Christini All Wheel Drive Motorcycles is working in tangent with High Ground Gear to provide a militarized version of their Christini AWD 450. They have added a wide variety of enhancements to the bike including the skid plate as well as other reinforcements around vulnerable components.
In addition to Christini’s special subdued color package, High Ground provides camouflage and PALS fields to the bike on the fender, tanks and body.
This Spring I was attending a training program with some military and government folks. One of the guys mentioned the impending Combat Recession. It was the terminology he used to describe the shrinkage we are all experiencing in defense. As the war comes to a close, spending is getting tight. If the budget tsunami that is sequestration hits, I don’t know if ‘recession’ will be a strong enough word.
Seems like a lot of folks have forgotten about those antebellum days when there wasn’t nearly as much money in defense. For the defense industry, these past ten years haven’t been just shooting fish in a barrel, the fish would literally jump into the boat, ask you to eat them and then clean themselves. But, those days are over. Some will adapt, others will fall.
One of the topics I will be exploring during these next two days at the Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting is how industry is adapting to this Combat Recession my friend spoke of.
Yesterday, another industry friend sent me a text from the show floor. It said in part, “What is happening at AUSA today is the Conventional Industry’s Zombie Apocalypse…” The floor is bereft of green suiters and it is leaving many vendors uneasy. Unfortunately, this year’s annual meeting is victim to a perfect storm of an Army weary of fighting in Afghanistan, impending budget sequestration and worst of all, fallout from the recent excesses by GSA. By all accounts, travel to AUSA on orders was severely restricted. No wonder it was so easy to find a hotel near the convention center.
I look forward to getting even more insight as I walk the floor today and tomorrow.
Elite Defense is offering a MOLLE Field Expedient Hardware Repair Kit made up of GhillieTEX IR signature reduction buckles from ITW Military Products.
Kit includes –
1 – 2″ Blast Buckle
1 – 1/2″ Field Expedient SR Buckle
2 – 1″ Split Bar GT Ladderloc
2 – 1″ Field Expedient GTSR Buckles
www.elitedefense.com/manufacturers/itw-military-products/molle-field-expediant-hardware-repair-kit
That’s how many machine guns are in the State of Virginia according to BATFE. That’s more than any other state.
Both the CamelBak Big Jump and Talon-G have been airdrop certified by the Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate. This means that procedures have been developed and certified as safe for airborne operations. However, it does not mean that these are Government developed issue items nor that they are endorsed by the military. On the contrary. CamelBak developed these packs on their own dime based on user driven requirements and worked through the arduous process of getting them certified so that they can be used by US military airborne units. Jumpers look for a 1st/507th PIR Memorandum of Record date 1 Dec 2011 Subject: Rigging and JMPI Procedures for the CamelBak Talon-GTM which stipulates how to rig the packs. They both features the same air items integrated into their design.
Both the Big Drop and Talon-G accommodate a 100 oz (3 L)OMEGA WaterBeast Reservoir and are available in Coyote, MultiCam and UCP. They are panel loaders featuring an Integrated Single Point Release (ISPR) on the bottom with a zippered pouch cover. They also have channels within the back panel that secure excess harness webbing during jumps. Additionally, noiseless zipper pulls snap together to secure pockets during jumps.
It really comes down to size. The Big Drop is obviously larger (4275 cu in / 70.04 L) than the Talon-G (2563 cu in / 42 L). Be sure to visit CamelBak at AUSA to check out these packs. Interestingly, these packs are currently only offered to authorized DoD users due their very specialized nature so this is a great opportunity to see them in person. For further information visit www.camelbak.com.
We continue our coverage of WL Gore’s various technologies and their military applications with Pyrad. It’s a self-extinguishing fabric technology that adds heat and flame protection properties to non-FR textiles.
First unveiled at last year’s AUSA, Gore Pyrad is one of the most exciting new technologies I’ve seen. It offers enhanced heat and flame protection using non-FR textiles. Think about that. You can still have performance of the fabrics you are comfortable with yet enhance their capabilities by incorporating an FR coating. Now the Pyrad technology has to be applied to the fabric prior to being assembled into finished goods so Pyrad won’t do anything for gear you already own, but could be a great option for future purchases.
Gore takes standard nylon, polyester and other fabrics and hardens them through laminating the Pyrad technology. This allows them to exploit all of the basic fabric’s strengths like nylon’s fast dry out times as well as enhanced camouflage through colorfastness and enhanced UV resistance. Additionally, not only is Pyrad resistant to flame but also self-extinguishing.
If you are attending AUSA this week in Wash DC be sure to visit the Gore Military booth #2925 to check out Pyrad. Additionally, ADS has incorporated Pyrad into their Dismounted FREE system so visit booth #2413 to take a look at an application of Pyrad. If you can’t make it, keep an eye out here on SSD where we’ll continue to show you new applications of the Pyrad technology.
Tactical Assault Gear has launched a new line of gloves consisting of a soft knuckle combat glove and a hard knuckle combat glove. Featuring 9oz Kevlar flame and cut resistance on back of hand combined with .8mm high grade aniline goatskin they incorporate a contour cut design meaning they fit like you are holding a beer can.
Look for them in Black, Coyote Tan and Foliage Green in sizes X-Small through 2X-Large. Made in the USA!
