TYR Tactical

Record Order for Rheinmetall: Bundeswehr Orders up to 6,500 Military Trucks – Value up to €3.5bn

July 13th, 2024

Rheinmetall has been given the largest order in the company`s history concerning logistic vehicles by the Bundeswehr. The framework-contract was now signed in Koblenz and incorporates the delivery of up to 6,500 military trucks, valued up to €3.5bn incl. VAT.

After the budget committee of the Federal German Parliament had approved funding on 26 June 2024, the contract with Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) was signed on 1 July 2024 by the President of the BAAINBw, Annette Lehnigk-Emden and the Management of RMMV. A first call-off for over 610 vehicles, valued at €312m incl. VAT is imminent, of which 250 trucks are to be delivered in 2024. The financing of this call is mainly based on the special funds of the Bundeswehr. Rheinmetall AG will book the order in the third quarter of 2024 of the current fiscal year.

This framework-contract allows the Bundeswehr to flexibly order further quantities of already introduced unprotected transportation vehicles UTF 5t and UTF 15t-trucks for seven years. In addition to that, a new vehicle category will be introduced via the framework-contract: the 4×4 UTF 3.5t. It has a maximum of identical parts to the UTF family.

“The framework-contract is an essential contribution to a fast fulfillment of demand by the logistic forces of the Bundeswehr”, states Michael Wittlinger, Chairman of the management of Rheinmetall Military Vehicles GmbH. “The standardized vehicle family and the uniformity with vehicles of other beneficiary nations establish the HX-vehicles as the main logistic vehicles within NATO and set a standard for interoperability and logistic efficiency within the Alliance. Once again, this order reflects our leading role in the global market for logistic vehicles.”

“The extremely short period of four months from the invitation to tender to the signature of the contract underlines once more that the turning point for procuring logistic trucks has been introduced”, says Armin Papperger, CEO Rheinmetall AG. “We are thankful for the trust in the products of Rheinmetall.”

Already, the Ungeschützte Transportfahrzeug (UTF)-family has been contributing significantly to the performance of logistic units of the Bundeswehr. In July 2017, the Bundeswehr placed an order at Rheinmetall MAN for the delivery of the new family “UTF military all-terrain with 5t and 15t load capacity categories”. The UTFs are a show-case project which, especially within the procurement, has opened new ways. This was the first time that flexible framework agreements with large quantities have been concluded. Since 2017, more than 6,000 HX vehicles will be delivered to the Bundeswehr by the end of 2024, together with the swap-body loader systems (Wechselladersystem or WLS) and 70t tractor units. A large proportion of the added value at WLS and UTF – over 75 percent – is created in Germany.

UTF and WLS are based on the robust HX-family of RMMV. From the beginning, it was designed for military use and is characterized by high mobility, also in heavy terrain. The large world-wide distribution of the HX-vehicle family offers major advantages concerning interoperability and logistics, especially with respect to multinational missions. In addition to Germany, the user group currently includes the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Hungary, Singapore, Slovenia, Denmark and Ukraine. The newly placed order highlights the high acceptancy of the tried-and-tested HX-vehicles of which about 20,000 are already in use world-wide.

KommandoStore – Eighty Four FR Combat Balaclava Available for Pre-Order

July 13th, 2024

The new Eighty Four FR Combat Balaclava from KommandoStore is available for pre-order.

Kommando Store took it upon themselves to recreate this one-hole design after their supplier decided they would no longer sell to civilians.

It is made in America and is the a similar design worn by the Obi Wan Nairobi and the material is inherently FR down to the fiber level (Tencate Defender M Fabric). Although one-size fits most, they’ve improved the fit, particularly while craning your neck this way and that.

Offered in Tan 499. Ships late July.

kommandostore.com/collections/eighty-four/products/fr-combat-balaclava

“Mission Over Function” – Developing Combat-Effective Airmen for Great Power Competition

July 13th, 2024

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas (AFNS) —

Unprecedented changes to the global security environment are driving sweeping reforms to the way the U.S. Air Force will develop, deploy, and employ combat forces and capabilities to defend the United States, allies and partners nations around the world.

Officials from Air Education and Training Command, which will be redesignated as Airman Development Command, are rapidly redesigning core institutional training and development architectures to support Great Power Competition. This includes designing education and training for the future force with a “mission over function” mindset, where the primary focus is on developing Airmen to emphasize their shared military purpose and mission objectives over individual functional roles.

“Success in today’s strategic environment requires a force aligned and focused on the requirements and attributes that will keep us competitive,” said Lt. Gen. Brian Robinson, commander, AETC. “In the context of the U.S. Air Force, ‘mission over function’ emphasizes prioritizing mission success over organizational silos. When it comes to GPC, we are laser focused on developing our Airmen first, ensuring they are mission ready, with the skills we need to succeed as we transform into a more expeditionary force with deployable combat wings.”

As the Department of the Air Force implements major changes, the ADC will develop Airmen with a mission first mindset, and serve as the institutional major command responsible recruiting, training, educating and developing resilient, mission ready Airmen who thrive in complex and contested environments.

“This mindset helps us create an optimized, functionally informed, and agile force development command that effectively accelerates the journey from recruitment to operational deployment, aligns learning content with operational feedback and future capabilities, and precisely matches talent with Air Force requirements,” Robinson said. “Ultimately, our purpose is to enhance the Air Force’s operational readiness by fostering rapid content development, precision talent management, and training pathway agility, ensuring the force remains adaptable, resilient and strategically adept.”

In this construct, force design and operational feedback will serve as the guiding North Star in the overall development of Airmen.

The ADC’s centers of excellence at the Headquarters and Numbered Air Force levels will serve as primary focal points for early integration and coordination with Air Force Materiel Command, Air Combat Command, the service component commands, and the Integrated Capabilities Command regarding sustainment, operational feedback and future capabilities development, ensuring initial skills training and leader development incorporates the competencies every Airman needs for success in GPC.

“With ADC owning overall responsibility for force development, the training for new weapons systems is less likely to be an afterthought due to our ability to integrate with ICC to prepare that training through a mission perspective lens,” Robinson said. “The COEs will expeditiously provide enterprise-focused training and education solutions to support the operationalization of new integrated capabilities in collaboration with the other institutional commands.”

According to the USAF’s The Case For Change, developing personnel is a deliberate priority requiring a dedicated and unified effort to attract, retain and nurture the talent and specialized skills demanded by the emerging strategic landscape. The Air Force must cultivate Mission Ready Airmen—individuals with the expertise and versatile skillsets required to win in various operational scenarios. The personnel we need requires optimizing the force we have by centralizing force development, reinvigorating our warrior ethos to create Mission Ready Airmen, and establishing robust and effective paths for technical areas critical to creating competitive advantage.

“Tomorrow’s Airmen will remain technical experts, but they will also be trained to be mission-ready with additional skills and competencies,” Robinson said. “This includes the concept of mission command, which will allow them to make bold decisions and take advantage of fleeting opportunities to fight and win multiple fights as agile teams. This type of leadership doesn’t just happen. It takes intentional development and practice.”

Additionally, The Case For Change emphasizes centralizing specific facets of force development under a single commander will streamline the coordination, integration, and execution of Air Force training and education initiatives. This centralization will enable the identification and evaluation of specific areas of Airman development that are common and would benefit from a concentrated, integrated approach. This will ensure a more standardized Airman experience and development with a shared understanding of the threat environment.

The desired outcome is the development of the right Airmen for the right place and time, a skilled cadre well-prepared for future challenges, and a cohesive workforce adept at competing effectively—poised to surge and sustain operations during times of conflict. This transition also requires the appropriate renaming of AETC to ADC, reinforcing its focus on shaping the Airmen of tomorrow.

Efficiencies to having force development under a single commander include:

– A single focal point to consolidate and respond to warfighter training requirements that allow the command to rapidly deliver new curriculum that enables the more rapid expansion of training production in a crisis or conflict.

– Enables force providers and components the ability to focus on combat readiness training vice institutional training.

– Improved relationships with industry and provides a single advocate for training modernization research and development and increases the opportunity for new technology use in training at scale.

One example of a mission transitioning to ADC ownership is the development team process, which provides the tools to be accountable for career field succession plans and force development vectors with ultimate responsibility residing with the ADC commander.

“We are transitioning functional force development requirements to ADC while still being advised by functional authorities on the competencies needed by Airmen in the field,” Robinson said. “With multiple functional communities individually directing development in a variety of ways, enterprise needs can sometimes take a backseat to functional career field needs.”

The ADC will provide that holistic, enterprise integration and assessment, via a single commander with the requisite force development authorities to make enterprise-level decisions.

“We’re out of time, and we have to really think differently and figure out how we develop the force at the speed of need and relevance,” Robinson said. “Our strategic advantage is our Airmen. Our sole focus for ADC is making sure our enlisted Airmen, officers and civilians are prepared sooner to be credible, capable, and competent in delivering unstoppable air and space power to detect, deter, confront, and if called upon, combat and defeat potential adversaries.”

By Dan Hawkins, Air Education and Training Command Public Affairs

AG Composites’ Newest Camo Pattern Has Been Named

July 12th, 2024

OWENS CROSS ROADS, Ala.  (July 10, 2024) — The latest rifle stock camouflage pattern from AG Composites was named after a month-long contest with hundreds of entries. The winning name is Blackthorn, an entry submitted by Tim W. from Georgia. Tim’s winning entry won him a non-adjustable AG Composites fiberglass rifle stock valued at over $400, while runner-ups Vince R. from Wisconsin, Nathan B. from Montana, and Ben. S from Montana will all receive fantastic swag bags filled with hats, t-shirts, and stickers.

Blackthorn camouflage has a sleek black base adorned with hand-painted shades of light tan, brown, and green. It will initially be available on AG Composites’ best-in-class fiberglass rifle stock line.

“We never thought our ‘Name That Camouflage Pattern’ contest would be so popular, and we thank everyone who entered,” said Matt Tandy, AG Composites owner. “The suggestions we received from our valued customers were creative, innovative and much appreciated by our entire team. We feel that Blackthorn will be one of our most popular camouflage patterns. We truly enjoy engaging our customers, receiving their feedback on our products, and hearing suggestions for future offerings.”

Founded in 2014 by military veteran brothers Matt and Dave Tandy to build the best carbon fiber composite rifle stocks in the world, the company uses modern design software from Solidworks and AutoDesk to create Computer-Aided Design (CAD) models of every stock they manufacture. “Our design engineers bring their aerospace industry CAD modeling experience to every stock we design,” Matt Tandy said. “We also use only the highest-quality carbon fiber, epoxy, fiberglass, and paint products to manufacture our premium lines of rifle stocks. Our proprietary manufacturing process is the ‘secret sauce’ behind our ability to produce best-in-class stocks with delivery times that are a fraction of our competitors. We aim to give our customers outstanding value and superior performance with the best products in the business.”

To get a look at the new Blackthorn pattern, as well as more information on the entire AG Composites lineup of custom composite and fiberglass stocks, bottom metals, and accessories, as well as how you can go about designing your custom rifle stock, please visit the AG Composites website, www.agcomposites.com, or by calling 1-833-AGSTOCK or 256-723-8381.

Protocable – GPS Dongle for Streamcaster Radio

July 12th, 2024

Protocable introduces the SC-AUX-GPSDGL and SC-PRI-GPSDGL GPS dongles for Silvus Technologies Streamcaster radios.

Inspired by, and built in honor of the countless service members and pieces of equipment lost to the draw monster. Tie down not included.

This solution provides GPS to users desiring a compact / cable-free GPS solution direct to either radio port supporting flexible mission profiles with streamlined kitting.

protocable.helcim.app/quick-order

KommandoStore – Pattern 84 2.0 Chest Rig Available for Pre-Order

July 12th, 2024

KomandoStore’s Eighty Four line takes what old and makes it new by recreating classic designs with updated materials and features. The flagship of this effort is the Pattern 84 Chest Rig which has just been updated to its 2.0 configuration.

They started with the classic South African 83 pattern rig and introduced new materials like Cordura, Velcro, nylon webbing, and plastic SR buckles. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

In addition to laser cut PALS webbing at the sides, the P84 will accept a variety of magazines, and without those annoying dividers found in the SADF design. Additionally, there’s an admin pocket at the rear and it’s dangler compatible. It also includes an H-harness but other harnesses can be substituted if you’d like.

Made in the USA and offered in Ranger Green. This pre-order is shipping in mid-August.

To learn about everything they’ve added to the P84 2.0 design, visit kommandostore.com/collections/eighty-four/products/pattern-84-chest-rig-version-2-0.

OMNISCIENCE by OKSI – OMNIseek

July 12th, 2024

So far this week, we’ve introduced you to OMNISCIENCE, an overarching AI environment by OKSI, used to enhance current unmanned aerial systems with software to speed the ability to identify and characterize the operating environment. To add context, we offered a video depicting OMNInav which is used for UAV navigation in GPS-denied environments, analyzing the terrain as the UAV flies, comparing it to mapping data and maintaining position on the fly.

This video explains OMNIseek which provides Automatic Detection and Recognition (ATD/ATR). This goes way beyond the phase change detection systems we’ve seen in the past by not only detecting items of interest in the field of view, but characterizing what they are as well.

OMNISCIENCE components can be used alone or in conjunction with one another, depending on customer requirements and each application is customized to the user’s existing equipment.

OKSI is a privately held small business headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Learn more at www.oksi.ai.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/oksi-ai

DEFILADE Protection Systems Announces the Launch of Their New Public Order Gloves

July 12th, 2024

OTTAWA, CANADA – July 12, 2024 – DEFILADE Protection Systems, a leader in innovative tactical gear and protective equipment, is proud to unveil its latest advancement in personal protective gear: the Protective Deployment Gloves (PDG). These gloves are designed to meet the rigorous demands of law enforcement professionals, offering unmatched protection and functionality.

The Protective Deployment Gloves have undergone extensive testing to meet the highest standards of durability and performance. They have been tested to EN407 for flame resistance, ensuring optimal protection in hazardous environments, and EN388 for abrasion, tear, puncture, and impact protection.

The gloves are offered in two variations: the PDG with an extended gauntlet and a short version, the PDG-S. Both feature an ergonomic design for high dexterity, allowing for precise control and handling of firearms and tools in critical situations. The PDG series is ideal for public order, riot control, breaching operations and more.

For more information about DEFILADE Protection Systems and its new Protective Deployment Glove series, please visit our website at www.defiladeps.com.