War Sport Industries has introduced their new Cable & Accessory Management System for the Ops-Core FAST Helmet or other helmets with ventilation holes. As you can see it is a bungee system that will hall manage cables as thick as .65″. Granted, it is a very specialized item, but it is an innovative idea. I expect we will see some further development from War Sport.
Coming March 30th from warsport-us.net.
Ops-Core FAST Helmets are showing up all over the place, but up until now there haven’t been any covers for them. Time was, guys didn’t think they needed a cover and were more than satisfied with just painting them. Now, they’ve come to the realization that covers aid with camouflage (particularly when wet) as well as noise discipline. Additionally, as FAST helmets can be had in a variety of finishes, a helmet cover is a low cost way to modify the helmet’s camouflage without destroying the finish or purchasing an additional helmet.
FirstSpear currently offers two styles of helmet covers for the Ops-Core family of FAST Helmets. In both cases, the design is the same and it’s more a matter of material choices.
The Helmet Cover was introduced at SHOT Show and already units are ordering them. It’s made from four-way stretch material to conform to the helmet’s lines.
FirstSpear has also just introduced the Helmet Cover – Hybrid. This cover utilizes a combination of mesh and four-way stretch material. This gives a different look and is more accommodating for those who want to add garnish or local vegetation to enhance camouflage.
FirstSpear covers are manufactured from Mil-Spec materials in Black, Ranger Green, Coyote, MultiCam and White. They incorporate color matched Velcro strips across the crown and around the rear of the helmet to attach strobes, ID and other IFF systems. Additionally, the covers are cut high enough to accommodate the Accessory Rail Connector and also feature cutout for NVG mounts. The covers are easy to attach and work in a similar manner to the ACH cover via dual-sided Velcro strips that are trapped in between the helmet and pads.
FirstSpear offers these covers to accommodate both FAST Ballistic and Maritime cut helmets. Covers for other helmets can be custom created. Contact FirstSpear for details.
Designed as part of a TSWG program, the Law Enforcement Tactical Helmet integrates a pull down Mil Spec visor. While it offers no frag rating it does stop 9mm and .44 mag at less than one inch back face deformation!
In a press release, Gentex has announced their purchase of Ops-Core, one of the most innovative tactical companies in the market. We have long been impressed with both their vision and execution of headborne armor systems. Recently, their designs have been selected to protect American as well as Allied personnel and with this they have grown in both size as well as importance. We are pleased to see that Gentex has chosen to expand their offerings with the acquisition of Ops-Core and we feel it will be not only a great fit, but also good for the personnel and units who rely on Ops-Core for their helmets. Congratulations!
Two companies, focused on serving the modern war fighter, have joined today to deliver sophisticated personal protective equipment for elite military units around the world. Ops-Core, Inc., located in Boston, MA, was acquired this week by Gentex Corporation, a long-standing global leader in personal protection and situation awareness products. This agreement reflects a passion to deliver industry-leading solutions shared by both firms.
“Foremost, Ops-Core customers will benefit from the strategic nature of this business transaction,†stated David Rogers, former Ops- Core Chief Executive Officer and new Vice President of Concept Development at Gentex. “Meeting the growing demand and supply of our products with shorter lead times will be supported by Gentex’s substantial manufacturing capabilities,†Rogers explained, “while delivering improved technology solutions for our existing customer base.â€
“Accelerating our combined capabilities to successfully meet the increasing demands of the modern warfighter is essential to our business strategy in today’s competitive defense marketplace and is a true convergence of our business strengths,†said L. Peter Frieder, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Gentex Corporation. “Ops-Core is already well known for producing the world’s first and only fully modular helmet platform for ground forces with the ability to meet the U.S. Army’s protective standards with excellent stability, low weight and comfort. Gentex has a proven and long-standing presence in aircrew helmet systems for high-speed jet and rotary wing customers who rely upon integrated night vision, communications and other situation awareness technologies; along with comprehensive skills in advanced materials science and engineering. Having access to such technologies and resulting capabilities will provide Ops-Core’s special operations customers with the ultimate choice of solutions for every mission scenario.â€
“In the future, existing Ops-Core products fielded by elite warfighters could easily expand Gentex’s core offerings to more traditional ground forces,†added John Pullo, Vice President of Ground Systems, Gentex.
Gentex has been involved with every advance of Ground and Combat Vehicle Crew protection for the last 50 years, delivering over 1.5 million helmets to such programs as U.S. Army Advanced Combat Helmets (ACH), U.S. Marine Corps Lightweight Helmet, Combat Vehicle Crew (CVC) Helmet and Personnel Protective Armor System Ground Troops (PASGT) Helmet, as well as supplying eye and face protection, communications and other helmet accessories.
Ops-Core was founded in 2005 by David and Viktoria Rogers. David will lead the location and work closely with Gentex’s key business, operations and technical personnel, while Viktoria will remain in an active leadership role at Ops-Core to ensure a seamless transition for customers and employees. Ops-Core will remain at its current Boston location and retain its operations, vendors and employees.
Customers may visit with Ops-Core and Gentex personnel, by appointment only, at the upcoming SHOT Show in Las Vegas, NV, from January 17-20, 2012 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, Booth #8111.
We recently mentioned that Norway’s Special Forces are using the Ops-Core FAST Helmet. Here is a photo from Exercise Jackal Stone 2011, hosted by SOCEUR in Constanta, Romania last week.
Thanks Loopster
Boston-based Ops-Core, Inc was awarded a contract last week to supply the Norwegian Army with their Future Assault Shell Technology (FAST) helmet. The FAST helmet will replace the current PASGT style aramid helmet manufactured by Cato Ringstad AS.
While specific numbers have not yet been released, the Norwegian Army will purchase enough helmets to not only outfit their active forces, but some of the National Guard as well. The current strength of the Norwegian Army sits at around 22,000. However, a post on a Norwegian military forum in July by someone close to the program forecasted the delivery of 1000 helmets for operational use before the end of the year.
In order to supply these helmets, Ops-Core won a year-long competitive program named “Project 4004” with several down select mile-stones which included troop trials, ballistic and other safety testing. Norwegian Special Forces have already been using the Ops-Core helmet for over a year in training as well as operational roles so Ops-Core’s selection, while arduous, was not surprising.
In a press release from Ops-Core, member of Norwegian Defense Logistic Organization (NDLO) program manager Per Morten Brunborg is quoted as saying, “The FAST helmet gave our program flexibility to adapt to a variety of service positions and mission profiles that were difficult to accomplish with only one helmet in the past.†He went on to add, “This helmet saves the overall program money by allowing us to field it service wide in several configurations, instead of having to field several different kinds of helmets like we used to. It’s also very beneficial that we can provide our soldiers better ballistic performance at a much lighter weight than our previous helmet. The Ops-Core FAST High Cut version provides the Norwegian Army the right balance between comfort and integration of attachments, which stress the soldiers neck less than the previous solutions and enhances the durability of the soldier.†As you can see, not only did the Norwegian Army find the FAST helmet’s modularity made possible by the Visual Augmentation System (VAS) shroud and Accessory Rail Connector (ARC) rails particularly desirable, but also its lightweight protection as well.
The FAST helmet boasts a ballistic shell developed during a multi-year collaboration effort between Ops-Core, Ceradyne and DSM Dyneema. Ceradyne, the sub-contractor who molds the shell, has a special seamless processing technique using Dyneema’s ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene material that yields outstanding ballistic protection at lower weights. Much of the systems technology used in this helmet has also been in the works over the last ten years with significant inputs from the US Army’s PEO Soldier, the Army Research Lab, and Natick Soldier Systems Center. The FAST helmet actually has more in common with the new Enhanced Combat Helmet (ECH) for the US Army and Marine Corps than the baseline MICH.
Deliveries of the FAST helmet to Norway are scheduled to commence in 4th Quarter of 2011 and continue through 3rd Quarter of 2012. In what is most likely a Norwegian version of an IDIQ contract, it is valid for 10 years and is good for future Norwegian procurement and purchasing activities. On a final note, Ops-Core is well represented throughout Europe by Norwegian company NFM but the helmets will reportedly be manufactured in the US.
For more information, please visit the Ops-Core website at www.ops-core.com.
Up to now all I have seen are artist renderings of the Base Jump helmet in red. The colors weren’t coming out quite right, but Ops-Core had one fresh out of the mould on display today at the Warrior Expo West. Additionally, they attached the new Contour HD camera mount I recently wrote about. With its ARC rails and NVG mount, the Base Jump is unlike anything that has ever been available.
As you can see, it is a very vibrant red and will be perfect for locating bobbing heads in the water during water jumps or other MAROPS training as well as for high adventure and extreme sports use. You can configure the Base Jump helmet with a variety of lights, cameras and other accessories using the VAS shroud and ARC rails to suit your activity and it is a great lower cost alternative to the more expensive carbon fiber FAST Bump Helmet for many applications.
For more info visit www.ops-core.com. It is featured in their catalog which can be downloaded here.
All of Ops-Core’s products are available through www.ADSinc.com/Ops-Core.
Ops-Core is introducing a new mount for the Contour HD camera at Warrior Expo West. Designed to adapt the popular helmet camera to an Ops-Core ARC rail, it affixes to the camera so it can easily be attached to and detached from the helmet. The design also facilitates where it fits on the rail in order to accommodate other items.
Ops-Core will also be exhibiting their full range of helmet solutions including the new Sentry which debuted at SHOT Show as well as the very popular BaseJump helmet.
