Giacomo from Victrix Armaments sent this to us.
You Never Know Where They’ll Show Up
February 28th, 2020Future Soldiers May Get Improved Helmet Padding
February 27th, 2020ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Army researchers and industry partners recently published a study showing how they developed new materials and manufacturing methods to create higher performing helmet padding that reduces the likelihood of head injury in combat and recreational helmets.
A team from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory and its HRL Laboratories partners used advances in 3-D printing to create new helmet padding that consists of highly-tuned open-cell lattice structures.
“Careful control of the lattice design imparts novel compression characteristics to the padding that reduce peak head acceleration during blunt impact events compared to existing state-of-the-art foam padding,” said Dr. Thomas Plaisted, the lab’s project lead. “Testing demonstrated a 27% increase in energy attenuation efficiency when inserted into a combat helmet compared to current best-performing foam pads.”
A significant challenge for the design of protective padding is providing the highest level of impact protection while minimizing weight and space it occupies inside the helmet, Plaisted said. The padding must be comfortable to allow a Soldier to wear a combat helmet for extended periods.
“Typical multi-impact attenuating materials include expanded polypropylene and vinyl nitrile closed-cell foams, which absorb impact energy through the collapse of internal pores when compressed,” he said. “The material is carefully tuned to yield at a threshold force, or acceleration, specific to the tolerance of the head, thereby mitigating injury.”
Recent advances in additive manufacturing techniques have enabled the fabrication of cellular materials with architected lattice topology.
“We demonstrated, via design of the cellular architecture, improved control over the collapse process in elastomeric lattices that enables impact-attenuation performance exceeding state-of-the-art foams for both single- and multi-hit scenarios,” Plaisted said. “An improvement over state-of-the-art vinyl-nitrile foam helmet pads was achieved during a standard helmet test, leading to lower head acceleration. This breakthrough could pave the way to helmets with improved injury protection. The open cell design of the lattice further aids in comfort and breathability to dissipate heat away from the head.”
Researchers recently briefed their transition partners at CCDC Soldier Center on the performance of the new padding materials and helmet suspension technologies to mitigate blunt impact head injury. The laboratory is transitioning this technology to the center for further evaluation and implementation in future helmet systems.
“Building on this work, CCDC SC has initiated its own research efforts to develop and evaluate additive manufactured helmet pads,” Plaisted said. “Concurrently, we provided updates on an alternative helmet suspension technology, rate-activated tethers, invented at ARL that have demonstrated even greater performance for reducing blunt impact injury. We are working with the center to identify helmet industry partners to integrate the new rate-activated tether technology.”
The Army’s fundamental responsibility is to equip, train and field Soldiers with the tools and resources to engage with and destroy the enemy, while providing world-class protection, according to Army officials. As an Army Modernization priority, Soldier Lethality narrows the capability gaps to enhance a Soldier’s ability to fight, win and survive through increased lethality, mobility, protection and situational awareness in order to facilitate rapid acquisition of increased capabilities.
By U.S. Army CCDC Army Research Laboratory Public Affairs
LIFT Aviation Awarded Development Contract by USAF for Next Generation Fixed Wing Helmet
February 27th, 2020LIFT Aviation is one of several companies awarded developmental Other Transaction Authority Agreements with the US Air Force to develop a Next Generation Fixed Wing Helmet, which was originally an AFWERX project.
This project is moving along quickly as you can see from the quad chart. LIFT Aviation is well known for their commercial AV-1 KOR helmet.
You can definitely see the DNA in their NGFWH candidate.
LIFT Aviation had this to say…
“We are honored to have been selected by the Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force to be involved with this program. Innovation is something that has been lacking in the fixed wing helmet that the U.S. Air Force has implemented for the past number of decades and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the USAF and DoD to continue to develop the next generation fixed wing flight helmet. The approach taken with our first flight helmet was to have it be modern, innovative and above all, safe. We can’t wait to bring that same approach while developing this next generation fixed wing helmet to provide our airmen and warfighters the best in flight helmet technology.” states Guido Rietdyk, President and CEO of LIFT Aviation. “The technological advances that we developed in our other businesses in personal safety products in the orthopedic and extreme sports industries under our EVS Sports brand, and in the industrial safety industry with our LIFT Safety brand, in addition to our LIFT Aviation flight focused brand, all have greatly contributed to us being able to draw innovation from a variety of applications and come up with state of the art technology in the cockpit, now working to make our USAF air crews equipped just as well as their air craft are.”
Litefighter- Olympus 2 Bag
February 27th, 20202020 (Roswell, GA) – LiteFighter Systems, LLC. is proud to announce that the Olympus II Loadout Bag has been issued the following NSNs and is now available for unit orders.
Olympus II (OCP Camouflage)
NSN 8465-01-679-7717
Olympus II (Black)
NSN 8465-01-679-7698
Olympus II (Coyote)
NSN 8465-01-679-7709
The Olympus is Made in USA and extremely versatile. You can roll-it, ruck it, expand it, and palatize it for easy transport. It has three removable shelves and once on location it can be used as either a foot or wall locker. The retractable metal handle acts as an integrated dolly system reducing strain on shoulder joints, provides separation between your heels and the bag, and allows for users to easily push / pull heavier loads – something that bags with cloth handles do not!
With over 185,000 Olympus bags in circulation, The Olympus is one of the most popular rolling duffle bags sold to the US Military. Flexible enough to serve as an “A” and “B” Bag for the following:
– Army – Deployment or Loadout Bag
– Air Force – Mobility Bag
– USMC / Navy / Coast Guard – Sea Bag
– National Guard – Drill and Emergency Response Go Bag
Multiple Ways to Order:
• DLA Stock System (see NSNs Above)
• GSA Advantage
• Tailored Logistics Support (TLS) Program • LiteFighter.com
LiteFighter Systems, LLC is a VA Certified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and the exclusive Manufacturer’s Representative of the Olympus Bag which is manufactured in the USA by Thin Air Gear, LLC.
For more information on the Olympus Load-Out Bag please visit us at LiteFighter.com.
TacJobs – Product Manager, Suppressor and Weapons at SureFire
February 27th, 2020Product Manager, Suppressor and Weapons
Job Type:
F/T exempt
Location:
Fountain Valley, Ca
Job Description:
The Product Manager is responsible for guiding new product development using a disciplined approach to product life cycle management. Product focus will be on SureFire suppressors and weapons.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
• Responsible for the overall Product Launch process, including defining and tracking schedules, pricing, model numbering, forecasting, product warranty information, and other related deliverables that will create the completed product.
• Participate in weekly support meetings, providing market driven guidance obtained from customer feedback on quality control issues, fixes, and other solutions in support of product quality and customer satisfaction.
• Initiates and creates new product planning forms, including product request input (PRI), product readiness plan (PRP), product launch plan (PLP) and design control worksheets (DCW) .
• Manage complete life cycle of assigned product family with detailed attention given to product launch/growth phase and End-of-Life process.
• Create and submit engineering change orders (ECO) for new products, including review of engineering drawings, coordination with Document Control, creating bills of materials as required; work with Engineering to address obsolete parts, obtain approvals for disposition through coordination with other departments.
• Collaborate with Marketing to create product specific messages to articulate competitive product differentiators. Produce product data sheets, user manuals, and other marketing collateral to communicate key product information to internal/external customer base. Coordinate website and catalogue content with marketing personnel.
• Create and submit export control jurisdiction and classification documents (ECJC); classify new products; obtain approvals from trade compliance and document control.
• Obtain costing information from suppressor production management, calculate MSRP; obtain pricing approvals and coordinate with Sales to input pricing data into the ERP system.
• Establish appropriate inventory quantities in conjunction with Sales, Marketing and Purchasing to ensure appropriate min/max levels.
• Participate in testing of products; evaluate results and impact on product development.
• Participate in yearly audits (internal and external) to ensure that all compliance areas will be met.
• Prepare for and participate in relevant trade shows to include presentations for PM and VP, timely shipments of weapons, display products, etc.
• Some travel expected
Requirements:
• High School Diploma required; Bachelor’s Degree preferred
• 4 to 7 years of product management experience..
• Must have familiarity with and comfort in handling firearms.
• Must be proficient in MS Office (Excel, Word, Powerpoint and Outlook)
• Epicor a plus
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply online to jobs@surefire.com. If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be contacted to further the application process. No phone calls, outside agencies, or recruiters. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex or national origin. We actively recruit qualified targeted veterans and qualified individuals with disabilities.
We are proud to be an EEO/AA employer M/F/D/V. This contractor and subcontractor shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-741.5 (a). This regulation prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals on the basis of disability and requirements affirmative action by covered prime contractors and subcontractors to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities.
TacJobs – Senior Optical Systems Engineer & Optical Mechanical Engineer at Optics1
February 27th, 2020Optics1 is seeking a Senior Optical Systems Engineer and Optical Mechanical Engineer at their facility in Bedford, New Hampshire.
Senior Optical Systems Engineer
As a Senior Optical Systems Engineer you will be responsible for the overall reliability and performance of US Government programs containing optical, thermal and digital observation and targeting system as well as weapon mounted laser systems. You will support new and existing product designs and play a critical part in implementing tests to ensure reliability and performance requirements are met throughout the design, manufacturing process and product life cycle. In this role you will interpret results correctly and providing feedback effectively for design improvements. As an engineer in the systems engineering group, you must demonstrate ability to effectively and clearly communicate concepts, ideas and knowledge to other individuals and teams.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Apply technical expertise to contribute to test method development, implementation and validation for military devices/systems
• Assess design feasibility and test product functionality and/or confirm product capabilities
• Participate in new product design and design improvements to existing products
• Conduct hands-on tests and experiments – draw sound conclusions from properly collected data. Demonstrate good understanding of required lab equipment, practices and test methodologies.
• Effectively communicate / work with peers. Must be comfortable presenting to and constructively interacting with customers.
• Assist in failure analysis and troubleshooting across of a variety of product platforms.
• Routinely interact with vendors / suppliers and demonstrate awareness of industry resources/ standards
• Possess a willingness to learn and apply good engineering practices to a wide variety of tasks
WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO BE SUCESSFUL:
• 10 years System Engineering experience in the DoD industry or related field
• Experience generating test plans and conducting reliability test
• Prior experience working with Optical, IR imaging, and precision targeting systems
• Demonstrated experience conducting qualification testing per Mil Std 810G
• Expert level experience generating system engineering documents such as
? System Engineering Master Plan (SEMP),
? System Engineering Test plan (SETP)
? Life Cycle Sustainment Plan (LCSP)
? Test and Evaluation Master Plan (TEMP)
• Strong organizational, presentation and customer relationship skills.
• Solid verbal and written communication skills.
• Must work well and thrive in a deadline driven, fast paced environment.
• Ability to follow-up and anticipate in advance of requests in dealing with a diverse group.
• Must be proactive and be creative in supporting daily challenges with a positive attitude.
• Demonstrated leadership skills while having the ability to be a team player.
• U.S. citizenship with the ability to obtain secret level security clearance is required
IDEALLY, YOU ALSO HAVE:
• The ability to travel and interact with key users in the field and at Military Bases throughout the country is required.
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite of programs, including MS Word, MS Outlook, MS Excel, PowerPoint.
• Fluent in English Language.
• Experience working in a diverse multinational engineering organization a plus.
• Candidate must be willing to travel US and abroad approximately 10% of the time.
EOE/AA/M/F/Vets – U.S. citizenship is required.
The Optical-Mechanical Engineer individual will assist Operations and Engineering in building and documenting prototype through Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) systems. The Opto-Mechanical Engineer will assist production personnel with daily build and troubleshooting, identify and implement improved processes through use of Lean Six Sigma and other improvement methodologies, recommend design for manufacturability improvements, design and implement tooling and test equipment and train of assembly personnel. The majority of time to be spent on the production floor working with equipment/ processes, production personnel, quality and engineering.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Develops, evaluates and improves manufacturing methods utilizing knowledge of product design, materials and parts, fabrication processes, tooling and production equipment capabilities, assembly methods, quality standards, Lean Six Sigma and other improvement methodologies.
• Transitioning of prototypes into full rate production
• Develop test stations and test software
• Develops and implements manufacturing documentation including work instructions, process flows, routers and bills of materials
• Assists production personnel with daily build and troubleshooting
• Works with designers to recommend changes for manufacturability
• Training of assemblers and technicians to perform manufacturing and testing of complex electro-optical assemblies
• Design of electro optical test fixtures/ interfaces to be utilized in manufacturing production and test including environmental testing
• Work closely with engineering, programs and customers to insure that test plans and procedures cover all requirements and functions of the product
• Manages production tools to assure that tools are on hand and available for use
• Supports all non-conformance activities, from supplying the proper data to Engineers, drafting and implementing rework procedures to direct disposition of parts when appropriate
• Assists Quality Engineering and Design Engineering with product design, product qualifications and environmental testing requirements
WHAT YOU NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL:
• Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical engineering / engineering technology field
• At least 5 years of experience in a manufacturing facility
• Self-Starter with the ability to work independently and as a collaborative team player
• Strong organizational, presentation and customer relationship skills
• Solid verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to be a team player
• Ability to effectively deliver a product within schedule and budget
• Experience with writing automation applications using LabVIEW or similar tools a plus
• Knowledge and Experience of testing to meet MIL-STD-810G requirements
• The flexibility for some out-of-the-area and overnight travel
• US Citizenship or hold US Protected Individual Status
IDEALLY, YOU ALSO HAVE:
• Experience with design using SolidWorks software or equivalent.
• Experience working in an ITAR environment and a DoD cleared facility a plus
• Experience with ISO 9000 and 9015 a plus
• Knowledge and experience of working in or maintaining a clean room a plus
• Experience with SAP or other ERP systems a plus
Physical Demands:
• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Tasks involve the ability to exert light physical effort in sedentary to light work, but which may involve some lifting, carrying, pushing and/or pulling of objects and materials of light weight (5-10 pounds). Tasks may involve extended periods of time at a keyboard or work station.
Work Environment:
• While performing the aforementioned job duties, the employee mainly works in a professional office setting that is relatively quiet and has temperature control systems.
• This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones and photocopiers.
EOE/AA/M/F/Vets –
For a full list open positions at Optics1, visit www.optics1.com/careers.
IWA Is Postponed
February 27th, 2020
No further information. We will update you as we learn more.
Update: Enforce Tac is postponed as well. Awaiting official announcement.
Update 2: Here is the official press release.
Postponement of IWA OutdoorClassics 2020 and Enforce Tac / U.T.SEC 2020
By virtue of the new situation regarding the spread of the corona virus, NürnbergMesse has decided to postpone IWA OutdoorClassics 2020 and Enforce Tac / U.T.SEC 2020: from the planned dates of 4-5 and 6-9 March 2020 to a date in 2020, which yet has to be specified.
IWA OutdoorClassics is the leading international exhibition for hunting and shooting, equipment for outdoor and for civilian and official security applications. Petra Wolf, Member of the Management Board of NürnbergMesse: “We hope that the industry will understand the decision to postpone. The aim of every exhibition has to be to create a special experience for exhibitors and visitors likewise and to enable networking and expansion of existing business relations. Unfortunately, this goal cannot be achieved under the current circumstances”.
The IWA OutdoorClassics, which was planned to take place from 6 to 9 March 2020, has been postponed to a date this year that has yet to be determined in detail: “We are aware of the great importance of the IWA for our exhibitors and visitors. All the more reason for us to put high pressure on the task to find the best possible alternative date for such an important event for our customers,” says Petra Wolf.
The Enforce Tac / U.T.SEC trade show, which runs before will also be postponed in line with IWA OutdoorClassics.
Royal Marines Assault Engineers Conduct Sabotage And Denial Training In Norway
February 27th, 2020
The Royal Marines are in the process of reshaping themselves as the “Future Commando Force” which looks an awful lot like becoming what they were in the 1970s and 80s, a light force of raiders from the sea.
45 Commando’s Assault Engineers conducted advanced demolition training in Norway at a facility which includes Norway’s state-of-the-art facilities that includes a train and 150ft ship. With an eye toward urban operations, they also conducted CQB training.
“We provide close combat engineering support to 45 Commando’s fighting companies and provide the ability to speedily conduct sabotage and denial of enemy assets (weapon systems, equipment, vehicles and vessels), infrastructure and routes,” said Colour Sergeant Ryan Selbie, of 45 Commando.
“Combat Assault Breachers operating within the Future Commando Force will be a key enabler to mission success.
“As the corps’ method of entry, demolition (sabotage and denial) and counter-explosive ordnance specialists, we bring a unique and invaluable skills set to the FCF small-team construct.
See the full report at www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2020/february/24/200224-arctic-assault-engineers.
