One of our readers sent us some photos of his rifle company’s M240Ls, above, and M240Bs, below, after they came out of reset. He tells us, “the SARET (Anniston Army Depot’s Small Arms Readiness Evaluation Teams) guys replaced the standard buttstock with a collapsible one.” He’s also calls attention to the new adjustable bipod legs that are part of a MWO (modification work order) that we haven’t yet heard about for the M240 platform, as shown.
Thanks, Andrew!
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George Solhan. I like this guy. He tells it like it is. He’s the Office of Naval Research’s deputy chief researcher for expeditionary maneuver warfare. He told Marine Corps Times that today’s armor requirement are overkill.
“A real warrior,” he said, “would like to go to combat with a weapon, a loin cloth and a light coat of oil.”
Most shots fired on Marines are made from a considerable distance. Additionally, there is no need for flak vests to be able to stop multiple .30-caliber armor-piercing rifle rounds at close range, as requirements dictate, he said. Marines seldom need that much protection so requirements should put more emphasis on constraining weight.
“It is dumb to have a requirement to stop armor piercing ammunition at muzzle velocity, and for multiple hits, when the probability of encountering that is almost zero. The probability of working your ass off and becoming fatigued and injury-prone and totally angered by the amount of weight you carry is 100 percent,” Solhan told Marine Corps Times in an interview May 3.
Read More“Whoever chose this piece of shit to be issued to anyone- you’re an inexperienced pistol shooter who has no common sense. Hope you got a decent kickback from Blackhawk.” – as posted by Kyle Defoor –veteran USSOCOM operator and one of the top firearms trainers in America.
Noted.
Read MoreAccording to PEO Soldier, the Natick Labs entry is no longer being considered in the Army’s Phase IV camouflage program.
This is a very interesting development since it eviscerates the argument I’ve heard from industry that the Army is only performing Phase IV to find the lowest-cost alternative to its current arrangement with Crye Precision. If this were the case, then a government-developed and -owned pattern would have certainly saved the Army from buying a technical data package or paying royalties.
This leaves the entries from Crye Precision, Brookwood, ADS and Kryptek in the running.
From PEO Soldier’s spokesperson Debi Dawson:
“On Jan. 10th, the Army announced that families of camouflage patterns from one government team and four commercial vendors were selected to proceed into the next step of evaluations.
“As part of a cost savings strategy and as a result of initial assessments, the government submission is being removed from further consideration as a replacement to the universal camouflage pattern.
“This decision has been made in light of the similarity between elements of the government and one industry submission and the higher score of the industry submission during the initial evaluation.
“We are excited about the four vendor patterns we are going forward with. We anticipate experiencing very positive results in our field trials and more advanced computer evaluations. We will continue to work closely with our industry partners and our government team, especially in terms of research, development and evaluation. The Army conducts extensive testing to ensure we provide Soldiers with the very best clothing and equipment.”
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The 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment (a.k.a. 2nd BCT/101st Airborne Infantry Division) is the first unit to field the M26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System. According to a story on ClarksvilleOnline.com, Strike Brigade’s engineers and military police with H&H were trained up over three days by members of Picatinny Arsenal’s PM Soldier Weapons after a ceremony held Feb. 7, 2012, at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.
The MASS is designed to aid in faster transitions from the shotgun to the rifle during breaching operations, but has other applications including less-than-lethal rounds. It mounts beneath the barrel of an M4 and can be attached to a stock and used as a standalone shotgun. It is a 12-gauge system and has a five round magazine.
I can’t wait to hear how it’s received by Joe. Sure, it’s great to always have a shotgun at the ready. But, I wonder how long it will take for guys to start bitching about always lugging a shotgun on the front of their weapon. There’s a big difference between 4lbs on the front of an M4 vs. 7lbs of a Remington 870 on their back. Like the adoption of any new piece of gear, it’s going to be a training issue as much for leaders as grunts. Commanders are going to have to learn to deploy these weapons appropriately or risk guys “forgetting” them when they step. I suspect the compact M26 will see more duty as a standalone weapon than it will attached to carbines.
U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Joe Padula, 2nd BCT PAO, 101st Abn. Div.
Read MoreThe 2012 National Defense Authorization Bill has gotten some attention recently, though not nearly as much as the wrangling over payroll tax cut extension. Bear with me, there’s gear news in here. People are not upset about what’s in the bill (S.1867), but what’s not in the bill. There was language in an early draft of the bill that explicitly protected American citizens from another portion of the bill that authorized detention of America’s enemies by the military. Somewhere along the way, the bill was amended and this language adding protection to U.S. citizens was struck from the bill.
Protectors of civil liberties were enraged and news reports circulated and opinions were formed. I’m not going to get into the politics, but as I said, there is actual gear news in here.
Since the NDAA is the blueprint for next year’s military spending, many companies’ profits are staked to its passage. Surefire among them. 99%ers and hackers have taken up the call and are threatening all kinds of action against those whom they perceive were involved. Surefire, along with AAC, won what could be a healthy portion of government’s suppressor business (it’s an IDIQ contract), so portions of the Internet see them as supporting the idea that Americans can be indefinitely detained by U.S. military forces.
The DoD is buying a lot of gear and Surefire isn’t alone in getting lumped in with supporters of the bill, Honeywell and Bluewater Defense were also called out. Surefire felt strongly enough to draft a response, which I’ve included below.
Statement from Surefire:
We’ve been made aware of various articles pertaining to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and SureFire’s alleged role as a lobbyist and/or financial supporter of the bill and its primary political backer, Sen. Robert Portman. The news reports are using our associations with a Political Action Committee (PAC), a former consulting group, and a government contract to infer that we support indefinite military detention of American citizens without charge or trial. These reports are false and misleading. Our association with this bill has nothing to do with citizens’ rights and SureFire is now the casualty of a disregard for sound journalism.
We’ve never supported the removal of citizens’ rights let alone do we have any connection with those responsible for the injustice. Any news outlet alleging SureFire’s support of anti-American rights, is reporting lies. SureFire’s support of unrelated parts of the NDAA does not constitute support for every part of the bill like those that are now being contested.
Read MoreMaj. Gen. Peter Fuller, the previous US Army Program Executive Officer (PEO) Soldier, was sacked today for calling out Afghan President Hamid Karzi for comments that his nation would support Pakistan instead of the US in a conflict between the two. Up until today, he was the Deputy Commander of NATO’s training programs in Afghanistan. Read more about it over at Army Times.
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Check out the .308 Light Weight Remington Arms Chassis System built on the Remington 700 short action. The skeletonized chassis is Remington’s offer as the Marines put out feelers for an upgrade to the M40 sniper rifle system. The LWRACS is a necked down version of the full-on RACS built for the XM2010 and PSR program entry. Major features include:
Remington reps tell me that the LW-RACS may hit the commercial market in some form in 2012.
By Richard Lardner – The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — For nearly a decade, Colt Defense went without a lobbyist. The legendary gun maker based in West Hartford, Conn., had an exclusive deal to provide combat rifles to the U.S. military and didn’t need a hired gun looking out for the company’s interests in Washington.
Times have changed. After buying more than 700,000 Colt M4 carbines, the Defense Department has started a search for the rifle’s successor, giving Colt’s competitors the long-awaited chance to break the company’s grip on the market. So Colt turned to Roger Smith, a former deputy assistant Navy secretary-turned-lobbyist, to be the company’s voice in D.C. His fee is $120,000 a year.
The move highlights the importance of a contest that is the Super Bowl and World Series rolled into one for the small arms industry. The Pentagon may buy hundreds of thousands of the new carbine, which should be more accurate, lethal and reliable than the M4 used by troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. At stake is millions of dollars in business for the winner at a time when budgets are tightening and opportunities for long-term weapons contracts are dwindling.
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MARCORSYSCOM put out an RFI today for a 4-piece suite of new body armor that includes a releasable tactical vest (RTV), a releasable plate carrier (RPC), a low-visibility tactical vest (LVTV) and a low-visibility plate carrier (LVPC). They call it the Improved Armor Carrier Suite (IACS) and it is part of the larger Full Spectrum Battle Equipment (FSBE) program.
Reading from the RFI, it looks like the Marines are going to embrace the SPEAR plate.
The full solicitation is available after the break, but the details and requirements for each of the four pieces were conveniently broken out in today’s RFI and include (and I quote):
“RTV- The Releasable Tactical Vest will support SPEAR profile soft armor. The RTV must integrate with the SPEAR MSAP soft armor/pouches (Groin and Deltoid), SPEAR Releasable Ballistic Armored Vest (RBAV) Collar Armor System (CAS) and Improved Modular Tactical Vest (IMTV) lower back protector.”
“The carrier will posses PALS webbing for the mounting of modular pouches, have a single pull release located on the center of the vest below the neckline and integrate with the USMC Chest Rig without impeding the quick release of the carrier. The RTV must integrate with the USMC IMTV cummerbund and incorporate it into the release of the system without additional hardware or procedures. The RTV will incorporate an optional internal cummerbund to mitigate load. When used, the internal cummerbund will not interfere with the release of the system. The RTV will provide for an optional cummerbund that must support the carriage of the SPEAR MSAP 6×6 plate and allow for adjustment.”
“RPC- The Releasable Plate Carrier will support USMC PC profile soft armor. The RPC must integrate with the SPEAR MSAP soft armor/pouches (Groin and Deltoid) and IMTV lower back protector. The RPC will posses PALS webbing for the mounting of modular pouches. The RPC will have a single pull release that is identical in location, function and assembly to that of the RTV. The RPC must have the option to be worn without a cummerbund while still maintaining single pull release capability. When worn with a cummerbund, the RPC must integrate with the USMC Chest Rig without impeding the quick release of the carrier. The RPC must integrate with the USMC IMTV cummerbund and incorporate it into the release of the system without additional hardware or procedures. The RPC will provide for an optional cummerbund that must support the carriage of the SPEAR MSAP 6×6 plate and allow for adjustment.”
“LVTV- The Low-Visibility Tactical Vest will support SPEAR profile soft armor. The LVTV must integrate with the SPEAR MSAP soft armor/pouches (Groin and Deltoid), SPEAR RBAV CAS and IMTV lower back protector. The carrier will integrate with the USMC Chest Rig. The LVTV must support the carriage of the SSAPI with soft armor backing and/or the SPEAR MSAP 6×6 plate and allow for adjustment.”
“LVPC- The Low-Visibility Plate Carrier will support USMC PC profile soft armor. The LVPC must integrate with the SPEAR MSAP soft armor/pouches (Groin and Deltoid) and IMTV lower back protector. The LVPC must have an option to be worn without a cummerbund. When worn with a cummerbund, the LVPC must integrate with the USMC Chest Rig. The cummerbund of LVPC must support the carriage of the SSAPI with soft armor backing and/or the MSAP 6×6 plate and allow for adjustment.”
Interested parties have until Jan, 13, 2011 to respond. Representatives from the PMO will be on hand at SHOT show next month and folks that have thrown their hat into the ring (in writing) can request a 15 minute booth visit.
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