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Archive for the ‘Industry’ Category

Revision Acquires Panacis

Tuesday, February 25th, 2014

Canadian company Panacis has been making quite a bit of buzz over the past 18 months or so with their battery products for military applications; particularly the SharePack. Looks like they caught the eye of Revision which has been doing quite a bit of work in the Soldier Systems arena.

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REVISION EXPANDS INTEGRATED SOLDIER SYSTEM CAPABILITY THROUGH ACQUISITION OF POWER MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY COMPANY

Montreal, QC (February 25, 2014) -– Revision Military, a world leader in protective soldier solutions, has expanded its capabilities by adding power management to its roster of integrated technologies, through the acquisition of Panacis, an Ottawa-based company focusing on Lithium ion rechargeable energy storage systems.

Advanced, electronic battlefield equipment such as networked radios, night-vision systems, GPS, smart phones and laptops, while increasing situational awareness and capability within smaller units, comes with the challenge of sustaining power for these devices, ideally without the weight and complexity that numerous types of batteries present.

“The opportunity for an integrated power management system that provides flexible storage and power management that can be easily adapted to a wide range of mission scenarios is extensive” said Jonathan Blanshay, CEO of Revision. “We are pleased to add power management – the ability to store, deliver, harvest, and share energy – to our roster of technologies in support of fully
integrating electronic equipment while lessening the battery burden on soldiers”.

Revision has been working collaboratively with Panacis on several projects, including reviewing power support for the “Prowler” Human Augmentation system and development of a conformal battery housed on the helmet developed for Natick under the HEaDS-UP ATO program, among a number of other initiatives where next generation energy management is crucial to soldier performance.

“We are delighted to be part of Revision Military and are looking forward to bringing our technological expertise, intellectual property, engineering strength and global program experience to provide highly efficient energy management and storage systems to the warfighter”, said Steve Carkner, founder and CTO of Panacis. “We welcome the opportunity that Revision offers to further commercialize our current products as well as new product ideas in support of Integrated Soldier Systems”.

“The expertise the Panacis team brings to the Revision portfolio of capability will allow Revision to offer a much more complete solution package to both users and partners such as Prime contractors” said Richard Coomber, Revision Military’s VP of Integrated Systems. “By integrating power, data management and protection in flexible ways Revision aims to become the solution provider of choice on a range of platforms. The history the Panacis and Revision teams bring in working together means that we can hit the ground running and deliver on our current projects and the exciting new ones our team can tackle, many of which are already in the pipeline”.

The acquisition is effective February 21, 2014, and the energy solutions team will continue to operate from Ottawa.

Warrior Protection & Readiness Coalition Appoints David Costello as Executive Director

Monday, February 24th, 2014

The Board of Directors of the Warrior Protection & Readiness Coalition (WPRC) has announced that they have unanimously voted to appoint David L. Costello as the Executive Director of the WPRC. Congratulations!

WPRC Announcement

(Click to view announcement)

TYR Tactical Announces North Carolina Expansion

Saturday, February 22nd, 2014

Received this from TYR Tactical:

Tyr SP

February in Southern Pines, North Carolina
Since 2010 our goal has always been to make each design feel like it was custom made for you, The Next Generation Warrior®. Our next evolution starts now. Please join us as we celebrate the Grand Opening of our first east coast facility, TYR Tactical™ Southern Pines.

Our Mission:
Southern Pines primary purpose is to act as a Custom Shop and “TYRORIZE” facility. The Custom Shop will allow you to take one of the five available platforms (PICO-DA, PICO-MV, PICO-MVS, COMA001, Ultra Low Vis Plate Carrier for the Velocity ULV Plate) and customize it with already existing TYR Tactical™ pouches. “Customization” refers to hard sewing pre-existing TYR Tactical™ pouches/MOLLE to one of the 5 above platforms. TYRORIZE \’tir-o-rise\ [adv] Meaning to modify or enhance an operator’s existing nylon or armored equipment.

Why Southern Pines?
Southern Pines is a perfect spot. We looked elsewhere in the region, but that community was the only one that felt like a second home. Fort Bragg is obviously a major hub for the Army, I wanted to be in a place with a great quality of life that was also positioned strategically to help our company grow. For us, Southern Pines is that place, so this move makes total sense.

Why Now?
TYR Tactical™ is a fast paced and growing company. This move is the culmination of 2 years of planning. Our objective is to bring the innovation, style and quality of manufacturing that every TYR Tactical™ product has to the east coast.

Can I order online and pick it up at TYR Tactical™ Southern Pines?
Yes. TYRTactical.com will offer a “SOPO Will Call” shipping option. A $5 handling fee will apply. This is because items will still be manufactured in Peoria, AZ and sent in biweekly freight shipments to Southern Pines. All online order status and expedite requests will still handled at our flagship location in Peoria, AZ.

Hours of Operation:
Monday – Friday
9am – 5pm
By Appointment Only

Contact Us:
SOPO@tyrtactical.com
(910)733-1790

Colt Is Buying LWRC! *Yawn

Friday, February 21st, 2014

Since it’s being reported elsewhere I’ll share what has been floating around for some time, Colt is supposedly buying LWRC. Nobody has any real details yet because it hasn’t actually happened…yet. So if somebody tells you they have facts, they don’t. Until the ink is dry, it’s all just a rumor.

Kevin Brittingham & Lindsay Bunch Join SIG

Tuesday, February 18th, 2014

Kevin Brittingham Joins SIG

I got a chance to catch up with Kevin Brittingham when he told me that he had joined SIG Sauer to head up their new SIG-SD Silencer business unit. We had last spoken at SHOT Show, right after winning a mutli-million dollar lawsuit against former employer Freedom Group. Brittingham founded Advanced Armament Corporation in 1994 which he sold to FGI in 2009 and is widely recognized as an expert in suppressor technology. His attitude at SHOT Show was very upbeat and he indicated that there were going to be some things to see at next year’s show.

Kevin is very excited about the opportunity at SIG and shared this with me, “Ethan Lessard, was the head of my engineering at AAC, quit and went back to SIG when I was fired. He did the LVAW (honey badger). He also started the Remington 51 and we were using it as the basis of our integrally silenced pistol platform.” That is a pretty intriguing statement but what he followed up with is all Kevin, “He’s a stud. We are working together again. Expect awesome shit.”

NEWINGTON, N.H. (February 17, 2014) — SIG SAUER® is proud to announce that Kevin Brittingham and Lindsay Bunch are joining its staff, adding decades of product design, R&D, and military experience. Their collective expertise will further enhance the company’s existing state-of-the-art special weapons development capabilities.

SIG SAUER welcomes Kevin Brittingham to lead its new SIG-SD Silencer business unit, as well as other special programs within its Military/Law Enforcement development activities.

Brittingham, the founder of Advanced Armament Corporation, currently holds more than 40 patents in the firearms industry. As part of his work at AAC, Brittingham also led the development of the .300 AAC Blackout cartridge. Recently, Brittingham was a founding member of the American Silencer Association, an advocacy group dedicated to championing the use of suppressors and lifting restrictions on ownership.

SIG SAUER is also pleased to announce the addition of Lindsay Bunch as Product Manager, Special Weapons Development Group.

Bunch joins SIG SAUER after serving more than two decades in the United States Army. With more than 10 years as an Army Sniper, Bunch moved into Special Operations Command, where his skills and experience were used in research and development of many of the U.S. military’s precision weapons systems in use today. His extraordinary knowledge will help SIG SAUER continue as an innovator and leader in the precision weapons category.

“SIG SAUER’s commitment to attracting the best minds in the industry drives our cutting-edge weapons systems,” said Ron Cohen, SIG SAUER President and Chief Executive Officer. “The addition of Kevin and Lindsay to the team demonstrates the company’s strategic investment in personnel to help design and engineer the finest weapons, technology, and support for our military customers.”

www.sigsauer.com

Congratulations to SIG SAUER for picking up both Brittingham and Bunch.

www.sigsauer.com

Triple Canopy Forms 100% Employee Owned Company

Tuesday, February 18th, 2014

According to the website POC which focuses on Private Military Companies, Triple Canopy announced that “that it has formed a 100 percent employee-owned company by establishing an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).” Impressively, Triple Canopy is a veteran-owned and veteran-run company with more than 80% of their workforce is made up of former military personnel.

“This is an exciting time for Triple Canopy and we are proud to become a majority veteran, employee-owned company,” said Triple Canopy CEO Ignacio Balderas. “Delivering quality services to governments and multinational companies in challenging locations remains the mainstay of our business success.”

Formed in 2003 by SOF Veterans, Triple Canopy has survived the changing international security environment intact. That alone is impressive. One of the reasons I feel is that they have made serious efforts to professionalize the community, working to establish the Code of Conduct for Private Security Contractors.

www.triplecanopy.com

SHOT Show – Blue Force Gear Introduces New Point of Purchase Displays

Tuesday, February 18th, 2014

For manufacturers and retailers alike, Point of Sale Displays are extremely important. For the manufacturer it is the best way to represents themselves on a retail sales floor. For the retailer, the display should help showcase the product. I think Blue Force Gear has done a great job with this new launch, unveiled at SHOT Show.

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The displays at the top can be changed and according to BFG they plan to support this capability with regular updates that will catch the customer’s eye as well as inform.

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In addition to a very neat layout, there’s something else special about this display that won’t dawn on many right off the bat.

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These blue guns are the best part of this new display. It can be difficult to visualize how many slings work. Generally, the customer will wonder if it’s long enough, how it will connect to the rifle, etc. With embedded QD points and Picatinny rail sections, these blue guns are an inexpensive way to provide some hands on time and show a customer how to configure the sling on the rifle.

Each display comes with one blue gun. Contact www.BlueForceGear.com for details about this new program.

Oakley Expands SI Program to Veterans

Monday, February 17th, 2014

OakleySI is expanding their web site membership program to Veterans. As I am sure you all know, previously the program was only available to active or reservist military, EMS, fire, state and local law enforcement personal. Now, Vets can join as well.

Oakley

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., Feb. 3, 2014 – Oakley Standard Issue, a division of Oakley, Inc., today announced that beginning February 6, 2014, military veterans will be eligible to register to become a member of the Oakley Standard Issue program through the OakleySI.com website. The program offers direct pricing on an exclusive line of Standard Issue products. Previously, membership was only available to U.S. active duty military, reserve, federal and local law enforcement, fire, EMS and those holding military retiree credentials.

“Prior OakleySI members, who because of their change from active duty status to veteran, want continued access to the Standard Issue products and price benefits. We also want to grant membership to the millions of other veterans who deserve the privilege of the OakleySI program,” said Dane Howell, OakleySI Sales Manager.

For veterans looking to participate, the process is easy, but requires the validation of a DD Form 256 or DD Form 214, or U.S. State or U.S. Local Government identification.
Complete membership details can be found on at OakleySI.com beginning February 6, 2014.

www.oakleysi.com