I really enjoyed attending the 2015 Range Day and Expo presented by Rampart International near Ottawa, Canada. Not only did they have some great brands on hand but I got to meet some awesome folks representing Canada’s military and law enforcement community. I’m looking forward to next year.
Rampart International Range Day & EXPO 2015 from RAMPART Corp. on Vimeo.
As you may recall, we recently published an article regarding L3 Communications’ EOTech sights. In that article we shared L3’s SEC filings, changes in their user manuals and a USSOCOM Safety of Use Message which mentions Point of Impact shifts in both the low and high temperature ranges of EOTech holographic sights issued to the government.
But apparently, issues surrounding the sights have been brewing since at least Spring. In a recent memorandum to customers obtained by SSD, distributor Elite Defense discloses that EOTech has not been delivering product since April of this year. It’s our understanding that Elite Defense is the single largest distributor of EOTech sights with extensive international sales of the brand. Even more interesting than the secession of deliveries, is that Elite Defense has chosen to terminate their long distributorship. Unfortunately, it seems EOTech has not acknowledged this action, nor Elite Defense’s proposal to convert their customer base to direct sales with EOTech. It’s like they’ve gone radio silent.
When queried, Elite Defense offered no comment regarding the memorandum other than to ask where we obtained it. That, we’re keeping to ourselves.
UPDATE – We just received this message from Elite Defense:
When Elite Defense released the letter to our international customers on 11/3/15 (published by SSD 11/5/15), we had not received any formal contact from EOTech about the termination of the relationship or our proposed transition plan. However, on the afternoon of November 4, EOTech reached out to Elite Defense. Elite Defense and EOTech are now working together to develop a plan that will focus on what is most important: a smooth transition for our customers.
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA–(Marketwired – November 03, 2015) – ADS, Inc., a leading provider of value-added logistics and supply chain solutions, announced today that it has closed the acquisition of Theodor Wille Intertrade (TWI). In September 2015, ADS entered into a definitive agreement with TWI shareholders to acquire all of TWI’s outstanding shares. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland with operations in Germany and the United Arab Emirates, TWI will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ADS, Inc.
TWI is a global provider of integrated supply chain solutions to customers primarily operating in the United States European Command (EUCOM) and the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) regions. As an ADS subsidiary, TWI will continue to operate its business as a division of ADS.
TWI delivers construction materials, equipment, hardware, food and food services, as well as providing logistics and transportation management services to the U.S. military and other large government contractors operating in the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) regions. TWI’s existing business and pipeline will complement ADS’ current portfolio of contract vehicles and provide both companies with exciting new business development opportunities.
Headquartered in Virginia Beach, Va., ADS provides equipment, procurement and support solutions to Department of Defense (DOD), other U.S. Government agencies, defense contractors and foreign governments. The company ensures mission success, operational efficiency and cost savings for its customers. The ADS team is comprised of dedicated professionals, veterans and retired government personnel with unmatched knowledge of suppliers, products, procurement, budget processes, supply chain management and logistics.
Joining forces with TWI allows ADS to immediately diversify its business into the food and subsistence market. The ability for ADS to combine its global capabilities with TWI’s existing logistics, transportation and supply chain management services expertise in local markets throughout Europe, the Middle East and Central and Southwest Asia will bring tremendous benefits to its customers and partners.
“Now that the acquisition is officially finalized, the entire team is eager to commence with plans to integrate these two highly complementary businesses,” said Karan Rai, ADS President and CFO. “While our focus will be on successful integration execution in the short term, I am genuinely excited about the long-term growth opportunities for this combined ADS and TWI platform.”
ADS and TWI have a long history of building customer loyalty; both are two of only 15 companies recognized as a Gold-Tier supplier for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) as part of the Department of Defense’s Superior Supplier Incentive Program. The Gold-Tier distinction is the highest honor awarded to a supplier by DLA.
The Gold-Tier program is designed to identify the highest performing suppliers measured in areas such as cost, schedule, performance, quality and business relations. To be eligible, companies must have significant DLA contracts, a proven track record of performance and an established rating with the federal Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). More than 150 suppliers were considered for these awards, with only the top 40 selected as DLA’s Gold-Tier suppliers. The Gold-Tier distinction is the highest honor awarded to a supplier by DLA.
“We’re excited to welcome TWI to the ADS family,” said Damian del Toro, ADS Vice President. “TWI is an amazing company with fantastic people. When combined with the industry-leading team at ADS, we have a unique opportunity to further enhance our global services to solve our customers’ challenges while achieving our strategic growth plans.” Mr. del Toro will be spearheading the ADS-TWI integration and will serve as the TWI Division General Manager.
Hyperstealth frontman Guy Cramer was in the ADS Inc booth sporting a uniform cut from the Ghostex Kilo 6 camouflage pattern. An international customer was well into making a procurement decision when their armed forces streamlined their camouflage patterns into two variants. Consequently, Hyperstealth is shopping the pattern.
When I passed by later, Hyperstealth had added two displays from the Mexican Marines, depicting the kit they are procuring in their new camouflage pattern, derived from work Hyperstealth did for Phase IV of the US Army’s Camouflage Improvement Effort.
Obviously, there is a great deal of influence from the USMC but I was surprised to see the RAT boot on the chart. 
You’ll also note some equipment items from London Bridge.
Finnish Suppressor manufacturer ASE UTRA will be exhibiting at MILIPOL 2015. They will be at the stand of their French representative, Humbert CTTS, Stand 5 R 176.
The sixth issue of Frag Out! is now available in English. You can read it by clicking the image above, and past issues by clicking the link below.
Another great European brand we had a chance to chat with at DSEI was Austria-based Carinthia. They manufacture a range of sleeping bags, shelters and environmental clothing systems. Several of their items are used by European SOF units and they often create special make up variants of their products such as those shown below.
This is a Gore-Tex shell that has been adopted by a European SOF organization. It’s a modified version of the Carinthia Tactical Rain Garment which includes Trousers. It utilizes a Topaz ePTFE membrane with a polyamide shell.
That same unit also issues this jacket was an insulated garment. It’s a variant of Carinthia’s Extreme Cold Insulation Jacket and includes Trousers. It uses G-loft ISO+ polyester insulation with a polyamide shell featuring a GORE Windstopper membrane.
