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WNDSN x Spartanat Coordinate Scale

Thursday, October 8th, 2020

Berlin/Vienna, 2020-10-07 – The WNDSN x SPARTANAT Coordinate Scale Telemeter is a collaboration between precision instrument maker WNDSN from Berlin and gear magazine Spartanat from Vienna.

The front side contains a range calculator that goes up to 6 MIL (NATO-MIL) and the back side hosts a quadrant for measuring slope and elevation angles in percent, as well as in degrees, and in MIL with a resolution of 1 degree or 25 MIL. Furthermore, there is a coordinate scale for the common map scales of 1:25k and 1:50k divided into 0.1 and 0.2 km to measure or transfer right-angled coordinates from or to topographical maps with UTM, MGRS, USNG or other metric coordinate systems.

The double-sided Coordinate Scale Telemeter is a tool for navigation, altitude, and distance determination and enables the user to do more than merely guessing distances. It works by finding an object of known dimension, distance, or angular size, then measuring it with the appropriate scales, and using the baked-in trigonometry to find the desired value by aligning the provided string across the various scales. Using the string as a plumb line for the quadrant opens up further possibilities for measuring and sighting.

Scales on the WNDSN x Spartanat Coordinate Scale Telemeter:
• Angular size and distance
• Height or depth of an object
• Degree, MIL, and slope quadrant
• Coordinate scale

The Coordinate Scale Telemeter is another WNDSN multi tool for emergency navigation, for training purposes or for comparing the results of other instruments, a powerhouse of critical functions in one durable, low tech, high utility instrument that can be brought anywhere and belongs in every instructor’s and survival kit.

The WNDSN x Spartanat Planzeiger is now available exclusively in the web shop Spartanat. The instrument is accompanied by an instructions booklet in both German and English.

Links:

•WNDSN

•SPARTANAT

Available at:

•Spartanat Shop (international shipping available)

Posted in Comms, International, Press Release | Comments Off on WNDSN x Spartanat Coordinate Scale

DSEI 2021: UK Ministry of Defence to focus on the Integrated Response to Future Threats

Monday, October 5th, 2020

DSEI 2021 will put integration in the spotlight as the UK Ministry of Defence and the British Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and UK Strategic Command work to develop and maintain organic integration at all levels and across all domains.

As British forces modernise to meet the demands of the information age, they do so with the understanding that success on the future battlefield requires integration across land, sea, air, cyber and space. Under the theme of ‘Integrated Response to Future Threats’ DSEI 2021 will be shaped to support this strategic shift with input from industry, academia, international partners and delegates.

With the newly formed Strategic Command leading ambitious plans to deliver a step-change in the way British commands interoperate, UK Defence is driving integration efforts to mesh the way individual armed services operate in the battlespace. Winning the fight no longer depends on success in the air, land or sea; it requires a force that is integrated by design and instinct, that uses defence resources efficiently across multiple domains at an optimum pace to stay ahead of threats and adversaries.

On the industry side, this will require an accelerated pace of change to deliver a competitive advantage. It will see increased demand for the disruptive application of technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data in the cyber domain, increased focus on defeating adversaries in the ‘grey zone’ through special operations, and support for improved decision making aided by data analytics and information technologies.

The focus on integration has been highlighted by the immense global impact of COVID-19 , and the enforced understanding that robust national resilience relies on more than fire power. With our adversaries increasingly posing non-military threats, greater instinctive integration is required at all levels of the defence community to ensure the UK remains ahead of the challenges that lie ahead.

DSEI 2021 will offer a forum for Defence UK to meet with its industry partners to strengthen relationships, share knowledge, and discuss the technological innovations that will support the British forces in these efforts as they look toward 2030 and beyond, powering progress and defining the future of defence.

Minister for Defence Procurement, Jeremy Quin MP, commented: “Once again, DSEI is showcasing the best of British defence technology and innovation on a world stage. Bringing together strategic partners, international governments and pioneering defence companies this show offers a unique opportunity to collaborate, partner and cooperate to further our collective global defence and security agenda.”

“DSEI 2021 falls during a time of great change for the British forces as they implement their heightened integration doctrine, both internally and externally with the wider UK defence landscape,” Grant Burgham, DSEI Event Director, Clarion Defence & Security, commented. “DSEI offers the single best opportunity to foster that integration between Defence UK and industry partners. Our exhibitors are keen to meet with all branches of the British Commands and show their capabilities in support of ‘Integrated Response to Future Threats’ at DSEI 2021.”

Posted in DSEi, International, Press Release | Comments Off on DSEI 2021: UK Ministry of Defence to focus on the Integrated Response to Future Threats

Netherlands and Estonia to Acquire Seven Milrem Robotics’ THeMIS UGVs

Saturday, October 3rd, 2020

The Estonian Centre for Defence Investment (ECDI) signed a Joint Procurement Agreement with the Dutch authorities to procure a total of seven THeMIS unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) from Milrem Robotics, the leading developer of robotics and autonomous systems in Europe.

Milrem Robotics will deliver four THeMIS vehicles acquired by the Royal Netherlands Army in the coming months. The Estonian Defence Forces (EDF) will receive their three vehicles this month.

According to the contract, Milrem Robotics is the system integrator who, in addition to the supplying the vehicles, also performs all the integration of third-party technologies, including weapons systems, onto the delivered UGVs. Notably these unmanned weapons systems will remain under human control.

“We are pleased that the unmanned ground vehicles developed by an Estonian company in the course of a defence research and development project supported by the Estonian Ministry of Defence can now be used by our armed forces,” said Ivar Janson, Strategic Category Manager for Armoured Vehicles at the ECDI. “We are especially pleased, that we found a common ground with our Dutch partners to conduct the Joint R&D project and procurement,” he added.

“We are delighted to enhance our cooperation with Milrem Robotics by increasing our fleet to six THeMIS vehicles in joint efforts with the Estonian Ministry of Defence. So far, the THeMIS has successfully been used for research and experiments by operational units of the 13 Light Brigade in Scotland, Germany, The Netherlands and during a live fire exercise in Austria. The addition of four extra THeMIS vehicles with a Remote Controlled Weapon System that is operated by a soldier provides us the opportunity to continue to develop concepts to enhance the combat power and decrease the risk for our soldiers,” said LtCol Martijn Hadicke, Commander of the Robot and Autonomous Systems (RAS) unit.

Milrem Robotics has already delivered two THeMIS UGVs to the RAS Unit of the 13th Light Brigade of the Royal Netherlands in 2019.

The Estonian Defence Forces used the THeMIS for 12 months in Mali during Operation Barkhane. Various EDF units have first-hand experience with the UGV from several military exercises.

Milrem Robotics’ first product, the THeMIS UGV has been delivered to nine countries of which seven are NATO members. The company’s other products are the Type-X Robotic Combat Vehicle, intended to support mechanized units, and the Intelligent Functions Integration Kit, which enables the THeMIS but also other unmanned ground vehicles autonomous functionalities like waypoint navigation and follow-me. Milrem Robotics also performs system integration of capabilities such as sensors, software and sensor based intelligent functions, and weapon systems.

The company also leads iMUGS, an EDIDP funded project. This project develops the European standard architecture for unmanned ground vehicles and their management system, including cyber defence solutions, and demonstrates the advantages of unmanned systems for enhancing defence capabilities.

Posted in International, Press Release, Robotics | Comments Off on Netherlands and Estonia to Acquire Seven Milrem Robotics’ THeMIS UGVs

The Story of the Development of the Spuhr Stock

Wednesday, September 30th, 2020

Here is the story, in founder Håkan Spuhr’s own words:

I never liked the G3, it has always been awkward to handle, never really thought about why, but it’s an ergonomical disaster!

Anyway, I do have a G3 in my collection and for some reason in 2012 I just stood and played with it. I realized the stock is way too long and that is the result of the G3 cheekbone chruncher!

That is the stockhump that smashes your face in the prone firing position. The reason they made the hump was the mistake in using a low profile ironsight!

If they had used high sights like the M16, the G3 would never been the ergonomic disaster it became!

You can easily see on users that the original stock absolutely sucks and is far too long as most users use the so-called rookiegrip, supporthand on magazine.

That is the body’s own reaction when LOP is too long to put the support hand further back.

I had a German wooden stock, so I put that on the bandsaw, shortened it 5-7 cm and cut the cheekpiece off. I then crudely glued on a wooden piece and belt sanded it very rough.

I called a friend and we met at the range. We were both immediately very satisfied with the handling of the gun.

When I got back home I machined an adapter so I could install a std AR15 buffertube and a magpul stock to the gun.

But as the major malfunction on the G3 is the hump, I had to place the buffertube as high as possible to kill the hump!

The negative thing was there was no space for the buffer anymore, so I made a simple rubber buffer.

We shot quite a lot with it and shared a movie so people could see the effect of a good stock placement.

In 2015-2016 the Swedish Defence Force got interested and they started a tender that we won, and I think it’s rather amazing that I got them to realize the problem and then delivered the solution.

But in the tender it was a MUST criteria that the original buffer should be used, and that was really annoying as I was short on time and had to design an all new stock that housed the buffer. But with cheekpiece and buttplate way higher.

The result was adopted and a few years later the Portuguese Marines followed and so did the German Federal Police on their MP5s.

I think it was a success, but of course one can always argue that it should be a folder instead. Thing is, when a gun is upgraded, the cost must be held low in order to get adopted.

Posted in History, International, Weapon Accessories | 4 Comments »

ePIG Group Presents: The Phanomleaf Story – Camouflage Pattern Comparison

Sunday, September 27th, 2020

Our friends at ePIG Group shared this video with us. They are German and Phantomleaf is a German line of camouflage patterns, so naturally the video is in German, but it also has English subtitles.

They compare the Phantomleaf WASP II Z3A with Flecktarn, ConCamo, Multicam, Multicam Tropic, Pencott Greenzone and A-TACS Foliage Green.

This is the fourth part of a series on Phantomleaf. The links to the other videos can be found at ePIG’s Youtube channel.

Filmed and cut by www.stefan-czech.info

Posted in Camo, International | Comments Off on ePIG Group Presents: The Phanomleaf Story – Camouflage Pattern Comparison

The Dutch Armed Forces and Rheinmetall Renew long-term Framework Agreement for Ammunition – Potential Aggregate Value of €500 Million

Friday, September 25th, 2020

Rheinmetall and the Dutch procurement agency Defence Materiel Organization (DMO) have renewed and expanded their longstanding framework agreement for the supply of various types of ammunition for a period of at least ten years. The framework agreement envisages annual call-offs of around €50 million, meaning that total volume could come to €500 million. The customer is already preparing for the first call-offs.

The framework agreement encompasses the supply of 35mm medium-calibre ammunition for infantry fighting vehicles, 40mm ROSY smoke/obscurant cartridges, and a family of state-of-the-art 155mm artillery ammunition.
Major General Ivo de Jong, Deputy Director of the DMO, and Roman Köhne, Managing Director of Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH, signed the contract on 30 July 2020. This is another good example of the fruitful, longstanding cooperation between the DMO and the Düsseldorf-based weapon and ammunition specialist. The framework agreement follows a partnership agreement signed by the two parties just over a year ago and further underscores the customer’s strong confidence in Rheinmetall’s ammunition expertise.

By means of this agreement, the DMO wants to source safe, state-of-the-art ammunition for the Dutch armed forces – both today and tomorrow.

Under the aforementioned partnership agreement, Rheinmetall has already assumed full responsibility for the complete 155mm portfolio, which extends from the Assegai ammunition family to modular charges and fuses.

www.rheinmetall.com

Posted in Advertiser, Ammo, Contracts, International, Press Release | Comments Off on The Dutch Armed Forces and Rheinmetall Renew long-term Framework Agreement for Ammunition – Potential Aggregate Value of €500 Million

RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems Ltd – FOOTPRINT

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020

FOOTPRINT from RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems Ltd is a navigation system for dismounted soldiers operating in GPS-denied environments.

The system fuses data from multiple sensors like the one seen mounted to Soldier’s leg above to analyze movements, estimate errors, and provide a highly accurate, and continuous RT self-positioning.

Posted in Comms, International, MDM | 4 Comments »

Crossfire Australia GP Jacket

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020

Look, Crossfire Australia calls it a GP jacket, but it’s a smock. It features eight pockets and is made from Nextex’s encapsulated material technology. That’s the same stuff used in SOCOM’s Protective Combat Uniform. It also features a removable thermal liner and pit zips.

Small – XXXLarge in Coyote

Visit www.crossfire.com.au

Posted in Clothing, International | 8 Comments »