Eagle Industries displayed some interesting new kit.
The MBAV 2.0 features an oral inflation bladder for maritime ops and beaded handle breakaway strap for rapid egress.
MBAV 2.0 in Grey 35 oz. Hypalon and pouch suite in 18 oz.
This the Jungle Body Armor Vest. Below, you can see it in Grey.
For the 6th consecutive year Rampart hosted Canada’s largest combined live fire demo and expo with 40 vendors and and over 400 registered attendees.
Eagle Industries had an impressive showing of packs and load carrying gear at this year’s SHOT Show, including their entry to SOCOM’s Jungle Ruck program and a new line of Hypalon pouches.
Maritime Load Carrying Pouch Suite
At their booth, Eagle had their upcoming Maritime Load Carrying Pouch Suite on display. The various pouches are made of 520 4-way stretch material and Hypalon. Pouches, such as horizontal and vertical 9x3x5 Utility Pouches, radio pouches, a low-profile admin pouch, and magazine pouches were shown.
Taking a look at the mag and radio pouches, you’ll notice they have elastic retention and quick-detach buckles, as well as a roll top around the pouch opening; this later feature is intended to provide easier insertion of magazines.
Turtle Assault Pack
The Turtle is a low-profile assault pack, constructed of 500D Cordura nylon. It features an expanding main compartment which will accommodate a hydration bladder, ballistic helmet, or similar sized items. Two expanding external pockets accommodate up to 1 L Nalgene bottles. Additionally, the Turtle can be worn alone, or connected to other Eagle carriers using adapter systems.
Modular Assault Pack
The Modular Assault Pack is constructed of 500D Cordura nylon. The main compartment features an internal zipper and mesh hydration pocket. The included beavertail features a utility pocket, for accommodating a ballistic helmet w/ NVDs or other items needing quick access. Two external side pockets provide additional storage, and the pack has three hydration tube/antenna ports at top left, center, and right sides. The Modular Assault Pack also comes with a fully adjustable and removable MOLLE War Belt, and can be worn standalone or attached to other Eagle carriers using adapter systems.
Jungle Ruck
This was Eagle’s entry into SOCOM’s Jungle Ruck Sack program, with 2600 cu in. of storage, yet weighing only ~4 lbs (3.98 lbs) unloaded. It features a removable top, and a clam shell rear opening, which allows entry into the main compartment.
The Jungle Ruck comes with a removable Beaver Tail, as well as a radio cradle, comms porting, and Hypalon routing on the shoulder straps. The hydration compartment is accessible through the main compartment or the side of the pack, which also provides direct access to the pack frame. Additional features include a padded reinforced hip belt, padded spacer mesh on the back and shoulder straps, and side compression straps.
Assault Pack V2
The Assault Pack V2 features a 3200 cu in. capacity, with a removable 600 cu in. top lid. The main compartment features internal mesh pockets, as well as hydration and radio pockets, with comms and hydration passthrough.
The Assault Pack comes with side stowage sleeves, as well as Nalgene bottle pockets. Additionally, the frame suspension system on the Assault Pack V2 is fully adjustable.
Operator Gun Belt, Version 2
The Operator Gun Belt now features a COBRA buckle, rated at 2000 lb tensile strength. The belt itself is constructed of 1.75″ webbing, with a polyethylene stiffener for durability, and is duty back compatible with 1.5″ loop throughout the inside of the belt.
It was cool to see the the Eagle Industries Ultra Low Visibility Comcealed Body Armor Carrier at SHOT Show. It accepts both soft and hard armor and consists of front and back panels as well as adjustable cummerbund with two side plate carriers. Offered in Black, Grey ans Coyote in sizes XS – XL.
In this video, knife designer Ethan Becker describes another piece of kit he came up with, the Backer Patrol Pack.
Back in the day, the Becker Patrol Pack was the pack to have for short duration missions. Designed originally to be compatible with ALICE Slide Fasteners, it features strips of webbing to attach pouches. Additionally, there are six fixed external pouches closed via 1″ SR buckles.
The design also incorporates Coolmax padding in the back and shoulders for comfort in hot weather. You’ve got to remember, folks weren’t wearing armor all of the time. The shoulder straps also feature suede patches to offer purchase when shouldering a weapon. Like the ALICE pack, the top flap incorporates an internal pocket for maps or other items. Finally, the waist belt is removable and can be worn as a stand alone war belt.
Eventually, Eagle Industries would introduce a Large version of the BPP (above) with increased volume up around the Large ALICE as well as a MOLLE variant (below) that replaces the outer, fixed pockets and ALICE webbing with PALS.
The Eagle Industries SOFBAV Aero Assault is one of two armor system solutions adopted by USSOCOM as a replacement for the decade-old MBAV (the other is the Crye Precision AVS). I first saw an early variant of the Aero last summer and the final version at SHOT Show 2013. Because the system is so versatile and difficult to capture in a one paragraph report, Todd McDunn and Don Gallo invited me to come by one of their facilities and take an in-depth look at the Aero.
Due to scheduling it was not until recently that I was able to take them up on their offer. I’ve known Don Gallo for many years and it was great to spend the afternoon with him and his team. When you see Don on the floor of a trade show he is generally very serious and business like, but as he ran me through the paces on the Aero SOFBAV his eyes lit up and you could hear the excitement in his voice. You can tell that this is a project that Eagle has put a lot into and as you dig down into the details, there’s much to be proud of.
First off, the name. Aero doesn’t mean or stand for anything. It’s just the name they chose to market the vest so don’t read anything into it. SOFBAV on the other hand, stands for Special Operations Forces Body Armor Vest and denotes its use.
This is an evolutionary design based on the MMAC (Multi Mission Armor Carrier); the SOFBAV Aero Assault is completely modular in nature. Initially, the system will be offered with 80 component items. For example, there are nine different front flaps including a slick model, MOLLE version, a variant with Fort Bragg-style magazine pouches and even one that incorporates the pocket configuration of the muti-purpose chest rig. If I could choose one word to describe the SOFBAV Aero Assault it would be ‘customizable.’ You can scale from a simple plate carrier all the way to a full assault armor carrier and through the use of modular components configure the load specifically for the mission at hand.
It is designed to fit the legacy MBAV soft armor in sizes s/m or l/XL as well as BALCS and ESAPI hard armor plates. Front and Back Bodies can be paired regardless of size, offering additional customization regardless of size. The Aero Assault can be configured as either releasable or non-releasable. Eagle went one step further and made it simple to quickly reassemble the Aero Assault for wear in a non-releasable configuration one it has been released thanks to the side release shoulder buckle.
The cutaway pull cable can be configured in multiple ways based on mission and user preference. Of the release options, four are on the body; left, right, center chest and center waist. The shoulder straps are interchangeable with shoulder release configurable to either side. Additionally, the cable release can be set on the left or right side of the cummerbund. Cables are routed through the shoulders which lowers the time for New Equipment Training.
The Front Body incorporates an integrated admin pouch up high on the chest as well as removable front flaps which were briefly mentioned before. As with most armor carriers, the plates are loaded from the bottom and can be easily released.
The Removable Front Flaps attach via PALS. There are multiple versions as mentioned before as well as polymer inserts for various magazines.
Additionally, the Aero Assault Front Body is compatible with the ever popular multi-purpose chest rig which can be attached directly to the front of the vest.
The Back Body incorporates cable management pass through at kidneys as well as cable management ports at shoulder blade height. The flap can be pulled up in order to configure or inspect the cutaway.
In addition to a drag handle, the Aero Assault also offers zip-on back panels and packs. Above, you can see a pack on the left and the hydration pouch with bolt cutter on the right. There is also a MOLLE compatible back panel available.
Eagle uses a Taco flap at the rear of the vest to guide the cummerbund.
One unique requirement for this armor was the incorporation of a waist mounted load bearing system similar to that of a backpack. For this, Eagle teamed with Granite Gear who provides some of SOCOM’s family of packs. It is based on the Chief frame and features a single point of articulation on the lower back. The frame itself fits into a separate channel in the interior of the Back Body. The Load Lift attaches via a cradle at top inside placket of frame sheet so not against seam.
Lots of work was put into the Cummerbund component of the Aero Assault.
The Aero Assault cummerbund is 4″ wide and uses slip-on accessory panels that are modular and accept inserts. One example of the slip-on accessory panels are the side plate pockets manufactured from Tweave 520 softshell material and which accommodate 6×6 6×8 up to 6×11 plates.
The Assault cummerbunds originally consisted of three different styles but that has been streamlined down to two and both are the Tweave 520 money belt-style front and rear. They are sewn into four separate compartments and will accommodate MBITR radios as well as single magazines.
PALS webbing is the modified 3/4″ standard in order to decrease weight and make it a little easier to weave PALS pouches when the cummerbund is full.
Notice how the end of the Cummerbund stores inside a compartment when not needed for use as a cutaway.
Below are the “Releasable Tri-Glide Extenders, Assault” which are fixed distance release extensions and used when configuring the vest as a cutaway.
I’ll wrap this up with a few materials notes. The vest is made from 500D Cordura with a couple of additional materials. The interior of the Aero Assault consists of 1/4″ foam padding with Tweave 520 against the body for comfort. It is interesting to note that there is no metal on this vest except for the sleeved cutaway cable. Also, Eagle uses Murdoch’s Jacquard webbing throughout the design because it retains the camouflaged pattern much longer. It has other properties which are also desirable for this design such as durability.
The design of the SOFBAV Aero Assault is extraordinary. They have incorporated a great deal of lessons learned from use of prior vests into this design. If you are looking for a vest that will allow users to configure their armor for a variety of missions then this is worth checking out.
I want to thank Eagle Industries and in particular Don Gallo and his team for their hospitality as well Todd McDunn for setting the visit up.
OP Tactical has Eagle Yote Packs in stock now.
The Yote is a great assault pack designed to carry hydration as well as mission essential equipment. Additionally, the Yote features a beaver tail design that accommodates a high cut helmet with mounted NODs. This pack is manufactured from 500D Cordura and includes removable shoulder straps. It can also be attached directly to a vest through its integral PALS straps.
Eagle Industries is offering their new Modular Armor Carrier which is rapid releasable but not a cable cutaway system. Originally developed for a UK aircrew program the MAC will also be available in a non-FR version. It accepts BALCS cut armor panels and plates.
There are several distinct features but the most prominent are the horizontal and vertical PALS field, quick release shoulders for rapid donning and doffing and the ability to use Velcro on the cummerbund or ease of donning and doffing. Additionally, the MAC has the ability to accept 12 water sachets in the armor cavity. Additionally, it accepts a chest-style extraction harness.
Coming soon.
