“Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance, it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation…”
— President Ronald Reagan
FirstSpear Friday Focus: Memorial Day 2023
May 26th, 202328 IS Fusion Cell Support Grand Slam for Full Spectrum SOF at Emerald Warrior 2023
May 26th, 2023
HURLBURT FIELD, Florida —
Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) wrapped up its 16th annual Emerald Warrior exercise May 6, 2023. The exercise provided realistic and relevant, high-end pre-deployment training, encompassing multiple joint operating areas to ensure preparedness of Special Operations Forces, Conventional Force enablers, Partner Forces and Interagency elements. This year’s exercise locations included Hurlburt Field, Homestead Air Reserve Base and Puerto Rico.
Five Reserve Citizen Airmen from the 28th Intelligence Squadron were key players in the event. The Airmen were critical to the success of the Intelligence (J2) Fusion Cell’s work. The Fusion Cell pushed out multiple “articles, tweets, and social media posts” regarding a massive earthquake destroying key infrastructure in Puerto Rico. This event became the first of many injects requiring the deployed Joint Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) and units to make decisive decisions on behalf of the nation and partner nations.
“Synchronizing Information Related Capabilities across Intelligence, Information Operations, Cyber, Space, and Public Affairs SMEs (subject matter experts) allowed us to further educate our SOTG and SOTU (Special Operations Task Unit) commanders on the capabilities they can provide when down range, said Maj Jessica Vogle, the 28 IS’s assistant director of operations, who served as the Emerald Warrior J2 and Fusion Cell lead.
Vogle went on to say, “Whether it be the utilization of cyber effects to create complex dilemmas for our adversaries, space capabilities to get a site picture of the operation area or using Information Operations and/or Public Affairs to get strategic messaging out into the public, fusion cells create operational effects in the information environment and strategic advantage for AFSOF, our allies and partners through unique access and placement.”
In Emerald Warrior 23, the Fusion Cell led and processed 90 Requests for Information, 498 Red Cell injects, 11 Publicly Available Information roll ups, four spot reports, seven tear lines and eight additional J2 products.
The 21st Special Tactics Squadron completed pre-deployment qualifications for Air Force Force Generation model readiness posture. Four missions were executed during the course of the event: Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief, Integrated Deterrence, Information Operations/Cyber.
445th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
Rheinmetall Wins Second Contract for Regenerating More Parts of the Bundeswehr’s Modular Medical Facilities
May 25th, 2023At the end of January 2023, Germany’s Federal Office for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) selected Rheinmetall to remodel additional parts of its modular medical facilities. The special modular medical facility containers ordered here by the Bundeswehr will be used, for example, as food safety laboratories. The order is worth a figure in the higher-single-digit million-euro range. Work is to be complete by December 2023.
Known by their German initials as MSE containers, they constitute a family of modular medical facilities. Fabricated since the 1990s, multiple variants of these units have been procured and are now undergoing comprehensive regeneration.
The MSEs consist of rescue facilities and field hospitals used in Bundeswehr areas of operation. Here, individual systems perform specialized tasks, serving in this case as a food safety laboratory, or LCM. The technical and medical equipment in the LCM help to assure food safety in the field during deployed operations. These stackable container systems are CSC-classified, meaning that they can be transported on container ships. The systems and their equipment are customized in terms of scope and functionality.
Dr Deniz Akitürk, managing director of Rheinmetall Project Solutions GmbH, is particularly proud of the latest project: “This is the second time that we’ve won a contract of this kind. Rheinmetall Project Solutions GmbH can look now forward to more orders in this segment.”
Responsible for mobile deployable mission solutions, Rheinmetall Project Solutions GmbH has bundled the Group’s resources and capabilities for mission support ever since 2019. It provides customers with long-term mission support through specific services. Rheinmetall AG created the company specifically to handle services and projects for mission support.
Elbit Systems UK to Deliver Ground-Based Surveillance Radar to British Armed Forces
May 25th, 2023London, 23 May 2023 – Elbit Systems UK has been awarded a contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) to provide a series of Ground-Based Surveillance Radar (GBSR) systems, manufactured and developed in the UK and Europe, to the British Armed Forces to support front line threat detection for a range of end-users.
Elbit Systems UK will deliver 90 GBSR systems throughout 2023 and 2024, with a follow-on option of an additional 40 systems. The GBSR system is easily portable and uses Digital Signal Processing to detect, track and classify targets moving on or close to the ground.
The systems being delivered have been customised by Elbit Systems UK to meet the specialist capability requirements of a joint end-user community. These adaptations include an optimised stabilisation unit and open architecture software upgrades to facilitate integration both with existing and future MOD systems.
The system also incorporates capture software that allows operator performance to be analysed. This will support extensive, data-driven training for the user.
Martin Fausset, CEO of Elbit Systems UK, said:
“Elbit Systems UK has a deep understanding of the threat environment in which our servicemen and women operate. By offering a portable solution for medium and short range target detection, Elbit Systems UK is continuing to support the UK Ministry of Defence in providing leading situational awareness for those on the front line, using some of the best technology available.”
UK MOD Extends NP Aerospace Vehicle Contract
May 25th, 2023The UK Ministry of Defence has extended its Protected Mobility Engineering and Technical Support vehicle contact (PMETS) with NP Aerospace to March 2026.
The £63m contract covering more than 2,000 vehicles was awarded to NP Aerospace, global armour manufacturer and vehicle integrator via a competitive tender in March 2019. Since then, as Engineering Authority for the fleet, and in partnership with vehicle OEMs and industry partners, NP Aerospace has worked on over 140 individual tasks that maintain, sustain and upgrade the vehicle fleet for use on operations.
According to David Petheram, Managing Director & Senior Vice President, NP Aerospace Vehicle Systems, Services & Spares, PMETS tasks range in scale and complexity from lighting systems, software enhancements and communication system upgrades, through to full scale re-engineering programmes. He said: “Through PMETS we have introduced significant innovations into the fleet such as the Mastiff and Ridgback XC offroad platforms and hybrid demonstrator projects – both of which improve overall capabilities and operational vehicle performance. Working closely with industry partners, NP Aerospace is able to maximise through life capability and introduce new innovations that benefit the Armed Forces.”
NP Aerospace has worked on MOD vehicles for over 20 years, leading complex integrations. The platforms covered under the PMETS contract include Mastiff, Wolfhound, Ridgback, Buffalo, Choker, Foxhound, Jackal, Coyote and RODET. Key partners include Atkins, HORIBA-Mira and ITS, vehicle OEMs General Dynamics and Supacat, and a variety of technology partners. The prime contracting model with NP Aerospace as engineering authority is fully scalable and can be applied to other platform types and global markets.
The PMETS contract is estimated to have generated in excess of 200 jobs in the UK supply chain, with the team at NP Aerospace providing oversight of all deliverables and managing all activities on the contracts, utilising highly experienced staff in a unique way across the variety of vehicles in the fleet.
Ventus Ramps Up Field Trials of its TR2 Respirator Following CE Certification
May 25th, 2023Toronto, Ontario, May 23, 2023 — Ventus Respiratory Technologies, creator of the next generation of particulate respiratory protection for military, police, and first responders, is announcing that it has kicked off multiple international field trials for its TR2 respirator, following the CE certification of the product in February.
Trials and evaluations are underway with elite forces in Germany, Italy, France, the UK, Hungary, and the Netherlands. Initial feedback from end users has been positive, particularly regarding the TR2’s design and form factor, which is lightweight, low-burden, and interoperable with existing communications and protective equipment.
“The TR2 is the only fully certified respirator of its kind, making it the only protection suitable for the global market,” said Arjun Grewal, CEO of Ventus, who previously spent 20 years with the Canadian Armed Forces, including numerous deployments in Afghanistan. “To date, there has been no standard for particulate respiratory protection for those serving on the front lines in known toxic environments, we are now learning about the severe health consequences of that exposure.”
In April, it was announced by U.S. Veterans Affairs (VA) that Veterans and their survivors in the United States alone have filed more than 500,000 toxic exposure-related claims under the PACT Act, which was signed into law less than one year ago on August 10, 2022. More than $1 billion in benefits have already been awarded.
“The science is showing us the impact of airborne hazards including lead from high volume weapons training, Agent Orange, burn pits, sand, mechanical fumes, or any of the other dozens of other potential hazards,” added Grewal. “And it’s not only military personnel who are at risk, it is our police, firefighters, and other first responders. We need a baseline standard of protection for these populations. This is why we created the TR2. I believe that this protection will soon become standard issue across the board, just as eye and ear protection have been standard requirements for nearly all soldier and police training for decades.”
Ventus is actively engaging with the soldier and police community. Last week, Ventus participated in events with the Ontario Tactical Advisory Body in Canada, and Special Operations Forces week at U.S. Special Operations Command, and U.S. VA discussions in Washington DC.
Data-driven results from the multiple field trials currently taking place are expected at the end of June.
Introducing S.O.Tech’ s Modular Organizer Panels
May 25th, 2023
S.O.Tech has been doing a lot of organizer panels over these past couple of years, our original design involved a cloth covered panel, loops, and in general too much labor. Therefore, introducing our latest development, S.O.Tech’s Modular Panel Organizers or also known as our “Org Boards.” Using Tegris sheets, which is a composite material with high impact resistance we are able to laser cut each of our three sized organizers and guarantee quality. We have three sizes available: regular, micro, and clamshell.
The regular modular panel organizer has a dimension of 9″ x 6″. The panel comes with an adjustable elastic shock cord and a series of laser cut holes that allow you to loop the elastic cord. This panel allows for attachments of tools of all shapes. The cord can be routed through multiple possible configurations. The panel is backed with male hook for attachment to female loop fields inside a medical pack. This organizer comes standard with our Micro Mission Medical Packs and our Cobra Packs.
Our micro modular panel organizer has a dimension of 7.87″ x 3″. This panel also includes a male hook backing for attachment and elastic shock cord to be looped through laser cut holes to hold your items. These organizers come standard with our Cobra Micro Pack.
Last in line is our Clamshell Panel Organizer, this is smallest of the organizer panels coming in at 7″ x 2.55″. The sizing of the organizer works well with pouch storage. The empty magazine pouches and pockets are wasted space so why not drop an organizer tray into them? The Clamshell is a pair of laser cut Tegris trays with elastic shock cord and slot and holes to arrange to open like a book or top to bottom like a note pad. Long cutouts can accept one wrap. The clamshell pairs well with S.O.Tech’ s new Delta Omega Pouch which helps you organizes all your ordnance.
Product Codes
Regular: MPO-CB
Micro: MPO-M-MCB
Clamshell: CPO-T
ADS Federal Range Day
May 25th, 2023ADS Federal Range is next week, June 2nd at The Crucible located near Fredericksburg, VA, a short drive from the National Capital Region.
Featuring five live-fire ranges to try your hand at the latest technologies, Federal Range Day assembles over 150 of the best suppliers in industry for a hands on experience.
Additionally, network with representatives from other units and agencies and meet with ADS sales reps to discuss fulfilling your equipping requirements.
ADS Federal Range Day 2023 is not open to the general public.
Qualified attendees include active duty military, federal, state and local government agencies, law enforcement, and first responders.Military and government attendees must present official government-issued identification.
Register now here.
