Commander's Corner
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Rifles, Optics & Handguns www.tacticaldefensemedia.com | January 2012 Commander’s Corner BG Thomas S. James Commandant U.S. Army Armor School Fort Benning, GA Permit #701 Permit Lebanon Junction, KY Junction, Lebanon Special Section: PAID U.S. Postage U.S. PRSRT STD PRSRT Rifles, Optics & Handguns Enhanced Body Armor Harbormaster Mobile SOF Comms Optics & Sensors Sniper Competition PEO Ammo Picatinny I heard you the first time...® Hearing Protection with Combat Awareness... Take Full Control of Radios and Intercoms... Photo by HBL Productions, LLC ® Tactical Headset System The Digital Ears® System by INVISIO® allows tactical operators to take full control of their 2-way radio communications and can adapt on the fly for use on ground vehicles, watercraft, aircraft intercom systems and even select mobile phones. The system also features the INVISIO® X-Series Dual In-Ear Bone Conduction Headset that gives you unmatched voice quality even in extreme noiseand also provides certified in-ear hearing protection and best in class 360° Combat Awareness. Try then buy... 30 Day Eval Program Tel: NY 845-278-0960 - TX 469-362-0121 - CA 310-457-7401 - IN 574-264-7217 Contract Holder Visit us on facebook Contract GS-07F-0277K TEA | SWATheadsets.com 2012© Television Equipment Associates, Inc., All rights reserved Armor & Mobility January 2012 Contents Recurring Highlights Evolving to Meet the Threat: Next-Generation Strategic Leadership: Body Armor PEO Ammo DoD is working to field the latest in body armor enhanced small arms 26 Program Executive Office Ammunition 3 protective inserts (ESAPI) to meet warfighter protection needs. manages life cycle acquisition of By Kevin Hunter ammunition families. By Picatinny Public Affairs Rugged on the Move: Special Section: Rifles, Optics & Handguns Mobile SOF Comms: A&M looks at the latest in digital optic, multiple round firearms 29 Flexible and Secure being used by today’s regular military and special Mobile Internet Protocol-based comms 6 operations soldier. are providing regular military and By Joe Talley SOF greater connectivity without the demands of SATCOM. By Dave Meadows Joint C2: From Ship to Shore The U.S. Army PEO C3T is fielding a new Harbormaster Command and Control Center (HCCC) to help streamline ship docking operations. Emerging Forecast: 24 By Amy Walker Picatinny Arsenal 37 Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, is DoD’s Joint Industry Partner: TEA Tactical Headsets Center of Excellence for armaments and munitions. An industry leading provider of comms headsets, push-to-talk devices By Picatinny Public Affairs for two-way radios, vehicle intercom and mobile phones to special ops 32 and regular military forces. By Nicholas D. Lafferty 40 Ad Index/Calendar of Events Clandestine Precision International Sniper teams come together at Ft. Benning, GA to compete tactically and technically, sharing training initiatives and battlefield 33 lessons learned. By Joe Talley Commander’s Corner BG Thomas S. James For your complimentary subscription, Commandant please visit our website at U.S. Army Armor School Fort Benning, GA tacticaldefensemedia.com 21 www.tacticaldefensemedia.com Armor & Mobility January 2012 | 1 Insights With a new year come new expectations for a DoD facing the constraints of a tightening budget and force downsizing requirements in the wake of a long-awaited full operational Armor & Mobility ISSN: 2154-4476 withdrawal from Iraq. In this, the 2012 kick-off issue of A&M, readers can expect an inside is published six times a year by look at the weapons and armor that protect the nation’s “boots on the ground”. From Tactical Defense Media, Inc. the latest in rifles and side arms to the newest composite protective body armor insert All Rights Reserved. Reproduction without technology, the nation will continue to need the best in offensive and defensive equipment to permission is strictly forbidden. ©2012 ensure it fields the best fighting force. Armor & Mobility is free to members of the U.S. In this Issue’s big Special Section, A&M takes readers into the world of “Rifles, Optics military, employees of the U.S. government, and Handguns” and the weaponry that provides the nation’s warfighters with the critical non-U.S. foreign service based in the U.S. and defense contractors. All TDM publications are sent edge they need to survive and win the fight. From dismounted to mounted protection, an electronically to international readers. exclusive Q&A interview with BG Tom James, Commandant, U.S. Army Armor School sheds light on the training and programs being implemented at the U.S. Army Armor School, Ft. Mailing Address Benning, GA. In another featured article, see how the latest in individualized composite Tactical Defense Media, Inc. enhanced small arms protective insert (ESAPI) body armor is protecting those in the fight. Leisure World Plaza PO Box 12115 As traditional boom tactical headset and push-to-talk switch users have become comms Silver Spring, MD 20908-0115 USA multi-taskers, so have the devices supporting their missions. TEA Headsets, Inc. Digital Telephone: (301) 974-9792 Fax: (443) 637-3714 Ears System is replacing the bulky boom headsets U.S. warfighters have used for too long www.TacticalDefenseMedia.com with a much sleeker in-ear headset. “Out” are typical push button switches and “In” is an [email protected] intelligent control box that can be adapted on the fly to work with multiple comms sources. Bi-Monthly Publication Be sure not to miss A&M’s Recurring Highlights as this issue profiles Program Executive Office Ammunition (PEO Ammo) and its work to provide the joint services with a cutting edge arsenal of firepower fit for the world’s greatest military. This month’s Rugged on the Move column takes a look at Mobile SOF Comms and the evolution of SATCOM-reliant systems to IP-based voice, video and data applications requiring less bandwidth and less transmission time. Quarterly Publications As always, feel free to contact me with questions, comments. Thanks for your readership! Kevin Hunter Editor Tactical Defense Media [email protected] 301-974-9792 DoD Special Sections Letter to the Editor DoD Kevin: I recently had a chance to meet Armor and Mobility’s publisher, Sonia Bagherian at the 2011 Soldier Equipment and Technology Expo, Ft Bragg last week. It was great to get a chance to thank Armor & Mobility, personally. I have been with Ancra Military Products, a new division of Ancra International, LLC, for only a few months and A&M really helped me get up to speed quickly. The articles are very informative and there is a good mix of DoD and industry. Many of our customers are featured in A&M as well. Thank you for a very well designed trade publication that our entire industry truly enjoys. As the current military vehicle needs are changing, I can count on A&M to keep me informed on many of the ongoing developments and future needs of the US Military Vehicle fleet. Thank you! Semper Fi Bill Frazier Ancra Military Products 2 | Armor & Mobility January 2012 www.tacticaldefensemedia.com The latest in enhanced ballistic body armor protection is meeting the changing PROTECTIVE INSERTS application needs of joint warfighters in In 1998, BAE Systems Protection Systems began combat. producing Small Arms Protective Insert (SAPI) plates for delivery to the U.S. joint services. Since then, BAE Systems By Kevin Hunter, A&M Editor has delivered more than 1.2 million hard armor plates to DoD. The threat to servicemen on today’s battlefield is primarily threefold. First, soldiers may receive direct fire from rifles, “There have been over 15 different SAPI designs either in a battle situation, or from an ever increasing threat: developed in the last 13 years and despite the decline in well-placed, accurate, rounds from snipers. Next, troops defense spending, we are exploring new opportunities to face shrapnel and fragmentation from grenades, RPGs, develop future designs that will cut costs, decrease weight mortars and IEDs. Finally, as IEDs and EFPs (explosively- and provide greater protection,” said Greg Kraak, Director of formed projectiles, or shaped charges) increase in Warfighter Equipment for BAE Systems. lethality, troops face the increasing devastation of the actual blast effect, overpressure and violent In late 2010, BAE Systems Protection Systems burning from exploding munition. received a contract award from the U.S. Army Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier to inspect To protect warfighters from these threats, body and repair Enhanced Small Arms Proective Insert armor is produced in a variety of shapes and (ESAPI) plates under a Readiness and Sustainment materials and recent improvements are helping contract modification valued at $6.3 million. to provide these servicemembers with protection Greg Kraak The Readiness and Sustainment work included critical to their survival. BAE Systems inspecting plates returned from theater for damage www.tacticaldefensemedia.com Armor & Mobility January 2012 | 3 and replacing the outside spall covers, which are used to armor system produced by Pinnacle Armor, Inc. contains a contain debris upon impact. flexible mesh of disks that wraps continuously around the torso. Dragon Skin SOV 3000 uses disk mesh material that The $6.3 million contract modification is part of an provides greater surface area coverage cumulatively than existing contract issued in October 2008 and will be ESAPI plates, however, brings overall added weight above performed through a series of delivery orders. Repair work OTV applications currently used by DoD. for the ESAPI plates will be completed at facilities located in Phoenix, Arizona with completion scheduled for October Surface area of the Interceptor OTV not protected by the 2013. plates is rated to provide ballistic protection only up to 9mm ammunition or fragmentation, similar to earlier FLAK vests. TACTICAL VEST EVOLUTION The Dragon Skin outer vest is similarly rated to stop 9mm and fragmentation.