Each year Helikon-Tex revives an old camouflage pattern. This year, it’s ERDL which was developed by the US Army’s Engineering, Research, and Development Lab (ERDL) in 1948 but didn’t see service until late in the Vietnam War on jungle fatigues. Eventually, the pattern was modified and became the Woodland camo pattern in 1981.
They always have the best displays. Seen here is the Helikon-Tex Raid Shirt and Treadstone Jeans.
Well known for their innovation in materials and design, Tilak makes outdoor, military and high end street wear (think cyber punk).
This year at Enforce Tac they are debuting the Malibu, their Lightweight Combat Shirt, and by lightweight, I mean lightweight. Developed in conjunction with their National SF unit, it is made from Polartec Powder Dry and a Lightweight Softshell shoulder and yoke, neither of which holds perspiration or water.
Feature driven, it sports a Roman collar, a long hem to stay tucked in and flat seams for comfort, an integrated pocket on each sleeve with a pass through flap and Velcro panel.
Available in Small – XXLarge in MultiCam, Black, and Khaki.
Heckler & Koch is exhibiting Valhalla’s Remote Controlled Weapons Stations. H&K needs no introduction, but Valhalla is a Slovenian company which was founded eight years ago.
At Enforce Tac, they are featuring the LOKI, a lightweight RCWS which is intended for belt-fed small arms like the H&K 421 in 7.62mm NATO, along with the MIDGUARD 40 which is paired with H&K’s 40mm Grenade Machine Gun. Likewise, the MIDGUARD will accept other larger caliber weapons.
Both systems incorporate gyre-stabilized EO/IR sights and laser range finders as well as shoot-on-the-move capability.
The MIDGUARD 40 / GMG combo offers C-UAS functionality when using ABM ammo and has a software feature which automatically tracks FPV drones, offering appropriate lead.
There are quite a few new products from Poland’s Direct Action, but a quick share is the upcoming Signal Panel which is a multi-purpose item.
Above you can see the signal panel in its carrying pouch. Once it’s pulled out, it features MultiCam on one side and Bright Yellow on the other. Flip it inside out and you get International Orange.
Made from lightweight nylon it can also be used as an emergency sleeping bag by stuffing it with leaves or other insulating materials.
Coming late April from directactiongear.com
Although, I’ll be sharing more gear from Direct Action this week, for those of you who can’t wait, their 2025 catalog can be seen here.
Berlin-based TACWRK has expanded their Dingetun series of morale patches with this year’s Masters of Dingetun which stems from TACWRK’s founder visiting the US PX at Fulda as a child and purchasing his first Masters of the Universe toy.
Guten Morgan from the Nürnberg Messe! It’s kick-off day for the 2025 Enforce Tac which has become one of my favorite defense shows.
Ghost Robotics is exhibiting with ATC SiPro GmbH – UTM Deutschland.
We’re bringing the future of unmanned systems to ENFORCE TAC 2025! Visit us at Halle 9, Booth 9-663 from Feb 24-26 to see the latest in robotic capabilities.
Mission-ready. Rugged. Reliable.
FORT GREELY, Alaska — As U.S. Air Force C-130s and C-17s pierced the cover of clouds, stars, and the northern lights, they delivered equipment, packages and paratroopers across two drop zones, marking the start of Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 25-02 into the early morning hours of Jan. 23, 2025, near Fort Greely, Alaska,
As the clock ticked past midnight, the paratroopers of 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division, descended upon Army Allen Airfield and Buffalo Drop Zone, met by the deafening silence of the frozen Alaskan wilderness. Their objective: seize control of the airfield and establish a foothold against the elements, with temperatures below freezing, and the opposing force — their comrades from the division’s 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
“It was chaotic at first, which is typical of a joint forcible entry,” said 1st Lt. Jason Douple, a paratrooper with 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 2nd IBCT (A).
“After we got our feet under ourselves, it was game on,” he said.
JPMRC is the U.S. Army’s newest combat training center, a coliseum of ice and snow where the division’s Soldiers train and fight against their fellow Arctic Soldiers, building the division’s warfighting capability in an Arctic environment and beyond.
The paratroopers wasted no time moving off the drop zone and seizing to their first objective, said 1st Lt. Joseph Watkins, a Battle Captain with 3rd Bn., 509th PIR.
“Our logistical support was executed well, being able to get ammunition, supplies, and gear to paratroopers is especially difficult in an austere, Arctic environment,” he added.
In addition to validating the 2nd IBCT’s readiness, JPMRC 25-02 was also a testament to the interoperability of the joint force and partner and Allied nations, including the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marines, Canadian and Mongolian armies, and others from partner nations and across the U.S. Department of Defense.
As the temperatures continued to drop, the 2nd IBCT assembled defensive positions, engineered fortifications and patrolled through snowy-covered miles of fields and forests as the two Arctic elements continued their fight against the environment, and each other.
“Whether it comes to a big, collective task or even the smallest, simplest one, it takes much longer to execute in the Arctic,” said Command Sgt. Maj. David Hanson, eenior enlisted leader of the 11th Airborne Division.
Across the exercise, the two forces met often, with flares illuminating the frosty battlefield, while orange and yellow muzzle flashes lit up the tree lines.
Paratroopers from 2-11 continued the fight and sustained it, despite temperatures below minus 30. It’s a skill set that the 11th Airborne Division and the JPMRC rotation in Alaska are uniquely able to provide to Soldiers and service members across partner nations and the joint force.
“We can’t just survive out here in the Arctic, we have to thrive,” Hanson said. “We are America’s only Arctic division and no one else is going to do it.”
By SGT Jaidon Novinska
