While I don’t think that pheasant took a potshot at Nick, it certainly looks like he hit the mark.
You Never Know Where They’ll Show Up
October 16th, 2017“Our next individual and squad combat weapon will come in with a 10X improvement over any existing current system in the world” or How To Kick The Can Down The Road
October 15th, 2017During last week’s AUSA Annual Meeting I listened to Chief of Staff, GEN Mark Miley’s speech about the state of the Army. He said a lot of great stuff, but his comment on Small Arms was most interesting to me, based on the short-lived 7.62mm Interim Combat Service Rifle requirement.
“Our next individual and squad combat weapon will come in with a 10X improvement over any existing current system in the world,” GEN Mark Milley, CSA.
Notice that “10x improvement”. That’s beyond leap ahead. That’s phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range territory.
Since ICSR’s demise, everyone is talking Lightweight Small Arms Technology, a program which has been under development (and government funding) for over a decade and relies on ammunition which finds its roots in the Advanced Combat Rifle program of the last 1980s. The Army’s Next Gen Squad Weapon requirment is heavily informed by LSAT, the latest in a long line of Joint Service Small Arms Program efforts. Going back to the 60s, not one JSSAP’s rifle programs (Special Purpose Individual Weapon, Future Rifle Program, Advanced Combat Rifle, or Objective Individual Combat Weapon) have amounted to anything fieldable.
My takeaway based on GEN Milley’s comment? The Army doesn’t actually want to do anything. The ACR program of the 1980s was only looking to double the lethality of the M16A2, and it failed to achieve even that. Now they want 10x lethality. I suppose it comes down to the question of how to measure lethality, but still.
Just a few years ago, the Army blew a great opportunity to modernize its rifle, when it cancelled concluded the Individual Carbine program. While the focus this time was reliability, the Army claimed the program was stopped because of industry’s failure to offer a great enough advancement over the then current, M4. Everything the industrial base is better now, but it’s not 10x better.
Instead, the Army has kicked the can down the road, way down the road. The Next Gen Squad Weapon program won’t see the light of day until the mid to late 2020s, if ever. That’s because they expect such a drastic improvement that, barring energy weapons, is impossible. However, it also gives the LSAT team lots more years under contract with no expectation of performance.
During AUSA, LSAT contractor Textron was in full court press. They had an invite only firing simulator on the show floor to demonstrate how they had lowered recoil and increased hits. The only problem is that it was a game, with the weapons being operated by gas and the targets engaged by a laser on a screen. Anyone who walked away impressed didn’t realize they had just played an expensive version of Duck Hunter.
Some of you may remember when GEN Milley told Congress earlier this year, he had a body armor threat he needed to defeat. He also told industry he needed a 7.62 rifle to do that. Industry took up that challenge and offered their best. Before the evaluation even began, the effort was cancelled, for a promise of “10x improvement”, delivery date unknown. That threat? It’s still there. So tell us GEN Milley, how are you going to defeat it? With the maximum effective range of a promise from a contractor that’s been working on the same thing for years and years?
PASGT Helmet and Armor Vest Testing
October 15th, 2017This circa-1978 US Army photo depicts a Soldier conducting a wear test of the developmental Personal Armor System, Ground Troops Helmet and Armor Vest, as they interact with use of the M202 FLASH system. PASGT was the first American use of Aramid (Kevlar) for an issue ground helmet. The helmet also offered a greater area of protection of the head resulting it briefly being referred to as the “Fritz” helmet due to its similar shape to the WWII German helmet.
As you can see, the Soldier is wearing OG-507 fatigues, although the Helmet features a camouflaged outer layer. The original concept was to just integrate the Camo pattern and forego cloth covers. This concept was abandoned due shine. Additionally, the print could wear off and the cloth cover better protected the Helmet’s Aramid material.
Flannel Hits A Whole New Level
October 15th, 2017All Skill No Luck has taken Flannel to a whole new level; Field and Combat Style Shirts.
Called the NTCHWAIDUMELA and NTCHWAIDUMELA STV (Shed The Vest), they are made from cotton flannel, so no FR properties. But, think of the comfort.
They feature inboard tilted chest and bicep pockets as well as covered buttons, in Red or Ocean color.
FightLite Industries – SCR Pistol
October 15th, 2017This beauty showed up on the Shockwave Technologies Facebook page. It’s a Shockwave Raptor Grip R870 mounted to FightLite Industries SCR pistol lower receiver. The SCR is legal in all 50 states and accepts AR uppers. This model is 21″ OAL, 7.5″ barrel, and just 3.9 lbs.
Kit Badger – How To Hack A Standard M4 Pistol Grip
October 14th, 2017In this video, Ivan of Kit Badger shows how with a bit of time, and hand tools, one can modify the stock M4 pistol grip into something a bit more ergonomic and comfortable.
kitbadger.com/hacking-your-standard-m-4-pistol-grip
How The Zombies Ate Your Guns in 2013 2017
October 14th, 2017
There once was a powerful zombie queen named Dianne. Dianne doesn’t seem like such a terrifying name and that’s probably why she went unnoticed as a zombie for so long. Don’t get me wrong. All of the signs that she was undead were there; the lifeless eyes, the gaunt white skin stretched taught over sharp cheekbones, the ridiculous bouffant wigs used to hide her balding pate and the lispy voice that turned the “s” at the end of a word into a “z”, like in “gunz” and “brainz”. All classic signs, and yet, we missed them all.
She had fooled her people for decades despite looking like the living dead when she ascended to her position, and yet not aging the entire time. Of course, the people she ruled were more concerned with good times and hand outs than protecting themselves.
Queen of the Damned Dianne knew that her kind would never take over so long as the living were armed. So for years and years she plotted and schemed. The path for her unholy horde was clear. Disarm the living and they would feast on brainz for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But how?
Finally, a tragedy struck and, relying on sentimentality, undead Dianne used her power to ramrod new laws through that would disarm the living. In a sense of guilt, the living were disarmed. Those who opposed this were labeled as kooks and crazies and led off as criminals.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a fairy tale with a happy ending. The zombies are at the door. First, they will eat your gunz and then they will come for your brainz. Stop Zombie Queen Dianne’s evil gun grabbing agenda and expose her for what she is. Unchecked, she will suck the life out of you, your family, and your neighbors.
We don’t often publish speculative fiction on SSD but I didn’t think this one could wait until Halloween.
Paul Kim Working On Gen 2 VORTEX Suppressor Design
October 14th, 2017For years, Paul Kim was the creative force at SureFire, responsible for the design of several of their lights. A few years ago, PK struck on his own, standing up the aptly named, PK Designs Lab. We’ve showcased several of his lights over the years, but now he’s working on a Suppressor design.
Apperently, this is his second generation, disclosing on a Facebook post, “My previous Gen 1 suppressor was never analyzed to this level of scrutiny. This time we are doing it right.”
He went to offer four images, stating, “Here is a sneak preview of the finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamics analysis of our Gen 2 VORTEX suppressor design.”
