Microtech’s first model is the L-UDT. Created in 1995 it remains one of their most popular models. Featuring a grooved, contoured aluminum handle with jimping along the top of the handle that carries onto the spine of the blade.
Government customers contact Gov@MicrotechKnives.com
Turbine One’s tagline is “AI/ML for the Comms-Contested Battlefield” and after learning about what they are doing, that sums it up quite nicely. For those of you unfamiliar with the terms, AI/ML means Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Those both sound like ominous futuristic concepts but Turbine One’s Frontline Perception System (FPS) makes it not only real, but user friendly.
Unlike current systems fielded with vendor-locked software which cannot move between sensors or devices, FPS combines open system architecture across any network, even in in comms-contested environments, and sensor data fusion.
FPS can be deployed on entire enterprise, desktops, laptops and End User Devices whether connected to a network or not. In fact, it’s optimized for use at the operator level.
It deploys algorithms at the tactical edge to characterize sensor data and provide relevant information to the user. The user can also interact with the system, introducing new items of interest without having to code using their AutoML.
Here you can see an example of the AI identifying a gun. Just prior to taking this photo the system was programmed using AutoML to characterize the pistol after identifying it in several images. It was just that simple.
Finally, TurbineOne routinely partners with third parties to deliver ML to the frontlines.
Global SOF Foundation’s Modern Warfare Week was held this week at Fort Bragg. We’re going to share some new capabilities that you won’t normally find on SSD.
On behalf of Germany’s Federal Office for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw), Rheinmetall is currently conducting the InterRoC research and technology project. The abbreviation stands for Interoperable Robotic Convoy. In the last weeks, the impressive capabilities of this high-tech approach to autonomous driving were on display at two remarkable events.
The InterRoC project encompasses two HX2 military trucks from Rheinmetall, each equipped with an autonomy kit, and which alternate in accordance with the leader-follower principle. With this principle, the first vehicle is always driven manually, while the pursuit truck (or trucks) drives autonomously in its path. These are manned only by a backup driver, who can intervene in case of a malfunction. Here, it is not just the so-called primary functions, such as steering and accelerating, that are controllable; secondary functions like starting the engine, the lights, differential locks, etc., are as well. The current project uses an autonomy kit (A-Kit) furnished by the German authorities, and originally provided by the US government under a project agreement. Rheinmetall’s role in the programme includes modifying the basic vehicles and integrating the autonomy function, together with commissioning and testing.
Proven interoperability: a US-German convoy
As part of its Autonomous Ground Resupply (AGR) project, the US Army uses the same A-kits in its Oshkosh trucks that Rheinmetall uses for InterRoC. This makes mixed US-German convoys possible. This was tested in an operational demonstration (OPDEMO) from 26 September to 7 October at the US Army’s Grafenwöhr Training Area in Bavaria.
The intensive preparations paid off, with the first two-vehicle convoy already on the move the second day. During these two weeks, a convoy consisting of five vehicles tested every conceivable operating mode of the system in multiple variants. In the process, 1,051 km were driven autonomously. It is worth noting that the entire convoy overcame a gradient of 40 percent, with the A-Kit operating the differential locks.
Furthermore, the vehicles were able to operate continuously for over 75 minutes without manual intervention. The maximum convoy length was 1,100 metres.
Dynamic reconfiguration of the convoy proved possible with minimal idle time.
All in all, the tests turned out to be a complete success for everyone involved, resulting in numerous valuable findings.
Success at ELROB 2022
In early summer 2022, in the presence of German government officials, InterRoC vehicles had already taken part in the international European Land Robot Trial (ELROB) event.
ELROB is Europe’s toughest field test for unmanned systems. It is an open, multinational competition in the realm of robotics, sensors and autonomy, drawing participants from universities as well as civilian industry and the defence sector. It takes place every two years at a military installation. This year’s event was held at an exercise area near Vienna, 30 May to 3 June.
Participants have to contend with various scenarios and overcome multiple challenges, conceived in close cooperation with military users. Completion of the tasks is evaluated by a team of experts.
Participating for the first time with the InterRoC research and technology project in the event’s Convoying category, Rheinmetall’s small team took second place, finishing behind the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich.
This year’s challenges strained the specified capabilities of the vehicles and A-Kit alike, but the creative Rheinmetall team, reinforced by colleagues from RMMV Austria, largely succeeded in overcoming these.
In addition to the evaluated scenarios, Rheinmetall also carried out an autonomous driving presentation for a throng of interested visitors at the test site. The vehicles clearly captured the crowd’s imagination and proved highly popular.
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — The Department of Defense awarded two contracts totaling over $36 million for renovations, repairs and revitalizations to barracks on Fort Bragg Sept. 28, with a future contract for demolitions still pending.
These contracts are part of the accelerated approved funding and will focus on the VOLAR-style barracks, built in the 1970s, that were identified as unsustainable back in early August.
At that time, leadership made the decision to do an early removal of Soldiers from the Smoke Bomb Hill Barracks that were slated for future demolition and renovations. This decision started a multi-week endeavor to relocate the over 1,100 Soldiers.
“When we started the process, it was kind of like doing a jigsaw puzzle with none of the pieces having a picture,” explained Brian Adkins, the Fort Bragg Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security director. “We had over a 1,000 of pieces and no idea what the picture was supposed to look like. We had to come together with a plan to move the over 1,000 Soldiers from the affected barracks.”
The team, consisting of housing, engineering, legal, finance, maintenance, transportation, and multiple military units, met twice a day to provide updates to the process and present any issues they may have run into.
“It was a very coordinated process in which housing was intimately involved,” said Adkins. “Just for clarity, our teams are not experts for this sort of movement, but what we are good at is coordinating, synchronizing, and integrating everyone’s efforts. We continue to refine every day on where we are at, making sure to understand the full scope of it, and then trying to balance it. I mean, it really entailed not only Smoke Bomb Hill Soldiers, but every other unit on the post.”
Adkins said Fort Bragg had to consolidate service members to make space for those affected by the degradation of the volar-style barracks.
“We didn’t want to put one Soldier here, one Soldier there,” explained Adkins. “We wanted to maintain some degree of unit integrity, at least at the squad level or above.”
Adding to the challenge of keeping unit integrity, service members also have a day job – missions to accomplish and training to complete.
“In many cases, they still had deployments and we were wedging this in in the middle of that,” added Adkins. “So, it was just an enormous number of moving pieces that we normally didn’t have.”
As the power projection platform, Fort Bragg is ready to deploy at a moment’s notice and has multiple procedures already in place for rapid Soldier movement. These movements are basic muscle memory for the units and the supporting Department of Army civilians; however, this large-scale movement was a first for the installation.
But the Smoke Bomb Hill Barracks situation is more of a challenge because it is not muscle memory and involves several units include U.S. Army Special Operations Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, 20th Engineers, and Medical Command. In all actuality, all major commands on the installation were impacted as service members consolidated to make room for the service members on Smoke Bomb Hill.
Through teamwork, the units and organizations involved created a deliberate plan and a coordinated approach to tackle the barracks issue. The garrison continues to work with Soldiers in helping with the relocation from transportation, the movement of household goods to additional financial support.
In addition to the movement piece, the transportation office added stops to the free Fort Bragg Shuttle Service ensuring affected service members are able to get around post and to their areas of operations.
Adding to Adkin’s analogy of the jigsaw puzzle, the outline of the puzzle is set and now Fort Bragg is able to support the required transportation and financial assistance to fill in the big picture.
“It is our utmost responsibility to ensure [living areas for our service members] are clean, safe and functional,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Holland, XVIII Airborne Corps commanding sergeant major. “The means of how Soldiers were able to report issues are just as old, if not older, than the barracks themselves. They really didn’t have the space or ways to communicate issues to anyone other than their local chain of command on what they’re seeing in their barracks as frequently or intensively as they needed to.”
Holland added that many service members may feel nervous or fearful of talking with senior leaders but understands that each voice matters and can lead to better solutions. If there is an issue with their living or working facilities, work orders need to be submitted through the Army Maintenance website and the Fort Bragg Directorate of Public Works housing phone line, 910-396-0321.
“The culture of the XVIII Airborne Corps is the spirit of innovation — we know there is an idea trapped somewhere in that squad,” said Holland. “In this case there is an experience, a perspective, trapped in every squad within the Fort Bragg community and we want to untap that perspective as fast as possible so that we can get the appropriate resources to that Soldier — that is our ultimate goal.”
Those resources begin with the approved $105 million for fiscal year 2022 to renovate five Smoke Bomb Hill Barracks and $18 million to demolish 11 barracks from the same area, along with around 100 other facilities on Fort Bragg. Another $29 million has been set aside for other barracks around the installation.
“The Savannah District is leveraging the expertise of the entire USACE enterprise, to include Huntsville and Omaha Districts, to support Fort Bragg’s urgent effort to address the concerns at the Smoke Bomb Hill barracks complex,” said Col. Joseph Geary, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, commander. “In coordination with the installation, we provide the technical expertise and rapid contracting capability to build the quality facilities that our Soldiers expect and deserve.”
The Army has since published an Execution Order in the beginning of October directing Army senior leaders to conduct comprehensive assessments of all facilities worldwide, with an emphasis on Soldier barracks as key to the overall infrastructure. Army units will physically inspect all barracks rooms, focusing on mold and assessing any other health, safety or functionality issues that require immediate correction.
This effort is directed in preparation for the upcoming Facility Investment Plan wargame and will incorporate facility walk-throughs to validate senior leader requirements with eyes-on knowledge and understanding of needs.
The Army will then develop a comprehensive strategy for planning, programming, and addressing long-term concerns. The FIP is the Army’s planning method for identifying, analyzing, and prioritizing Army facilities investment requirements across a 10-year horizon.
The Army and its leaders will holistically address everywhere service members, civilians, and their Families work, live and train. The Army will ensure a healthy living environment for all service members eliminating any issues that are adversely affecting readiness, resilience, and quality of life.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – November 7, 2022 – Viridian Weapon Technologies knows that human eyes see green better and is now shipping its E SERIES™ Green Lasers designed for the Sig Sauer® P365XL to improve the pistol’s performance and provide rapid target acquisition.
The latest E SERIES™ Green Laser Sights are made for the conceal and carry owner who wants power and affordability. The E SERIES™ is essential for daily carry, offering the most laser power legally available on the market. With this improved precision and visibility, you can be confident in your aim when it matters most. That’s why we call it essential.
E Series Green Laser Sights are designed to easily fit onto the pistol’s trigger guard, hold up to the toughest conditions and provide 6+ hours of battery life with a constant laser. These sights feature an ambidextrous ON/OFF button with 5 min auto shut OFF, are powered by a 1/3N battery, and quickly mount with tools included in the package.
“Eyes see green better, and we’re excited to offer our affordable Green Laser technology to Sig Sauer’s lineup of P365XL pistols,” said Viridian President and CEO, Brian Hedeen. “We have several other model-specific products available now and are looking forward to announcing more in the future.”
The Sig Sauer® P365XL is the concealed carry pistol that gives you more. With more capacity, more concealability and more capability, the P365XL is the compact pistol that can be carried everyday while ensuring the highest performance. The P365XL’s ergonomic design creates an easier shot while the patented double stack magazine allows capabilities of 10+1, 12+1 or 15+1 full-size capacity. The P365 offers the quality expected from all Sig Sauer® models while the Viridian E SERIES™ Green Laser Sight makes each shot even more accurate.
These sights are backed by Viridian’s seven-year warranty and have been custom designed to fit the Sig Sauer® lineup of P365XL models and many more popular handgun models.
All specifications and options for the new Viridian Reflex Sights are available at ViridianWeaponTech.com.
Strong-arming credit card payment companies to track firearms purchases is a smoke screen by the government and anti-gun activists and is perpetrating the beginning of the destruction of American citizen rights says Adams Arms president, Jason East. While true “bad guys” find a way around the measure, legal gun owners wonder whether targeting alcohol sales in restaurants and liquor stores is next.
(Brooksville, FL) November 07, 2022 — “Big Brother” is now tracking what they consider to be “troublesome gun purchases”. In mid-September, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) approved the creation of a new merchant code to apply to gun sellers for transactions using credit card networks. Adams Arms President, Jason East, points out the danger in this move. “When overarching organizations wield surveillance measures and disguise them as tracking troublesome or dangerous purchases, they are actually initiating the destruction of American rights – the Second Amendment is only the start,” observes East.
The change was proposed by the global Amalgamated Bank and came just days after members of Congress, attorneys general in California and New York, as well as major pension systems in their states strong-armed Visa, Mastercard, and American Express to help “tackle the gun violence epidemic.” (1)(2) Details indicate that the code will show where an individual spent their money but not what items were purchased.
As president of his Florida firearms company which has been in business for 15 years, he views the action as a way to monitor the legal gun-purchasing activities of as many Americans as possible and limit the channels they have a right to use. “What is next? Should Americans be worried that buying alcoholic drinks at a bar or purchasing liquor at a retailer will trigger an alarm that they are a danger to society?” asked East. Put in perspective, in 2021 there were 611 mass shootings in the U.S., and 103 people died. (3) In the same timespan of 2020-2022 drunk drivers killed more than 10,000 people each year. (4) If the government were to seek abuse and problematic alcohol patterns by tracking the 2021 sales of beer, wine, and liquor which grossed $7,701M, they would be met with mass opposition. (5)
Agreeing with the observations of a popular firearms blog, (6) even in the smokescreen the new merchant coding unearths a number of logistical problems, according to East.
• Codes track expenditures but not itemized by product: how will that work at large multi-sport retailers such as Bass Pro Shops versus a small dealer?
• Who will scrutinize the algorithmic results? And who will have the manpower to police the results?
• Most firearms purchases are completely legal, and buyers will likely distrust the financial system, moving to strictly cash purchases or spread purchases over a number of cards and gift cards tied only to a single store.
• Keep in mind that those intent on purchasing for illegal purposes may follow the same tactics. As is the case with most measures aimed at curtailing anything, the bad guys always figure out a way around it.
For years Adams Arms has been a trusted source of high-quality, reliable firearms for the U.S. military and law enforcement in addition to sports enthusiasts. Adams Arms has offered a patented Piston-Driven system that is cleaner, cooler, and more reliable for use. “Our AR-15 piston system, historically a favorite of law enforcement, is seen for its technical merit and reliability. In addition, Adams Arms has developed a backpack with folding AR-15 stock customized for School Resource Officers in protection of children in America’s schools. In short, Adams Arms is there when it counts the most, which helps all users feel safe and in control,” remarks East.
A deeply concerned East comments “All Americans ? not just legal firearms owners ? should think carefully about how much control you want the government to have over your rights as a citizen. Make your voice heard when you vote. Financial strangulation will eventually pull the rug out from under everyone’s feet.”
