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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 »

Leading Canadian Submersible Robotics Company Launching New Semi-Autonomous ROV System, REVOLUTION NAV

Wednesday, September 16th, 2020

The REVOLUTION NAV package makes locating, tracking and operating an ROV easier than ever before.

August 18, 2020 – Kitchener, Ontario – Taking a big step towards developing a hybrid autonomous vehicle, submersible robotics company Deep Trekker is proud to announce that they are launching a new ROV package, the REVOLUTION NAV. Offering advanced navigation and stabilization, this new package is leading the way in semi-autonomous vehicles. The REVOLUTION NAV package provides pilots with a Google map showing their ROV’s position on screen, allowing users to see where they are, leave a trail to show where they have been and set points of interest to where they want to return to. Furthermore, advanced stabilization features allow operators to station hold against currents, enable auto altitude and pilot their vehicle precisely and accurately through varying water conditions.

Solving harsh environmental situations with fully assembled, tested and ready to use remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), Deep Trekker gets eyes underwater in minutes. With applications in aquaculture, energy, shipping, defense, infrastructure and search and rescue among others, Deep Trekker’s underwater drones are on the leading edge of submersible technology.

“We are thrilled to be launching the REVOLUTION NAV,” shared Deep Trekker President Sam Macdonald. “With this new package, users will be able to know where they are in real time. This advanced navigational tool allows for more complex missions to be successfully carried out by ROV pilots.”

The REVOLUTION NAV’s capabilities are especially useful for applications in open, murky water or when there is significant current. The state-of-the-art features provide benefits across numerous applications for missions requiring precise navigation, location tracking and reporting. Search and recovery teams, for example, will be able to easily see and track what areas have been covered as part of the search.

“The REVOLUTION NAV uses our BRIDGE technology and sensor fusion to provide station keeping, location tracking and intelligent navigation in addition to real time location data,” explained Macdonald. “We aim for constant innovation and the REVOLUTION NAV allows us to continue to provide advancements to our customers and pave the way towards autonomy.”

The pairing of USBL and DVL with Deep Trekker’s BRIDGE technology and sensor fusion bring this intelligent navigation system to life. USBL systems utilize sonar beacons to triangulate the position of the ROV. A GPS chip inside the Deep Trekker BRIDGE Controller allows the system to correlate the data and provide real time latitude and longitude. DVL offers users an enhanced navigational system by providing pilots with the ability to accurately and conveniently determine velocity relative to the seafloor, allowing for easy navigation through the most complex of operations.

www.deeptrekker.com

Posted in International, Maritime, Press Release, Robotics | Comments Off on Leading Canadian Submersible Robotics Company Launching New Semi-Autonomous ROV System, REVOLUTION NAV

Qore Performance Partnership with European Distributors

Tuesday, September 15th, 2020

STERLING, VA – Qore Performance has partnered with European distributors, Brownells Deutschland and Terräng MP-Sec, to facilitate access to their thermoregulation technologies for customers throughout Europe. Brownells has a network of retail and mail order locations across Europe, making order fulfillment and shipping costs far more efficient for Qore Performance customers on the far side of the Atlantic. Along with their close relationship with French Special Operations and Law Enforcement organizations, MP-Sec distributes to customers in France, Belgium, Italy, and North Africa.

Louis Tidey, Director of Commercial Sales for MP-Sec said, “We are very excited to represent Qore Performance products in France and to introduce these great products to the French MIL/LEO forces. We believe it’s the next stage for soldier hydration management.”

Qore Performance Director of Sales and Business Development, Doug Burr added, “Qore Performance is proud to facilitate access of our products to our friends and allies in Europe. We look forward to building our relationship with these two great companies. Brownells Deutschland and MP-Sec were both specifically chosen as our distributors due to their established records of excellence in supplying and serving customers across Europe.”

Both MP-Sec and Brownells Deutschland will carry many elements of the Qore Performance IceAge Ecosystem, including IcePlate Curve and IcePlate Sleeve Combo, as well as IceVents Aero and IceVents Classic padding solutions. The IceAge Ecosystem is focused on thermoregulation to enhance human performance in any environment through lightweight, durable, multi-use products that provide multiple modes of heating, cooling, and hydration. The IceAge Ecosystem is compatible with almost every tactical load carriage system on the market today.

Posted in Advertiser, Industry, International, Press Release | Comments Off on Qore Performance Partnership with European Distributors