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Wearable Antenna Hides Your Whip Under Your Vest
October 2nd, 2009 | Modern Day Marine 2009 | Posted by Rob Curtis
Bobby Dennis was working as an Marine E5 radio tech in Falujah when he had and idea. He had his mom send over the supplies he needed to make what would become the Tactical Vest Antenna System (TVAS). He saw the long whip antennas as a sure sniper target and wanted to protect anyone that used a radio on the battlefield.
His system consists of two shaped panels that contain radio antenna arrays and hide them in body armor. The panels are linked by a breakaway cable running over the shoulders. The two panels work together to replace a standard whip antenna, covering 30-512 mhz. That’s good for the low powered PRC-148, 152, 153. Above 7 watts, though, there may be safety issues keeping the antenna so close to the body. Since the system sits inside the armor carrier sleeve on top of the rifle plates, two versions are available to accommodate body armor that opens from the top or bottom. The TVAS runs $485. More info here.
Tags: c2, electronics, radio
New Old Corpsman Assault Pack Goes Commercial
October 2nd, 2009 | Modern Day Marine 2009 | Posted by Rob Curtis
Propper and Arc’teryx are bringing the USMC’s Corpsman Assault Pack to the commercial market. At it’s root, the CAP is a beefed up assault pack that’s a bit bigger, has two compartments that combine, a couple of aluminum frame stays and a padded waist belt. Looking at it, the CAP looks like the ILBE programs version of the three-day-assault pack. The pack was originally fielded only to recon units and corpsmen but Propper sees a wider market for the CAP.
The CAP will be available in Multicam, Coyote, Green, Black, AOR1, AOR2, Digital Tiger Stripe and Army Universal Camo.
Tags: Assault Pack, Tactical Nylon
Surefire’s Tiny New Supressors
October 2nd, 2009 | Modern Day Marine 2009 | Posted by Rob Curtis
Surefire snuck out two new 5.56mm suppressors at Modern Day Marine Expo. The Mini and the Micro are stubby little suckers that add barely 3.6 and 2.6 inches to a weapon’s muzzle but cut down weapon signature and improve unit communication.
The Mini was designed for a 14.5″ barrel and the Micro was designed for the 16.5″ and up club. We’ve heard that they give considerable sound attenuation for their size on these barrel sizes. Surefire says you can go shorter to make SBR work without earpro comfortable, or at least bearable in most situations. Just don’t expect to hear a pin drop when blasting through a room with a 10.5″ barrel.
The two little guys come with Surefire’s fast and solid threadless Fast-Attach system that requires the use of one of their muzzle breaks, flash hiders or compensators. No price, yet.
Tags: AR, Suppressor
Lockheed Reveals JLTV Ambulance
September 30th, 2009 | Modern Day Marine 2009 | Posted by Kris Osborn
Lockheed unveiled an ambulance variant of its Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) at the Modern Day Marine Expo Sept. 29 in Quantico, Va.
The back of the vehicle is configured to carry up to four injured soldiers and is wired to contain needed medical information, Lockheed officials said.
“We’re getting a lot of positive feedback on the vehicle. This is the utility variant. We took the shelter off and put the armored ambulance on,” said Lou Desantis, vice president of JLTV for Lockheed Martin.
Oshkosh Unveils MTVR 4X4
September 30th, 2009 | Modern Day Marine 2009 | Posted by Kris Osborn
Oshkosh Defense unveiled a new 4X4 variant of its Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement truck aimed at increasing mobility while preserving payload, company officials said.
At 34,000 pounds, the new MTVR variant is roughly one-half the weight of the standard 6X6 MTVR while still carrying a 10,000 pound payload capability, Oshkosh officials said.
“The idea of the 4X4 is to give the commander more flexibility in terms of what they take with them. For a little bit of tradeoff on the payload, they get considerable volume savings,” said Oshkosh Defense president Andy Hove.
There are roughly 10,000 MTVRs in the Marine Corps fleet; Corps officials said they were interested in the new variant.
“The Oshkosh 4X4 is something we are interested in because it is lighter and has nearly the same capability as the full-scale MTVR,” said Dave Branham, Marine Corps PEO Land Systems spokesman. “We are interested in 4X4 technology.”
New Corps LVSRs Arrive in Afghanistan
September 30th, 2009 | Modern Day Marine 2009 | Posted by Kris Osborn
“It is going to be a very reliable vehicle. It is replacing the Logistics Vehicle System which is 27 years old. It will be comparable to the MTVR (Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement),” said Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer Jeffrey Farmer. Sharing some parts with the MTVR means the LVSRs will have a supply of part pre-positioned for repairs.
“You already have a standing supply line which will increase unit readiness,” Farmer said.
The LVSR, which has a 16,000 pound off-road payload, is aimed at bringing ammunition, food and other supplies to troops forward positioned in combat.
Like many tactical trucks serving in today’s irregular war environments in Iraq and Afghanistan, LVSRs are fortified with underbelly armor protections, special ballistic windows and a ballistic-protected armored cab.
“A logistics truck is just as much of a target as any other truck,” Farmer said.
The Corps has placed 635 cargo units under contract along with 13 LVSR tractor variants and 11 wrecker units, said Darrell Rothe, LVSR program manager with Oshkosh Defense.
“The LVSR replaces a vehicle of similar capability that is in the Marine Corps, but in addition to replacing that vehicle that is in that role it is a substantial step up in capability. It can carry more weight on road and off road. It has substantially better durability, and it has tremendous off-road capability,” said Oshkosh president Andy Hove.
“It is doing everything they have asked for it to do. There isn’t a vehicle out there that takes on a more demanding challenge in terms of heavy payload, high mobility and extremely high durability,” said Hove.
The tractor and wrecker variants will being production verification over the next several months.
“This vehicle will allow the Marine Corps to get the logistics they need into those hard to reach areas of Afghanistan. When you watch it move, it looks like a caterpillar clinging to the surface of where it is moving,” said Marine Corps Program Executive Office Land Systems spokesman Dave Brahnam.
Armored Turret
September 30th, 2009 | Army Marine Corps Modern Day Marine 2009 | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
BAE/MCTAGS unveiled a new, counter-sniper armored turret for humvees that can protect gunners even during a rollover. It’s a working model, and be fielded at any time, pending orders from the military.
Squad Mission Support System: A robot with muscles
September 30th, 2009 | Army Marine Corps Modern Day Marine Modern Day Marine 2009 | Posted by Dan Lamothe
The average infantryman carries from 80 to 140 pounds on his back, a monstrous amount of weight that can eventually buckle the knees of even the most hardened grunt on patrol.
The Squad Mission Support System gets gear off a service member's back in the field.
Lockheed Martin says it has a possible solution: The Squad Mission Support System, a 4,000-pound beast that can carry more than 1,000 pounds of ammunition, water and other essentials at least 200 miles without refueling.
The robotics project is independently funded by Lockheed, but has strong interest from the Army, which conducted testing with it this summer at Fort Benning, Ga., to examine how it could incorporated downrange. The Marine Corps and Office of Naval Research also have expressed interest, Lockheed Martin officials at Modern Day Marine said.
A key detail of the SMSS: Although it is unmanned, it isn’t typically driven remotely, either. Instead, it is programmed to follow a specific soldier or proceed to a specific location, avoiding other soldiers in the field to prevent injuries.
Lockheed has built about seven systems so far, and expects to eventually have variants designed for transportation and armed reconnaissance.
“If You Don’t Have One, You Aren’t Looking For It”
September 30th, 2009 | Army Marine Corps Modern Day Marine 2009 | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
The Otis M4 cleaning system, with a flexible wire instead of standard issue style rods for cleaning your weapon. It also comes with a cleaning pick specifically designed to clear the star chamber – according to their rep, while everyone who deploys should get one of these, if you haven’t, they are widely available through PXs, TLS and other distribution channels, or at www.otisgun.com.
Tags: cleaning, gun, m4, mdmd, Modern Day Marine, otis, weapon
For Military Only
September 30th, 2009 | Army Marine Corps Modern Day Marine Modern Day Marine 2009 | Posted by Chris Maddaloni
Benchmade automatic opening knives, such as the 3300 and 3310 here, sport double-action buttons – push forward to open, push back to close. These, as well as fully spring-loaded folding knives, are available only to members of the military or police. Armed forces members can order them without too much paperwork online, and through the mail, at www.benchmade.com. They retail around $300.
Tags: benchmade, knife, MDM, modren day marine, switchblade