The BOLO Report posted a good article on repeated cycling of individual rounds of ammunition causing a failure to fire. The issue came to light after a Georgia-based officer had a failure to fire malfunction during a use of force incident. It was determined that the chambered round failed to fire due to the primer mix being knocked out of the primer during repeated cycling of the same round at night when he unloaded his weapon after work.
While it came to light during an LE incident, the situation is even more likely to occur with military ammo as troops are required to regularly unload their weapons. Oftentimes, that round goes right back into the top of the magazine it was removed from and this is accomplished over and over throughout the course of a tour.
It is important for personnel that do not regularly expend their ammo to rotate their cycled rounds.
Right about now, the vast majority of you are scratching your heads asking yourselves, “What’s this “slangvel” you speak of? It is an Afrikaans word for “Snake Skin” and is used to describe the South African parachutist smock because the shoulders and elbows are reinforced with nylon webbing.
There’s also Slangvel, the manufacturer of things camouflage and cool. He has manufactured some of my favorite hats and while he has made Smocks in the past, he is working on getting a new Slangvel off the ground.
Here you see a South African brown (nutria) Slangvel next to a Badlands Slangvel to show how close he has kept the detail. He is in final sourcing for the proper snaps which is a major design detail on a Slangvel as they are exposed.
Although the sample is in PenCott Badlands he also plans on offering them in MultiCam and other patterns and solids as well. These will be initially offered in medium and large size. We’ll let you know when they are ready for order.
Early this week, the Department of National Defence of Canada released a Request for Proposals for their next generation Soldier system. According to DND, “Integrated Soldier System Project will provide the soldier with an integrated suite of equipment that includes weapon accessories, electronic devices, sensors, individual equipment and operational clothing. This soldier system will significantly increase soldier performance, as soldiers and low-level command centres will seamlessly share data and voice communications through a network. This capability will facilitate effective and timely interaction. As a result, soldiers will have more comprehensive situational awareness, real-time tactical information and greater synchronization of activity.” What we’ve got here is a classic Soldier digitization program straight out of the 90s. It is another attempt to integrate sensors and comms onto the Soldier as a platform in order to increase Situational Awareness which will result increased survivability and lethality.
Diagram – Canada DND
They intend to award two contracts to one successful bidder. According to the RFP these two contracts consist of:
“The first contract, called the ISS Acquisition Contract will be over an approximate period of four (4) years and will consist of a qualification of the ISS and then, if successfully qualified, the purchase of a firm quantity of ISS in pre-determined batches totaling one thousand six hundred (1,600) units as complete system along with associated preliminary Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) such as technical documentation, training and initial provisioning of spares, with the option to purchase, in multiple parts, optional quantities up to an additional five thousand twenty four (5,024) ISS-Suites as complete system or component by component.
The second contract, called the ISS Optimized Weapon System Support Contract, will be for the ISS In-Service Support and Improvement Activities over a period of five (5) years plus 3 two-year irrevocable options allowing Canada to extend the term of the Contract.”
Potential offerors have until 2012-04-18 02:00 PM Eastern Daylight Saving Time EDT to submit their proposals. The ISSP RFP is available on Merx, the Canadian equivalent of FedBizOpps.
We are meeting later today with the Metolius rep. We thought we’d share with you the read ahead info he gave us. Both the Patriot and Tactical harnesses are Berry compliant.
We received this announcement from Kyle Defoor. We’re sure you know who Arc’teryx is, but for those of you who aren’t yet familiar with Kyle, he is a world class shooter, athlete, and trainer and he gets our highest recommendation.
Beginning March 2012, Arc’teryx LEAF division will be providing gear prizes to the top performers in my open enrollment classes. This kit will be won, not given, to the students who pass my shooting tests, sometimes cold, and the students who consistently perform well under pressure from the timer and the scoring rings.
I’m humbled that the Dead Bird asked me first to come on board for this idea. Combining the best outdoor gear on the planet with my training is a no brainer. I hope that this will up the ante even more in performance at my classes, and from it we’ll get to see and learn a lot from each other.
DuPont Protection Technologies is pleased to announce the winners of the DuPont Kevlar Innovation Awards, which showcase ideas, methods, technologies, applications, products and services using DuPont Kevlar in a new way. This year’s U.S. awards were bestowed in three categories: innovation, protection and collaboration to QinetiQ North America, TYR Tactical and UNEQUAL Technologies, respectively.
They’re excited to announce the winners of these awards that recognize not only incredible ingenuity in uses for DuPont Kevlar, but our partners commitment to industry collaboration to help make the world a better, safer place, said William F. Weber, vice president of DuPont Protection Technologies, North America. DuPont Kevlar is most commonly known for ballistic protection, but its light-weight strength is used for a myriad of other purposes; these award winners showcase some of the best of the wide range of innovative uses of DuPont Kevlar in the industry.
Innovation award criteria focused on the use of DuPont Kevlar with new materials and/or new processing technologies, creativity in the use of DuPont Kevlar in new applications and general uniqueness or impressiveness of the product. The protection award was based on the best demonstration of an innovation that enhances protection of people, processes or the environment using DuPont Kevlar. The collaboration award was given to the entry that best demonstrated ways in which the company worked with DuPont or other organizations to develop a product using Kevlar that provides commercial significance and benefit to others.
QinetiQ North America’s rocket propelled grenade (RPG) protection solution, Q-Net, is the winner in the innovation category. Q-Net provides superior RPG defeat capabilities, is adaptable to a variety of platforms, and is low-cost and ultra-lightweight. QinetiQ worked in conjunction with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to develop the Q-Net system, which is based on nets rather than traditional armor. The system leverages DuPont Kevlar in the netting in combination with metal points at net junctions to create the configuration. DuPont Kevlar was chosen for the netting for its strength, weight and low stretch characteristics. The resulting system offers an innovative solution to vehicle light-weighting and performance challenges, as reducing weight decreases the overall wear and tear of vehicle operating systems and fuel consumption.
QinetiQ North America Q-Net
TYR Tactical is honored with the protection award for its PV Nylon, a hybrid laminate that is significantly stronger and lighter-weight than standard nylon. TYR Tactical’s PV Nylon demonstrates how scientific innovation can yield incredible hybrid materials that address market challenges. By incorporating DuPont Kevlar to provide increased strength and ballistic resistance at a lighter-weight, TYR Tactical decreased the amount of nylon needed in a protection system, in turn reducing the weight of protection systems overall and increasing the life cycle of each product. This provides the market with a much needed solution for longer-wearing, more resistant and lighter-weight armor.
TYR Tactical PV
The collaboration award goes to UNEQUAL Technologies for its EXO pads, which offer body protection to soldiers and athletes. UNEQUAL worked with DuPont to incorporate DuPont Kevlar into its layered pad systems, yielding the first multi-threat, all-fabric solution that reduced fabric thickness, weight and cost. Collaboration with the sports industry allowed UNEQUAL to create padding that protects against blunt force trauma significantly better than traditional foam pads. UNEQUAL relied on Villanova University, Drexel University, Southern Impact Research Center and Safariland/BAE Systems, as well as other industry and academic partners to conduct extensive testing of its EXO Skeleton technology. EXO pads are now used by multiple NFL and NHL teams to help protect players. The different systems are light-weight, thin, and flexible to increase comfort without sacrificing protection on the sports field or battlefield.
UNEQUAL Technologies
The DuPont Kevlar Innovation Awards were judged by a prestigious panel of experts: Professor Philip Brown of Clemson University; Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey; Eric Lin, Ph.D., Chief of the Polymers division at National Institute of Standards and Technology; Adam Rogers, senior editor at Wired; and Doug Muzyka, Chief Science & Technology Officer at DuPont. Each award winner received $10,000 to donate to a charitable organization that benefits education, science, technology and/or government service. QinetiQ donated its award to the Wounded Warrior Project, which provides programs and services to severely injured service members as they recover and transition back to civilian life. TYR Tactical donated its award to Fisher House Foundation, which provides free or low cost lodging to veterans and military families receiving treatment at military medical centers. UNEQUAL donated its award to the National Law Enforcement Museum, which will tell the story of American law enforcement through exhibits, collections, research and education and is expected to open in 2014.
This contest is particularly timely, as DuPont recently opened its new Cooper River plant near Charleston, S.C. the single largest investment in the fiber since its invention. Overall global production capacity for DuPont Kevlar will increase initially by 25 percent and is expected to grow by 40 percent, creating the supply essential to further DuPont Kevlar innovation and new applications by both DuPont and its partners.
Michael Match, the owner of Ashland Sales & Service was interviewed on Fox News about contracts being handed over to Federal Prison Industries (Unicor). Ashland produces clothing for DoD but they are in danger of losing the contract for manufacturing jackets like the one worn by the Commander in Chief. Please watch the video.
Both Jonathon Long and we have talked about Unicor’s advantage over small businesses as a Government directed source for many commodities. It’s a travesty that they are given no-bid contracts. There are several bills in Congress that would help curb the influence Unicor exerts over the procurement system. Hopefully, we will see some changes soon.
SORD’s new Combat Shirt is constructed from an FR knit fabric (71% Modacrylic/24% FR Rayon/5% Spandex) that features both a permanent finish to increase wicking performance as well as an anti-microbial treatment helps prevent odor after prolonged field use. The design layout puts seams where they will irritate the least under armor and relies on flat seam construction to take it the rest of the way. It also incorporates a 10†chest zipper with an inside flap with chin guard, Gusseted side panels for a complete range of motion, as well as pleated zippered bicep pockets with ample Velcro for IFF and patches. Finally, they remembered to reinforce the elbows. Looks good guys!
Made in USA! from US materials in any color as long as it is MultiCam in sizes Med – XLge.
