This is a sneak peek of Belleville’s new Quick Reaction Force line under their foreign sourced, Tactical Research brand. There is some climbing shoe DNA in this line, with to-toe lacing and full rubber toes. The sole also has a fast rope instep. In addition to the more traditional Black, Coyote and Sage, there is a more low-viz two color Bark/Sand option, which I prefer.
The AAC FROG Kit adapts First Spear’s Assaulter Armor Carrier for use in a maritime environment. It is getting quite a bit of interest here at Warrior West due to the modular flotation option.
Standard in the kit are FS Bouyancy Compensators, Adaptive Cummerbund Flotation Elements and a 2″ belly band to secure the front and back panels to the user without having to wear a full cummerbund.
The adaptive cummerbund uses the AAC instant adjust back panel.
6/12 modular sections on the left and right of the front carrier panel allow the user to install the modular pockets of their choice and at the height they need for increased comfort and mobility.
There is also a rebreather harness kit which allows the rebreather to be attached directly to the AAC and easily ditched once free of the surf zone.
The AAC Frog kit is for Governmemt use only and is already being fielded by a customer. Contact www.first-spear.com for additional information.
Tactical Electronics has been in business since 1999 and is well known for their under the door camera commonly used by SWAT teams. Over time they have refined their technology and introduced new products, leading to the introduction of the new modular, CORE system which consists of two grip options and four camera heads. The user mixes and matches the components for the intended application.
The Grip holds the electronics and the heads are used for different applications. Grips are the CORE Grip and the CORE Pole Grip. Both accept any of the heads (the Pole Grip doesn’t accept the articulating head). Integrated into the CORE Grip is an eye piece for up close work. Additionally, there is a wrist mounted monitor, for wireless remote viewing, which relies on digital encrypted radio for the link.
Heads offered are CORE Flex Camera, CORE Under Door Camera, CORE Pole Camera and Articulating Scope.
In addition to color or B/W images, Tactical Electronics also offers a thermal image. However, they’ve now introduced an overlay mode, similar to I2/Thermal fusion, which provides outlines of objects unto the thermal image. In the graphic above, you can see what the thermal image looks like alone, and then below, how it looks in overlay mode. The enhancement is striking.
Available now from www.tacticalelectronics.com.
Rocksmith Precision is making quite a name for themselves in building specialized tools for the EOD community. However, at Warrior West I saw their Rocksmith 30:1 cutter and thought of several other uses for this amazing hand powered cutting tool such as breaching and technical survelliance applications. In a show filled with awesome kit, this is the coolest product I saw at the show.
That 30:1 in the name means exactly what it implies, offering a 30:1 mechanical advantage thanks to the design which allows the user to configure the handle in one of two ways (seen below). I used it to snip a chainlink like it was butter and I also used it to open up 14 gage material used in CONEXs. All of that with my hand. Plus, it will go right through welds, unlike power tools. Additionally, you can begin your cut with a simple 1/4″ entry hole. Currently, they offer two styles of swappable blades. One is for chainlink and the other is for sheetmetal.
If all of that wasn’t enough, it is 7″ long and weighs less than half a pound. That’s the kind of a tool you don’t want to leave behind.
You may be familiar with FLEX9 Armor from Protect The Force as it’s a commercially available variant of the US Army’s new Ballistic Combat Shirt. Designed in conjunction with PTF, it offers ancillary ballistic protection in areas not normally covered by an Armor Vest. This patented design relies in 10 individual ballistic components which are ergonomically shaped and inserted into compartments sewn into the shirt. The Deltoid protection is particularly interesting. Either side is comprised of three each, lobster tail articulating panels. They move and articulate with the user making it preferable to the traditional deltoid armor appliqué.
They’ve just introduced a new fabric option which offers stab and slash protection. Originally developed to protect divers from shark bites, the Soteria material is also no melt, no drip. This combination makes it a great choice for riot control as well as corrections officers.
I know it sounds like the simplest thing, but in the wrong environment, wet gear can kill you. Kelty offers a waterproof breathable compression stuff sack, made from the same material as their VariCom bivy bag, so it’s the same green color. It comes in two sizes, Small which handles up to 11 liters and Large which will accommodate 27 liters.
In addition to the four compression straps on each bag, there is a roll top closure as well.
These are fully Berry compliant.
This particular pack/setup was developed for state, local, and federal EOD training.
Modular both internally and externally allowing for a number of missions specific load-outs.
Compatible with the Armatus II carrier MAP system front and back panels.
The new Liberator IV & V Communications Headsets from Tactical Command Industries have never been shown in public before. These are 100% designed from the ground up by TCI as a next generation to replace their popular Liberator II & III headsets which were Modified-Commercial Off The Shelf systems. TCI started with the basic functionality of the two legacy headsets and set about to make them even better through improved materials, design and production. For example, although the two are virtually identical, the Liberator IV is designed for a single comm application, while the Liberator IV offers dual comms functionality.
This is the first tactical communications headset totally designed, built, and sourced in the USA. All of the design work was conducted by TCI using a blank slate. They did not adapt or copy any existing system. The headwear design is unique and all of the components are Made in USA. In fact, the injection molding is done at the same Safariland Group business where Safariland holsters are injection molded, and using the same materials and color palette. Currently the headsets will be offered in Flat Dark Earth, OD Green and Black but other colors are available with minimum order quantities. In fact, I fully expect o see production models in the new Medium Coyote Tan (MCT) recently specified by the US Army for weapon accessories. Aside from the molding, much of the production of the other components for these headsets is handled within Safariland.
Additionally, this is the first 3 mode headset on the market. What TCI means by this is that it operates using sound localization and compression, like many traditional headsets on the market today. However, one of the limiting factors for these headsets is constant high decibel/high frequency sound (back of a helicopter, on a patrol boat, in an MRAP). Compression electronics are useless and the passive sound attenuation of the muff is poor because it is small; designed to fit under tactical helmets. The Liberator IV/V add a second mode of active noise cancelation (ANC). This operates very much like the Bose or similar headsets you wear in aircraft, creating a counter wave that neutralizes the high level constant noise. Their third mode combines sound compression and ANC to provide complete hearing protection from impulse noise that happens to take place while in a constant high noise level environment (door gun on helicopter, mini-gun on patrol boat, or M2 on MRAP). This is accomplished by using two high speed modern digital signal processors, working independently or in tandem.
Like modern radios, the Liberator IV/V’s firmware is updateable. Any updates can be pushed via wireless firmware update, so there’s no need to replace the entire PCB and processor in order to modernize the headset. TCI has also incorporated higher quality speakers which leads to improved sound quality. The speakers are no longer flush mounted. Instead, there is a sound “port” or hollow space behind the speakers to provide better high, low, and mid-range acoustic response. This eliminates that “tinny” sound associated with some headsets.
TCI’s “Dual Fuel” system is pretty cool. The Liberator IV/V is equipped with a battery box that accepts either 2 AAA or 1 CR123 battery. Although performance is dependent upon what you have the headset doing, battery life is comparable to existing headsets while operating in the same mode.
There are two headset suspension options. There’s the traditional over the head comfort mount and unique modular universal mount which includes a helmet rail mount that attaches to the rear part of the rail. Adaptors for Team Wendy helmets are also available.
A lot of innovation went into the development of this headset. TCI has applied for patents covering certain specifications on the ANC hardware, wireless firmware update, dual fuel battery compartment, speaker configuration, and aspects of the universal headset suspension.
Because TCI controls 100% of the production, they tell me the Liberator IV and V will not cost any more than their legacy headsets, which keeps them on par with other manufactures in terms of price and features. TCI’s position is that they are offering a Ferrari at the same cost as everyone else’s Chevy.
The Liberator IV is a single comm headset and will come in the same configurations as the Liberator II was available in. The Liberator V is dual comm and will come in the same configurations as the Liberator III did. If you used a specialty variant of either of those headsets, they’ll be available with the new headsets as well. There will also be a Liberator HP which is a standalone (no comms) headset similar to the DEHP and like the DEHP could be converted to a Liberator IV or V.
The Liberator IV/V should be available by Summer. Final field trials with selected military and Federal LE end users will start in a couple of weeks. Based on feedback, TCI will make any last minute changes. I look forward to seeing how these run in the field.
www.safariland.com/our-brands/tci
