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Optics 1 Awarded $45 Mil Contract For Enhanced Clip-on Thermal Imagers and Enhanced Clip-on SWIR Imagers

October 2nd, 2017

According to the Department of Defense:

Optics 1 Inc., Bedford, New Hampshire, is being awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for production of enhanced clip-on thermal imagers and enhanced clip-on short-wave infrared imagers in support of special operations forces. Work will be performed in Bedford, New Hampshire, and is expected to be complete by September 2022. Fiscal 2017 Navy working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $220,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana, is the contracting activity (N00164-17-D-JQ17).

Tags: Optics 1
Posted in Contracts, Optics | 4 Comments »

2017 SureFire World Multigun Championship

October 2nd, 2017

Fountain Valley, CA—SureFire, LLC, manufacturer of the world’s finest—and most innovative—illumination tools and tactical products, is proud to announce the 2017 Surefire World Multigun Championship. This will be held between September 30th and October 8th, at the Pro Gun Club in Boulder City, NV. Once again, all styles of multigun and 3-gun competition come together into 16 grueling stages! The world’s best will compete in a variety of 3-gun and multigun styles including: large bay style stages, physical stages, box to box stages, long range, and two night stages. Trophies and Plaques are awarded to the top shooters with an order of finish prize table after the match. Prizes include SureFire suppressors, lights, and tons of awesome gear from other Manufacturers. This match has a final (16th) “playoff” stage shot Sunday for match score. Whether you plan on shooting the match, or just want to come by to spectate, come on out for a great time!

For more information visit www.surefirewmg.com.

Tags: Surefire
Posted in Advertiser, Press Release | Comments Off on 2017 SureFire World Multigun Championship

Ft Benning Cancels Reverse Auction For 12,600 PMAGs

October 2nd, 2017

In August US Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command at Fort Benning announced an intent to purchase 12,600 GEN M3 PMAGs from a commercial source via reverse auction.

For this solicitation, MICC End User intends to conduct an online competitive reverse auction to be facilitated by the third-party reverse auction provider, FedBid, Inc. FedBid has developed an online, anonymous, browser based application to conduct the reverse auction. An Offeror may submit a series of pricing bids, which descend in price during the specified period of time for the aforementioned reverse auction.

Reverse auctions sound like a great idea, at least for commodity items like ink pens and toilet paper. Essentially, the government outsources the buy to a third party and they host the reverse auction which sees companies compete with each other to fulfill the contract for less and less money until a winner emerges which will do it for less than anyone else. The thing is, you have to be very careful with this purchasing vehicle. Because the winner will be doing it for pennies on the dollar, there’s lots of incentive to cut corners and give the government exactly what they asked for.

Below is the description of what they intended to buy. Emphasis added is mine, to point out that just a few words give bidders an excuse to substitute the PMAGs with something else entirely, in order to underbid eveyone else.

M4 Magazine. Color preference is coyote tan, but gray/black is also considered. Fits 30 rounds of 5.56×45 ammunition. Transparent window on side to see the ammunition level. Strong and durable springs. Light polymer material. Warranty for defective items. Include shipping. PMAG 30 AR/M4 GEN M3 Window or equal., 12600, EA;

If the units at Fort Benning had received an “equivalent” when they expected PMAGs, it wouldn’t have been the first time a reverse auction has failed to deliver what the unit thought they were asking for.

Fortunately, they cancelled this purchase. The Army issued Maintenance Information (MI) Message 17-045, which authorized units to requisition GEN M3 PMAGS under NSN 1005-01-615-5169 (BLACK) and NSN 1005-01-659-7086 (COYOTE TAN) as Additional Authorization List (AAL) items. By ordering through the stock system, they’ll get exactly what they want, and at contract price.

Tags: Magpul
Posted in Contracts, Weapon Accessories | 8 Comments »

NSWC Crane Awards $10M Contract To SureFire For Muzzle Brakes And Suppressors

October 2nd, 2017

Late last week, Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane posted an award for a $10 million contract to SureFire for “SUPPORT/SUSTAINMENT FOR MUZZLE BRAKES, AND SOUND SUPPRESSORS IN SUPPORT OF THE MK13 MOD 7 SNIPER RIFLE, 10.3 AND 14.5 M4A1 UPPER RECEIVER GROUP (URG)”.

This allows the units supported by Crane (primarily USSOCOM) to quickly procure additional muzzle brakes and suppressors.

Tags: Surefire
Posted in Advertiser, Contracts, Weapon Accessories | 2 Comments »

Polaris DAGOR Rolling Down The Straße In Wiener Neustadt

October 2nd, 2017

This photo of a recent parade in Wiener NeuStadt was posted to Facebook. Allegedly, the Polaris DAGOR is undergoing evaluation by Austrian SOF.

Tags: Polaris
Posted in Mobility | 5 Comments »

You Never Know Where They’ll Show Up

October 2nd, 2017

Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kociuszko was a Polish-Lithuanian military engineer and a military leader who became a national hero in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and the United States.

Ko?ciuszko took part in the American Revolutionary War as a colonel in the Continental Army, and as an accomplished military architect, he designed and oversaw the construction of the fortifications at West Point, New York. In 1783, the Continental Congress promoted him to Brigadier General.

Returning to Poland, Kociuszko was commissioned as a Major General in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Army in 1789. After the Polish–Russian War of 1792 resulted in the Second Partition of Poland, he organized and led the 1794 “Kociuszko Uprising” against Russia.

Russian forces captured him at the Battle of Maciejowice in October 1794 and the defeat of the Kociuszko Uprising led to Poland’s Third Partition in 1795, which ended the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth’s independent existence.

The “Racawice Panorama” is a monumental cycloramic painting located in Wrocaw, Poland. It depicts the Battle of Racawice, during the Kociuszko Uprising and is one of only a few preserved relics of the genre, and is the oldest in Poland. The panorama stands in a circular fashion with the viewer in the center, and the use of additional artificial terrain effects creates a feeling of reality.

The photos depict a critical moment during the Battle of Racawice when Kociuszko, on horseback, rallied forces of his army for an assault on the Russian cannons…

Sources: Wikipedia and LH

Posted in History, KCRF | 4 Comments »

Overland Expo East 2017 – The Griffin Rescue Tool

October 1st, 2017

Among the acres of high-end overlanding equipment and custom expedition vehicles during last weekend’s Overland Expo East at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, this little gem of a tool stood out: The Griffin Rescue Tool. It’s specially designed for first responders with a glass breaker, seatbelt cutter, and oxygen bottle valve wrenches among its 14 functions. About 3 1/2 inches long, it’s also TSA compliant.

Price and availability TBA.

Griffin Pocket Tools

Posted in EDC, Gadgets | 3 Comments »

Discreet Ballistics Announces 300 AAC Blackout Selous Subsonic Expander, Available for Preorder

October 1st, 2017

Discreet Ballistics is pleased to announce its 300 AAC Blackout Selous Subsonic Expander is available for preorder (late fall 2017 delivery).

Specifications:
Brass: Lapua 300BLK
Bullet: Selous Machined Expander™ 188gr expanding solid copper projectile
Ballistic Coefficient: .404G1
Average Muzzle Velocity: 925-1000FPS
Minimum expansion velocity: 750FPS

The Discreet Ballistics 300 AAC Blackout 188gr Selous Subsonic Hunting/Self Defense load is designed to be the most effective expanding subsonic 300BLK cartridge available. Before initiating the development process for the Selous Machined Expander™ three areas were identified as crucial factors for a successful subsonic expanding projectile: weight retention, accuracy, and expansion. There is currently no other expanding subsonic projectile option with proficiency in all three of these categories. The Selous Machined Expander™ projectile was designed using state-of-the-art ballistics modeling software to maximize stability at subsonic velocities. As part of the development cycle extensive gel testing was performed and the appropriate design modifications were made to maximize terminal performance.

Ballistics gel test results firing a Selous Machined Expander™ from a Honey Badger 1:5 twist 6.75” barrel at 950fps

The Discreet Ballistics Selous Machined Expander™ is loaded with new Lapua® 300BLK brass and the finest commercially available powder and primers. Discreet Ballistics offers a more economical 190gr target load (pictured below) that is ballistically matched to the 188gr expanding load.

For more information on Discreet Ballistics visit www.discreetballistics.com or @discreet.ballistics on Instagram

Tags: discreet ballistics
Posted in Ammo, Press Release | 6 Comments »