Yesterday, the US Marine Corps awarded Vertical Protective Apparel, LLC, of Shrewsbury, New Jersey, a $62,612,464 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to produce and deliver the PC Gen IIIs. A maximum quantity of 225,886 will be delivered, and the work will be completed by September 2023.

“The legacy carrier fit the span of the Marine Corps, but this new system is more tailorable to fit Marines of various sizes with three new smaller-stature options,” said Flora “Mackie” Jordan, body armor engineer for the Infantry Combat Equipment Team at MCSC. “We wanted to give as much mobility back to Marines as possible by reducing the weight and bulk of the vest without decreasing ballistic protection. We were able to reduce the weight of the vest by 25 percent.”

The goal was to lighten the load Marines carry to reduce fatigue and improve their operational capability in the field. A few new features of the PC Gen III contributed to the weight reduction.

Excess material was removed from the shoulders and about an inch-and-a-half was taken from the bottom, which provides better integration with the USMC Pack. The team also chose a laminated laser cut material that only absorbs seven percent of water compared to 70 percent with the legacy system.

“We made sure to get the best system for our Marines, which included choosing the best lightweight soft armor and the best quality when it comes to the cut and sew of the carrier,” said Mackie.

While conducting research, MCSC discovered Marines are eight percent faster when the PC Gen III systems were combined with prototype lightweight plates, compared to the Enhanced Small Arms Protective Inserts. They also found Marines could remove and reassemble the vest in less than three seconds.

“With the old system, it took about seven seconds to take it off, and 10 minutes to reassemble,” said project officer Capt. Frank Coppola, Infantry Weapons at MCSC who helped test the vests. “The new quick release works a hundred times better. It has a vastly improved quick detach system for Marines to act fast while on missions.”

The PC Gen III is less bulky and easier for Marines to move in, especially when working in tight spaces. An inner vest was also added to increase modularity of the system. Marines can adjust it to meet the requirements and environment of their particular mission.

“Our vests have come a long way over the past 15 years, and the reduced weight and increased mobility is huge,” Coppola said. “The fact that we can decrease the size of the vest and still be protected is the key.”

Infantry, school house, and Reconnaissance Marines, along with vehicle crewmen and combat engineers will receive the vests when fielding begins in the third quarter of fiscal year 2019.

Information provided by the MARCORSYSCOM PAO contributed significantly to this report, particularly the quotes from PM-ICE.

Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC), Portfolio Manager (PfM), Ground Combat Element Systems (GCES), Program Manager (PM) Infantry Combat Equipment (ICE) released a sources sought notice seeking information regarding industry’s capability to produce a Berry Amendment compliant lightweight hard armor plate.

For years, the current Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert (ESAPI) has protected Marines, and other service members from harm, but they are relatively heavy, having been designed well over a decade ago. The Marine Corps wants to leverage advancements in armor protection.

MCSC’s Marine Expeditionary Rifle Squad Team tested a selection of currently available commercial armor plates through the Marine Corps Load Effects Assessment Program course wearing all of their combat gear. MERS discovered that a lightweight hard armor plate in the range they are seeking will increase the mobility of Marines by 8 percent. It is envisioned that these new plates will be used woth the upcoming Plate Carrier Gen III, expected to begin fielding in 2019.

Over the past year, PM ICE conducted an analysis of more than 200 commercial plate designs from 38 different companies to see what type of armor is possible. However, according to the notice, there’s no actual requirement written yet, so it is important that industry respond to this Request for Information in order to inform the requirement.

According to PM ICE, the lightweight hard armor plate should:

– Provide two-shot ballistic protection from non-armor piercing rounds that are currently prevalent in counter-insurgency operations and other low intensity threat environments.
o Rounds primarily fired by sniper rifles will be tested at a velocity expected at 100m-200m standoff.
o One shot will be in the crown location at 0-degrees obliquity; the other shot will be at off-center locations at 30-degrees obliquity.
o Meet back-face deformations less than 58 mm.

– Conform to ESAPI shape and area of coverage.
– Possess a thickness that is the same or less than current ESAPI.
– Possess an areal density of 3.75 pounds/square foot (Objective) to 5.16 pounds/square foot (Threshold).

Additionally, vendors should be able to produce a minimum of 40,000 lightweight armor plates within a year of First Article Test approval, which is expected 180 days after contract award, once the solicitation is released.

Responses are required by 7 September 2018, 12:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (sic).

Visit www.fbo.gov for full details.

USMC photo and video.