Join us for our ongoing coverage of the 2019 Association of the United States Army Annual Meeting & Exposition.
2019 AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition
October 14th, 2019BE Meyers & Co MAWL-X1 Added to USAF Small Arms & Light Weapons Accessories List
October 14th, 2019October 14, 2019 (Redmond, WA) – The B.E. Meyers & Co. MAWL®-X1 high-power infrared aiming and illumination laser has been added to the United States Air Force Small Arms and Light Weapons Accessories list. It is now available to Combat Airmen organizations including Special Tactics, Combat Control Teams, Tactical Air Control Party, Combat Rescue, Special Reconnaissance, and Combat Weather Squadrons. 703 MAWL®-X1 units have been procured by the USAF, in addition to those fielded by other U.S. Armed Forces to date.
The MAWL®-X1 will be on exhibit at the 2019 AUSA Annual Meeting (B.E. Meyers & Co. booth #3825) on October 14-16, in Washington D.C.
ABOUT THE MAWL®-X1
Designed for use on individual and crew-served weapons, the MAWL®-X1 is the Department of Defense specific variant of B.E. Meyers & Company’s highly successful Modular Advanced Weapon Laser line. A truly modular system, the MAWL®-X1 is comprised of three interchangeable components (Head, Body, and End-Cap) that can be configured for right or left handed shooters, and individually replaced, or upgraded for increased versatility.
The MAWL®-X1 leverages VCSEL technology to produce unmistakably superior beam quality and clarity. Beams are stacked and balanced, providing increased situational awareness, and the ability to overcome photonic barriers created by external light sources. Preset divergence and power outputs allow the shooter to quickly switch between Short Range (CQB), Mid-Range, and Long Range pointing and illumination settings in under a second.
Modular, dependable, and deadly, the MAWL®-X1 provides unparalleled performance for the modern night fighter.
Polartec Launches Military Issue Collection
October 14th, 2019(Andover, Mass.) – October 14, 2019 – Polartec, the premium provider of innovative and sustainable textile solutions, is honored to bring iconic, American-made, military-issue fabric technologies and finished garments a step further than ever before, directly to all Americans.
The foundation of today’s GEN III Extended Cold Weather Clothing System (E.C.W.C.S.)––the standard issue cold weather apparel system in the U.S. Army––is the Polartec® Military Issue Collection. This system provides soldiers with a multi-layered, performance driven clothing system that’s designed to be versatile and adaptable to varying operational and environmental conditions.
For more than a decade there have been GEN III E.C.W.C.S. labeled military garment designs for sale online and from select military retail stores. While some of these items are authentic surplus garments, it remains an unregulated gray area. Foreign imitations continue to pop up in their various forms, and even outdoor sporting and hunting brands have adopted military issue garment nomenclature into product descriptions.
Now available directly from the source, these authentic Polartec fabrics and designs are proudly made in America and shipped directly from the same U.S. cut and sew manufacturers that have been creating these garments since 2007. Polartec GEN III E.C.W.C.S. products and the Polartec® Military Issue Collection includes:
E.C.W.C.S. Level I Silkweight Shirt and Pants, the foundation of the modern GEN III E.C.W.C.S. layering system, made of a soft and comfortable Polartec® Silkweight fabric for versatile next-to-skin performance that includes fast wicking action and dry times, high durability and compressibility
E.C.W.C.S. Level II Grid Knit Shirt and Pants, the legendary “waffle” shirt, made of iconic (and patented) Polartec® Power Grid™ bi-component knit fabric, which maximizes warmth, breathability, wicking action, compressibility and versatility, while minimizing dry-times and weight.
E.C.W.C.S. Level III High Loft Jacket, the “smoking jacket,” made primarily of Polartec® High Loft™, the ultra soft and compressible fleece for warmth without weight, with Polartec® Power Grid panels
Micro Fleece Cap, small enough to stash anywhere for critical warmth, made of warm, highly compressible and lightweight Polartec® Micro series fleece in a durable three-panel construction
“We have long noticed veterans, active military, or even just the tactically-inclined reaching out to us directly, in search of these authentic military grade products,” says Polartec President Steve Layton. “No one should have to roll the dice on a blurry eBay photo or questionable shopping link to get a new pair of their favorite long underwear, “waffle” grid mid-weight top, or favorite “smoking jacket” design.”
polartecmilitary.com/collections/military-issue-collection
General Dynamics at AUSA 2019: Investing Now in the US Army’s Future
October 14th, 2019
Stryker A1 MCWS: The Stryker A1 Medium Caliber Weapon System is the next generation of the Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle Dragoon (ICVD), which is currently in theater with the Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Europe. Featuring a lethal 30mm cannon mounted on a combat-proven Double-V Hull chassis, the Stryker A1 Medium Caliber Weapons Systems was successfully live fired in August 2019. It provides a solution for the Army’s operational need for greater lethality in the Stryker fleet. This low-risk, proven solution is ready to meet the Army’s program timelines.
See it in Booth #803.
SPARTANAT: GEAR MADE IN GERMANY – PHANTOMLEAF
October 14th, 2019
PHANTOMLEAF is a new camouflage pattern on the market – we saw it first at Enforce Tac and IWA 2019. We have recently presented the first combat clothing in the camouflage pattern. HERE the review of the Leo Köhler set in PHANTOMLEAF. And we wanted to know what the Camo can do? HERE it goes to the first field test. Now we wanted to know who is behind PHANTOMLEAF. Florian Lenz tells us where PHANTOMLEAF comes from, what it can do and what is to come.
SPARTANAT: PHANTOMLEAF has now presented its first civilian camouflage pattern. What can WASP II Z3a do? Who should use it?
PHANTOMLEAF: As you can see: It can do camouflage and deception. ? The background is simple: We received many inquiries about our patterns from the retail market. However, as we reserve some camouflage patterns to the authorities, what will not be changed in future, we have decided to develop a free-for-sale model for the civilian market. This took some time, but now the effect meets our quality standards. The area of ??application is the area defined in our system as zone “Z3a”: “Growth without snow cover”. This means high vegetation wich is transferred in a pattern with appropriate structure formation, light input as well as predominantly green tint. – see. our website: https://www.phantomleaf.de/tarnsystem/.
SPARTANAT: PHANTOMLEAF has been haunting the country for a long time, but you have been working very secretively for the public. What are you doing?
PHANTOMLEAF: In our understanding, this concept of confidentiality fits well with the needs of the special-forces units for which we work mainly. Our goal is to provide bespoke camouflage solutions for often very specific camouflaging problems on land, sea and in the air to meet the specific needs of our users. Most of it is confidential, which I ask for your understanding. This is where camouflage and our loyalty to our clients begin.
SPARTANAT: What is the difference between a government and a civilian model? WASP II Z3a is marked with “CIV” in the logo.
PHANTOMLEAF: I would prefer to talk about systems for the government market and systems for the retail market. Both have different needs in detail. Examples include things such as deployment distance to the reconnoitering opposite, tactical behavior and threat situation called. These are reflected, e.g. in the geometry of the camouflage pattern or thermal camouflage properties, the material properties (e.g., flame retardancy) and friend-foe detection, as well as the cutting of the readymade items. In addition, our camouflage patterns marked CIV are freely negotiable. Patterns intended for authorities are only delivered to selected partner companies: https://www.phantomleaf.de/partner/. The protection of our customers is important to us, so that we create both contractual and in the labeling (impression “CIV”) commitment with these partners. That clear handling easy for everyone.
SPARTANAT: How did you come up with the idea of entering the camouflage industry in Germany?
PHANTOMLEAF: I have been in camouflage for about 30 years – primarily to solve a problem, not to use it economically. The trigger is a personal, unpleasant, which I will not go into here. In doing so, I discovered a general principle for pattern generation, which has since been patented. The camouflage patterns produced with this have the significant advantage over various backgrounds of significantly reducing the recognizability of the camouflaged object. Furthermore, they are tailored to the size and geometric relationships of this object. Of course, this clearly increases the flexibility of the user: on the one hand, when moving from different backgrounds to, on the other hand, when he is under threat of reconnaisance from different angles. The latter will, in my estimation, in future be increased by automation such as e.g. using drones. Due to the achievable, highly effective results with these algorithms, I founded the PHANTOMLEAF GmbH in 2008 in order to make this invention usable for the protection of persons for whom I wanted to do something. Meanwhile, this company acts as a development office and Mr. Ulrich Krätzschmar (RECON-COMPANY) and I have together founded the PHANTOMLEAF 4USE GmbH in order to optimally shape the growing production and distribution of the original PHANTOMLEAF products for our customers. We see ourselves as an international company – with “made in germany” roots. This is reflected by our numerous specialist dealers: https://www.phantomleaf.de/handel/. These companies listed on our website also have a contractual obligation to strictly observe the market segmentation in authorities and retail markets for the protection of our government customers.
SPARTANAT: How do you approach the planning of a pattern with PHANTOMLEAF? What demands do you place on you?
PHANTOMLEAF: The approach is very individual, depending on the client approaching us, the object to be camouflaged, and the tactical circumstances such as e.g. place and time of operation. In any case, the systemic approach is important to us: In our experience not only a camouflage pattern should be created, but a coherent overall concept right down to a totally and systemically product design optimized for camouflage: It begins with materials selection, goes over the camouflage pattern, up to cut management and other points to deal with. We have the experience, that such a consequent approach increases the performance of the camouflaged system compared to only dealing with the invention of a pure camouflage pattern. In the end, we definitely want to have a solution for our customers that meets their needs as close to 100% as possible. Since we mostly deal with complex systems at the end, we work together with our partners from the beginning of system development. Our main focus is the “soldier system”.
SPARTANAT: WASP II Z3a is, so to speak, the “green” pattern in the new PHANTOMLEAF line. What else is there to do?
PHANTOMLEAF: Next, a “brown” version is planned: WASP II Z2. It is suitable for regions with low, especially semi-desert-like growth: https://www.phantomleaf.de/tarnsystem/. But we have the experience that this colorit can also serve well in autumnal winter areas, for example in Central Europe. Also envisioned is a “gray” variant Z4 designed for urban / man made environments.
SPARTANAT: Will there be all the gear in the new PHANTOMLEAF WASP II samples? What’s up?
PHANTOMLEAF: Thank you for asking this question. Already now many inquiries reach us. The answer is yes. There will be many articles in the near future, from head to toe, so to speak. Of course also suitable gear and bags.
Florian Lenz, medical doctor, specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy,
Managing Director of PHANTOMLEAF GmbH and together with Mr. Ulrich Krätzschmar of PHANTOMLEAF 4USE GmbH.
PHANTOMLEAF bei Recon Company: www.recon-company.com/phantomleaf
PHANTOMLEAF: www.phantomleaf.de
SPARTANAT: www.spartanat.com
DroneShield’s Deployment Results in Arrest at College Football Game
October 14th, 2019• DroneShield’s™ system deployed at a Division I football game
• Unauthorised drone flown over the stadium
• Law enforcement identified and secured the drone and arrested the operators thanks to the system
• Most counterdrone deployments are confidential
• This is a rare instance of a publicly-disclosed operation
Sydney Australia, London, UK and Warrenton, Virginia, USA – DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO or DRO.AU) (“DroneShield”), a publicly-traded leader in the emerging industry of drone security solutions is pleased to provide the following update on a live deployment of its products.
Stadium Incident
On August 31, 2019, DroneShield’s system was being utilised at the opening game of the football season at a major college team stadium. This deployment was part of the university’s efforts to provide protection against unmanned aerial vehicles.
As has become common at sporting events, an unauthorised drone was flown over the stadium at the end of the game’s third quarter. In the absence of the DroneShield deployment, the drone and its controller would have operated with impunity. However, thanks to DroneShield’s equipment, the law enforcement officers on the scene were able to track the drone in real-time, recover it rapidly and thus secure the site at which over a hundred thousand members of the public were present. Their efforts ultimately led to the arrest of the drone’s pilots.
DroneShield’s Leadership Position
DroneShield is one of the very few companies in the counterdrone industry that have progressed to products that have been proven in a range of environments, against a range of drones, with multiple governmental and commercial users. Its products can be operated in a layered stand-alone defensive system or integrated into a larger command and control common operating system.
As a result, just in the recent several months alone, DroneShield:
• entered into a memorandum of understanding with a subsidiary of The Saudi Telecom Company;
• commenced a collaboration with Collins Aerospace;
• partnered with Bosch;
• entered into a watershed partnership with BT Group to provide counterdrone solutions to its customers across the United Kingdom;
• won a competitive Australian Department of Defence tender for portable counterdrone devices; and
• experienced substantial revenue growth, quarter after quarter, for three consecutive quarters, from a standing revenue start.
DroneShield’s products have been deployed for counterdrone security at, among others:
• an ASEAN meeting of heads of state;
• several Boston Marathon events over the years;
• the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics;
• the 2018 XXI Commonwealth Games;
• Hawaii IRONMAN World Championship;
• World Economic Forum in Davos;
• and a number of other high profile events.
Oleg Vornik, DroneShield’s Chief Executive Officer, commented “The threat of drones to the public is real, clear and present. Most of the time, we are unable to disclose to the public the specifics of the deployments in which our products are utilised, or the very real and effective outcomes that our products achieve in protecting the public, service men and women, law enforcement, and others. We are pleased to be able to share this positive outcome with the public today.”
Further Information
Oleg Vornik
CEO and Managing Director
Email: oleg.vornik@droneshield.com
Tel: +61 2 9995 7280
Sneak Peek – General Dynamics Ordnance And Tactical Systems Next Generation Squad Weapon Candidates
October 13th, 2019General Dynamics OT&S was one of three companies selected to compete for the US Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapons program which will replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon and M4 Carbine in close combat formations with an Automatic Rifle and Carbine firing a new 6.8mm cartridge with desired performance similar to a 270 Win Short Mag.
Their solution has been under wraps, until now.
These photos, obtained by SSD, show that both the AR and Carbine are in fact, Bullpup designs. Both also feature a suppressor.
Interestingly, the AR is box fed, a requirement insisted upon by the US Marine Corps to satisfy their continued participation in the program. The AR also incorporates a longer barrel as well as a bipod.
They fire a new composite-cases cartridge in 6.8mm, designed and manufactured by True Velocity. GD O&TS is also partnered with Beretta Defense Systems.
Look for more details soon, as the system will be formerly unveiled during this week’s Association of the United States Army annual meeting.
Visit Wild Things at AUSA for FR Clothing Solutions
October 13th, 2019
Wild Things is exhibiting at AUSA in Washington, DC, October 14-16! Come visit us in booth 644 and checkout our selection of FR apparel featuring GORE PYRAD, including the Rescue Jacket FR-GT pictured above, as well as an assortment of base layers to loft, and everything in between. To schedule an appointment, email sales@wildthingsgear.com or call (828) 421-4349.
And make sure to swing by booth 644 for a Wild Things patch or sticker!
