Jeff Martone of Tactical Athlete, and combative instructor for Osprey Global Solutions was present at the Osprey Range Day, where he gave a demonstration on kettlebell training and technique. This video is a bit long, however it’s very informative and functions as a good primer for utilizing kettlebells in a fitness routine.
We were recently lucky enough to be invited to a range day sponsored by Osprey Armament – in association with Defense Logistics Support and PWT3 Development. This “Overmatch Concepts” Range Day was held at the Osprey Range located in Council, North Carolina. Our host for the day’s events was Retired US Army Major General David Grange, head of Osprey Global Solutions and a legend in the Ranger community.
The event kicked off with the usual admin brief for range safety and MEDEVAC plans along with the facility layout. Then, General Grange jumped right into a brief overview of the day’s events, which included an operational vignette, weapons demonstrations, and round robin group visits of products and services from partners of Osprey Global Solutions.
As it turns out, the day was set to be filled with a wide variety of technologies ranging from low to high tech. In addition to weapons there were ISR capabilities including trackers and forensic evidence collection as well as medical, and training demos. While some of it might seem old-hat, the attendees included military, LE, first responders and industry. Everyone saw something new.
The Operational Vignette was a scenario involving a raid on a terrorist bomb making element that has infiltrated the area of the Cape Fear river, represented by the buildings down range. A tracking team confirmed the location of the bomb making element, and passed the information along to an assault team who took down the building. Afterwards, an EOD team disarmed the explosives while a rescue team stood by to provide rescue and medical services as needed. It was constrained by both time and the limits of the facility but included examples of a wide variety of the “Overmatch Concepts” that were the point of the entire day.
One thing I noticed was a lot of work on battlefield obscurants. Long a bailiwick of the military engineer community, it was refreshing to see a renewed effort on their application for some more non traditional roles. MSI Delivery Systems was on hand, supplying obscurants via their AB2K Multi-Mission Aerosol Delivery System. The standalone version of the AB2K-MMADS is capable of dispensing up to 50,000 cubic feet of smoke coverage per load. A dependent version with a high capacity backpack can dispense over 320,000 cubic feet of smoke coverage. Additionally, the AB2K-MMADS can easily be configured to dispense smoke mixed with irritants for crowd control, or specialized chemicals for uses such as decontamination and infestation control.
There was also a team on hand using a remote control plane as a UAS surrogate investigating the aerial delivery of battlefield obscurants. Although it took a few runs for the effect of the test obscurant to become noticeable, testing is ongoing, and from what we’ve seen so far the system does have promise.
Additionally, the obscurant used at the range was water based; an oil-based obscurant is also being tested.
Look for several more stories today which provide details of some of the weapons we encountered. We’d like to once again thank MG Grange and his team for their hospitality and for setting up a great program.
I attended the premiere range event hosted by Osprey Global Solutions and Defense Logistics Support. You may recall my story on the HCAR, a modernized BAR. Osprey boasts a great facility nestled east of I-95 about 45 minutes from Fayetteville, North Carolina. Boasting 25m out 1400m range access, the facility is the brainchild of Retired Army Major General David Grange who heads up Osprey.
Below, you can see some shots from the last range day when Osprey hosted about 50 military and law enforcement personnel as well as members of industry. In addition to a variety of weapon solutions offered by Osprey Armament, we also were introduced to new forensic evidence collection systems as well as the actual range complex itself. This next even will boast even more with the introduction of UAVs, medical systems and tactical training technologies. Expanded to two days, it gives additional opportunities for attendance and hands on experience with the systems on display. Additionally, lunch is provided. See you there!
If you are going to be in the area and are interested in attending send an to email Steve from OSPREY at sperry@ospreyglobalsolutions.com or Trevor Kräcker with Defense Logistics Support, Inc. at tk@defenselogisticssupport.com. It is imperative that you email for a reservation as it is by invitation only and you will not be given entry without being on the list.
Seeing how today is Veterans Day which finds its foundation in Armistice Day that marked the end of WW I, it’s fitting to offer a story about a modern version of the 1918 Browning Automatic Rifle which first saw service in that war to end all wars. Designed almost a century ago by small arms genius John Moses Browning, it served from its inception in 1917 until the early 1970s in the US arsenal and elsewhere around the world for long after. I’d even go so far as to call the BAR the original SAW and its removal from service and subsequent capability gap led to the acquisition of the M249 SAW.
This modernized version of the BAR is known as the Heavy Combat Assault Rifle. Ohio Ordnance Works applied knowledge gained from almost 20 years of building semi-auto versions of the BAR to increase the firepower of the Infantry Squad. In fact, they’ve been working on this for a little while now. I gave the HCAR a brief mention during SHOT Show 2013.
I was fortunate enough to get a chance to fire the HCAR during the Osprey Global Solutions Range Demo Day. Headed by Retired Army Lieutenant General David Grange, Osprey has opened a new facility boasting a 1500m range near Elizabethtown, North Carolina, right down route 87 from Fort Bragg.
This new variant is still chambered in .30-06 but they are considering other calibers; 7.62 is a natural fit but a few others were mentioned as well. As this is still a developmental platform, almost anything in that class of round is possible, so long as it makes sense. Even with the .30-06 you can see that recoil is quite manageable. I found it similar to a 5.56 rifle. They tell me it’s due to their new buffer. The furniture is all designed and manufactured in house from Selective Laser Sintered (SLA) 3D printed materials. OOW has also integrated Mil Std 1913 rails for sights and accessories.
The 16″ barrel is “dimpled” with ovals to help reduce weight and improve cooling by offering additional surface area. Additionally, both prototypes were equipped with AAC flash suppressors and readily accepted the AAC suppressor. In order to make the suppressor more user friendly it was fitted with a Manta suppressor cover. Like on the original BAR design, the HCAR has an adjustable gas port. I fired both guns and observed no issues with either as over 40 different shooters firing several hundred rounds over the course of the afternoon.
You may notice the 30 round magazine. OOW offers a 30 round BAR mag and the ones we used during the demo performed flawlessly. Granted, it was a range day, and we didn’t put them through combat conditions but I saw 5 magazines used between the two HCARs with no misfeeds. You should also take note of the magazine guide to assist with seating a magazine in the weapon.
The HCAR integrates accepts Mil Spec collapsible stocks as seen here.
OOW has developed a new folding charging handle that will be included with future prototypes.
One thing I am not enamored with on this build is the selector switch. It’s classic WW I design. Twist the switch forward, toward the enemy and you are on fire, twist it to the rear, toward friendlies and it’s safe. It’s just not easy to manipulate. OOW told me that they have developed a newer switch that is a little more ergonomic but you’ll still have to remove your hand from the weapon to use it. Let’s face it, we are pretty spoiled with more modern designs.
Sure, it’s still heavy at 12 lbs but considering they’ve shaved almost 8 lbs from the model it’s based on and it handles .30-06 like a champ, I’m not complaining. Also, I can live with the selector lever. All-in-all, I’m more than happy with what I’ve seen so far and look forward to the HCAR to be offered for sale.
I know what’s on everyone’s mind. How much does it cost and when can I buy one? Considering their 1918A3 SLRs run $4300, I’d say that the HCAR will be somewhere in that ballpark. As for when? That remains to be seen. OOW continues to refine the design. Hopefully, we will see more from Ohio Ordnance Works at SHOT Show 2014.
