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Mehler Vario System Group to Showcase Latest Innovations at SOFINS Trade Show

Tuesday, March 21st, 2023

FULDA, GERMANY (17 March 2023)—Mehler Vario System Group, a cutting-edge team of companies offering integrated solutions for professional users, today announced it will exhibit at the Special Operations Forces Innovation Network Seminar (SOFINS) trade show later this month.

SOFINS will be held 28-30 March at the Camp de Souge military base near Bordeaux, France.

Mehler Vario System GmbH—the group’s parent company—said it plans to showcase there its latest products and solutions, including innovations from its subsidiary companies UF PRO, Lindnerhof-Taktik, and Mehler Engineered Defence.

The group will exhibit at stand D1E2 and will have experts present to provide detailed information about the innovations as well as to answer visitors’ questions and assist them in test-driving the products and services on display.

Of particular note: this will mark the first time that Lindnerhof-Taktik and UF PRO have exhibited at SOFINS, which is now in its sixth edition. Lindnerhof-Taktik—a specialist in tactical equipment and accessories—said it is looking forward to exhibiting at SOFINS, especially since SOFINS is the well-recognised, focal-point gathering for high-tech industries that provide products and services to special forces and units.

Jakob Kolbeck, CEO of Lindnerhof-Taktik, said he is convinced that the workshop-style format of SOFINS is “almost tailor-made for an organisation like ours, one led by former German KSK Special Forces operators who to this day remain strongly influenced by their tours of duty with that elite military branch. By taking part in SOFINS, we gain the opportunity to be both a high-tech exhibitor and ‘one of the few.’”

Lindnerhof-Taktik also revealed that it will spotlight an array of customised pouches that have been specially developed for numerous European special-forces units and public-safety authorities.

On display will also be the M.U.S.T. System, a versatile, modular protection and carrying system developed collaboratively between Mehler Vario System GmbH and Lindnerhof-Taktik. Visitors will be able to try on M.U.S.T. and experience its many possible configuration options while also learning about the wide range of missions for which the system would have applicability.

Additionally, Mehler Vario System GmbH will introduce several new personal-protection and ballistic-protection products, among them lightweight helmets, plate carriers, and various ballistic vests.

Mehler Engineered Defence, a specialist in high-performance ballistic solutions for land, sea, and air applications, will highlight its range of personal ballistic protection shields.

Meanwhile, UF PRO—a tactical clothing brand for professional end-users—said it will display its latest product line, consisting in part of Striker XT Gen.3 Combat Shirt and Pants, Delta AcE Plus Gen.3 Tactical Jacket, and Delta OL 4.0 Winter Suit.

“We are excited to present at SOFINS our cutting-edge solutions for the special-operations community,” said Armin Wagner, UF PRO Head of Product Development. “SOFINS is a unique platform for us to participate in because it gives us the chance to engage with special-operations professionals and gain from those encounters many valuable insights into the evolving needs and challenges of operators,” said Wagner. “We look forward to exchanging ideas and feedback with our customers and partners, and to demonstrating how our solutions can help enhance their mission success and safety.”

For more information, visit www.m-v-s.de/en/company/mvs-group.

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Female Veterans Made ‘Visible’ by new Transformational Programme Which Will Provide Ambitious Toolkit to Support Servicewomen from the Royal Navy, Army and RAF

Sunday, March 19th, 2023

“When people hear ‘veteran’ they think of an elderly gentleman wearing medals. But what about our servicewomen? Women have been invisible for too long, and we now know the far-reaching impact this is having.”

Colonel (Retd) Alison Brown OBE, Chair of the Cobseo Female Veterans’ Cluster, and Life Vice President of the WRAC Association

[LONDON] The invisible cohort of female veterans will finally be brought into view, thanks to a new programme designed to deliver long-term, systemic change at veteran-facing organisations such as healthcare services, care homes and charities. The news follows research including a 2021 report by Cosbeo and NHS England showing that female veterans are significantly less likely to identify with the term ‘veteran’ than their male counterparts.

The Female Veterans Transformation Programme will be managed by the Women’s Royal Army Corps (WRAC) Association and Cobseo (The Confederation of Service Charities) to reduce barriers to women who have served, by working collaboratively across the Armed Forces charity sector. The project will be funded by a £300,000 grant from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.

DELIVERING NECESSARY CHANGE VIA A TRAINING TOOLKIT

The announcement follows extensive research into the experience of female veterans who have left the Armed Forces which shows an estimated 53% of female veterans feel their needs are not adequately met by current veteran services, as confirmed by Sarah Atherton MP in a 2021 report. The Female Veteran Transformation Programme plans to set foundations for future generations of female veterans across the Royal Navy, Army, and Royal Air Force by developing a toolkit to tackle key themes including: physical and mental healthcare, financial advice, care provisions, employment services and combating loneliness. In the words of Colonel (Retd) Alison Brown OBE, who is Chair of the Cobseo Female Veterans’ Cluster Group, and Life Vice President of the WRAC Association: “We will translate our strong understanding of the female veteran cohort to ensure that the particular needs of female veterans are firmly embedded in the design and delivery of support services, diluting and, in time, removing the many barriers to access now identified through published research.”

PREPARING GROUND FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

£300,000 in funding from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust’s Transformational Grants programme will allow Cobseo’s Female Veterans’ Cluster Group to set foundations for future generations of servicewomen – by collaborating with veteran-facing organisations (such as health services, care providers and charities) to provide tailored guidance on how to support newly transitioned female veterans as well as their older counterparts. Nick Pope, Chair of Cobseo, voices his delight: “This funding is a very positive step forward in developing sustainable and targeted support for all female Veterans. The research commissioned by Cobseo’s Female Veterans Cluster, and undertaken by the Veterans and Families Institute for Military Social Research (VFI) at Anglia Ruskin University to examine women’s overall experiences in the UK Armed Forces in June 2021, made a range of recommendations on how to improve life for women during and after military service, and this funding enables us to work collaboratively across the Armed Forces Charity sector to take significant action towards making real lasting and change.”

Anna Wright, Chief Executive of the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, shares her thoughts on the newly-awarded Transformation Grant: “We are excited by the potential for systemic change, addressing some very difficult challenges for the Armed Forces community. It is inspiring to see the level of in-depth knowledge, experience and expertise shown by those who’ve received funding. We look forward to seeing the impact that this funding will have and hope that it will prove to be truly transformational.”

ADDRESSING UNDER-REPRESENTATION

The Rt Hon Johnny Mercer MP, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs has recently highlighted the need for improved provisions for female veterans: “Making this country the best place in the world to be a veteran shouldn’t just be something we say, but something we do. In order to deliver this ambition, it’s vital that we listen to women veterans, celebrate their successes, and deliver the support they need.”

Paula Rogers, CEO of the WRAC Association, explains: “This AFCT funding allows the Women’s Royal Army Corps Association, in partnership with the Cobseo Female Veterans’ Cluster Group, to take forward this much-needed work to design and sustain the provision of support services for all female veterans. We are proud to be spearheading this work for female veterans across the Royal Navy, Army, and Royal Air Force and will work to deliver long term systematic change with benefits reaching our elderly war-service veterans through to those leaving their service career in years to come.”

Posted in For the Ladies, International, Press Release | Comments Off on Female Veterans Made ‘Visible’ by new Transformational Programme Which Will Provide Ambitious Toolkit to Support Servicewomen from the Royal Navy, Army and RAF

Spectra Group Announces Supply of Troposcatter COMET Systems to ARRC for C2 Experimentation

Tuesday, March 14th, 2023

Spectra Group (UK) Ltd, a specialist provider of secure voice, data and satellite communications systems, announces the supply of a number of Troposcatter Compact Over-the horizon Mobile Expeditionary Terminal (COMET) systems to the British Army’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) 3-star Headquarters (HQ) as part of their Agile Command and Control (C2) experimentation programme. The initial award has a value of £1.2 million, with aspirations to upscale following results analysis and suitable funding being secured. The capability will help support HQ ARRC’s rapid deployment role, enabling the communication of large data in a tactical environment without relying on host nation infrastructure or satellites.

HQ ARRC stands at high readiness to deploy and lead NATO’s Response Force (NRF). The Army’s position as the pre-eminent European Land partner to the US, is achieved through leadership in NATO and reflected in the tenure of the Alliance’s deputy commander post. HQ ARRC provides UK Defence a 3-star HQ, capable of deploying around the world in a variety of configurations to command national or NATO missions. It provides a framework within which international partners can deploy forces and is capable of operating across the spectrum of conflict. As such, HQ ARRC has significant data communication demands that must be met in challenging and austere environments, with minimal infrastructure and when facing both an asymmetric and conventional enemy threat.

Troposcatter is a small, lightweight and high-bandwidth data link that uses the Troposphere to provide its communication network. It is independent of satellites and works in a GPS/GNSS denied environment, so is suitable for use in a Peer-on-Peer conflict and to support multi-domain integration, including pan-government and with allies. It has very low latency and can provide wide bandwidth, enabling analysis and manipulation of large data, which combined with its high mobility makes it suitable for large, deployed HQs (such as ARRC) and for more mobile battlegroups or even down to company headquarters. Unlike geostationary satellites, it is effective in polar regions and because it is directional, uses low power and has complex waveforms it is difficult to detect and is highly suitable for many of the challenges faced by UK Defence and NATO today.

Spectra Group delivered two COMET systems to HQ ARRC in January 2023 which will allow ARRC to train and deploy at speed with the latest Troposcatter technology and facilitate big data manipulation at the very edge of the tactical environment, while enhancing the HQs flexibility and agility to respond quickly in a crisis. The procurement route was equally as agile as the system itself, as reported in March 2022, Troposcatter COMET was added to the NATO Catalogue so any NATO country can purchase directly without going to tender.

Michael Davies, Business Development Executive at Spectra Group said: “The Troposcatter COMET is a lightweight and easily deployable system that is operationally proven and is also in-service with British high-readiness forces such as the Royal Marines. We are delighted that HQ ARRC has also adopted this system to support its communication and data needs.”

www.spectra-group.co.uk

Posted in Comms, International, Press Release | 1 Comment »

See Ocean State Innovations at LAAD Defence & Security Show

Tuesday, March 14th, 2023

OSI / Ocean State Innovations will be attending the LAAD Defence & Security Show in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil – April 11th – 14th, 2023, as an International Defense and Security Fair – it is the largest and most important defense and security trade show in Latin America. For additional information, please contact: peter@osinnovate.com

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Swiss Army Awards Contracts to Six Companies for New Cold Weather Clothing

Tuesday, March 14th, 2023

According to a release late last month, the Swiss Procurement Agency (Bundesamt für Rüstung armasuisse) has awarded contracts to six companies to provide new cold and wet weather combat clothing for around 44 million Suisse francs.

The new producers of kit for the Army combat clothing and equipment (Kampfbekleidung und Ausrüstung der Armee or MBAS) program include two Swiss, one Austrian, one German, one Polish and one Indian company. They are: Workfashion.com AG and Cross Fashion Ltd. from Switzerland, Goldeck Textil GmbH from Austria, Ziegler Textil AG from Germany, Unifeq Sp. Z.o.o. from Poland and Qualiance Pvt. Ltd. from India.

All six companies were also checked in advance for the social sustainability of production, such as working conditions and safety standards.

The program began in 2018 with plans to begin fielding later this year. The MBAS project includes the procurement of new combat clothing and carrying systems in a new camouflage pattern as well as a hydration system and ballistic body protection in two versions.

Contracts for headgear have already been awarded to French and a Polish company. The combat uniform portion of the program is still in source selection. A total of 348 million Suisse francs have been budgeted for MBAS.

Posted in Clothing, Contracts, International | 1 Comment »

Australian Soldiers Use Brainwaves to Control Ghost Robotics Quadruped Unmanned Ground Vehicle 60

Monday, March 13th, 2023

During our coverage of last year’s Land Forces exhibition in Brisbane, Australia we mentioned the Australian Defence Force’s Robotic & Autonomous Systems Implementation & Coordination Office (RICO) which they are using to shape their ground robotics requirements.

Working in concert with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and Defence Science and Technology Group, the RICO team has sent $1.2 million in research funding through the Defence Innovation Hub.

The investment is oaying off. One of their efforts is the exploration of brain-computer interfaces and their tactical applications. The result is a demonstration of using the operator’s brainwave to issue commands to a Ghost Robotics Vision 60 QUGV rather than through a control console.

The operator wears a HoloLens to view waypoints in Augmented Reality. They use a biosensor at the back of the operator’s head to detect corresponding brainwaves from the visual cortex which signals an amplification circuit. An artificial intelligence decoder then translates the signal into commands which are sent to the Vision 60 Quadruped.

The HoloLens also allows the operator to view the Vision 60’s cameras.

To watch a video demomstrating the capability, go here.

ADF photo by Sergeant Matthew Bickerton

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Ventum Gear – Burrito Multi Pouch

Friday, March 10th, 2023

One pouch – every mission! The burrito multi pouch offers versatility.

www.ventumgear.com/en/p/burrito-r-multi-pouch

Posted in International, Load Carrying | Comments Off on Ventum Gear – Burrito Multi Pouch

Enforce Tac 23 – Profile Equipment

Wednesday, March 8th, 2023

Profile Equipment is a Dutch company which offers a variety of Israeli technology like the TrekAce, a wearable command and control device which provides haptic feedback to the wearer which means less time staring at the screen of an EUD.

Posted in Enforce Tac, International, Sensors | Comments Off on Enforce Tac 23 – Profile Equipment