Helmets, Industry | Comments Off on Army Helmet Recall – the Plot Thickens

More on the Recalled Advanced Combat Helmets

Friday, May 21st, 2010

In response to our query on the reasoning behind the recall of 44,239 Advanced Combat Helmets produced by ArmorSource LLC (formerly Rabintex USA LLC), PEO-Soldier informed us that after testing a statistical sample of ArmorSource helmets, results showed that they did not meet Army standards for ballistic protection. We found it unusual for a product to be recalled by manufacturer rather than lot number, and PEO-Soldier went on to explain that the testing was specific to ArmorSource. It was conducted in conjunction with an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, and the Army concluded that it was in Soldiersâ€™ best interests to recall all ACHs made by ArmorSource. Thanks to PEO-Soldier for the clarification.

Posted in Helmets, PEO-Soldier | Comments Off on More on the Recalled Advanced Combat Helmets

Army Recalls 44,000 Helmets

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

According to a story just published by the Department of Defense, the Army is recalling 44,000 Advanced Combat helmets found to be defective. The ACH is an Army derivative of the MSA Gallet developed Modular integrated Communications Helmet originally fielded to Special Operations Forces beginning in 2001. The defective helmets were manufactured by ArmorSource LLC (formerly Rabintex USA LLC) and represent 4% of the total fielded ACH. However, the Army has ample stocks and foresees no shortfalls. Rabintex is an Israeli armor manufacturer.

Tags: Rabintex
Posted in Helmets | Comments Off on Army Recalls 44,000 Helmets

New NOD Mount Compatible Light

Friday, May 14th, 2010

Ops-Core has partnered with Princeton Tec to produce the Quad Tactical Head Lamp. The four LED lamp light is waterproof and features interchangeable lens covers to provide white, blue, red, and green light. The light component is produced by Princeton Tec and mounted to an Ops-Core bracket that fits their VAS Shroud. The bracket is also MOLLE compatible and the light can function as a regular headlamp as well.

Tags: Ops-Core, Princeton Tec
Posted in Helmets, Lights | Comments Off on New NOD Mount Compatible Light

Revision Offer to Purchase Pacific Safety Products

Friday, May 14th, 2010

Pacific Safety Products Inc. announced today that it has received an offer from Revision Eyewear Inc. to purchase all the issued and outstanding shares of PSP at a price of Cdn $0.18 per share in an all-cash transaction. The purchase price represents a premium of 50% over the weighted average trading price of PSP’s common shares on the TSX-V for the 30 trading days prior to March 4, 2010. The sale still requires the approval of PSP’s shareholders.

Revision is a private company with corporate headquarters in Montreal and operational headquarters in Essex Junction, Vermont, USA which develops and delivers purpose-built eye protection solutions for military and tactical clients worldwide.

What makes this so significant is that PSP is an armor manufacturer and this move signals Revision’s desire to move into new areas of the personal protection market.

Posted in Armor, Helmets, Industry | Comments Off on Revision Offer to Purchase Pacific Safety Products

SOCOM Procuring Wilcox HMRS

Sunday, April 4th, 2010

SOCOM has released a tender to purchase 1441, AN/PSH-6 “Helmet Mounted Recording Systems” despite its having an NSN. Type classified in 2008 as the Mission Helmet Recording System, it is a headborne video recording system designed and manufactured by Wilcox Industries.

Designed to record what the wearer sees through his NVG monocle, it is a great way to record details of an operation from the Warrior perspective. Additionally, the system conforms with the helmet’s NVG ratchet strap. The solicitation as well as our earlier article are packed with technical data for those so inclined.

Tags: Wilcox Industries
Posted in Gadgets, Helmets | Comments Off on SOCOM Procuring Wilcox HMRS

S&S Precision Catalog

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

We have written about both S&S Precision as well as V-Lite. Both are excellent companies that offer niche products built to exacting standards, that are not found anywhere else. They have recently merged under the S&S Precision brand but will maintain their distinct web presence for the time being. For the those of you unfamiliar with S&S Precision check out their catalog below. By no means is this the entirety of their offerings. For example, we recently wrote about their Grenade Launcher Holster. Another item to watch is the WeaponLinkâ„¢; truly revolutionary in design. Look for further information here in the near future of this and other products.

S&S Precision 2010 Catalog

For those interested in purchasing S&S Precision products contact Grey Group Training.

Tags: S&S Precision, V-Lite
Posted in Gadgets, Helmets, Lights, weapons | Comments Off on S&S Precision Catalog