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This is a Old version of AOR, The Family of patterns that would be adopted by the USN
Source: Army to wear-test digital MultiCam pattern
Feb. 28, 2014 - 06:00AM |
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By Joe Gould and Tony Lombardo
Staff writers
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News
The Army will soon wear-test a digital camouflage pattern inspired by MultiCam, a source tells Army Times.
If successful, this could become the standard Army Combat Uniform pattern for soldiers in garrison and while deployed.
This isn’t the only option, however. The Army continues to consider dressing soldiers in Marine and Navy camo patterns, under certain scenarios, according to the source, who has knowledge of the testing plan.
An Army spokesman confirmed Friday that the service was launching wear-tests but would only say the tests will incorporate “various camouflage patterns.”
Testing is scheduled for this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. Locations will include:
■Fort Polk, La.
■Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz.
■Fort Shafter, Hawaii
■Fort Benning, Ga.
The source, who requested anonymity, said the Army is examining a digital design that uses the same colors as in MultiCam.
Complicating matters has been the stipulation Congress approved in the 2014 Defense Authorization Act that directed the Defense Department to “to adopt and field a common combat and camouflage utility uniform, or family of uniforms, for specific combat environments, to be used by all members of the armed forces.”
This stipulation has the Army taking a closer look at the camouflage patterns of their peers.
It was the Marine Corps that fielded the first digital-style camouflage pattern — MARPAT— in 2002, which led each service to develop its own design, including the Army’s beleaguered Universal Camouflage Pattern.
MARPAT is recognized as the best and most effective combat uniform, according to a 2012 report from the Government Accountability Office.
But Marine Corps officials have not always embraced the idea of other services adopting it. The Navy, while not using MARPAT, does use similar woodland and desert variants.
Both of the the Navy and Marine patterns appear to be on the Army’s radar and under serious consideration. A source confirmed that, if selected, these patterns would only be used in specific regions and circumstances. The digital version of MultiCam would be the primary pattern for the Army Combat Uniform at home and on most deployments, a source confirmed.
The Army in 2010 began shopping for three new combat uniforms — a woodland variant, a desert variant and a “transitional” variant that covers everything in between. Twenty-two patterns were tested from June 2010 through September 2011.
Fifty uniforms for each camouflage pattern were put through extensive field trials in 2012.
PEO Soldier at the time said the official recommendations would be submitted to leadership in October 2012 with production beginning in early 2013.
Late last year it looked like the Army was on the cusp of making an announcement.
In September, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond Chandler said the Army’s next camouflage uniform should come in different colors for different environments, and the pattern would be similar to MultiCam.
Less than two weeks earlier, the Army had entered into negotiations with Crye Precision, of New York City, for the rights to MultiCam. Crye was one of four industry competitors that were identified as finalists in the Army’s competition for new camouflage.
However, negotiations between the Army and Crye Precision have since broken down over the cost, according to an Army source.
Staff writers Andrew Tilghman and Lance Bacon contributed to this report.
Army budget to call for 100 Lakota helos
Feb. 27, 2014 - 01:24PM |
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Maryland Army National Guard inaugural UH-72A Lako
The US Army will request money to buy 100 new UH-72 Lakota Light Utility Helicopters in the fiscal 2015 budget, Army and civilian officials say. While the cost of the new Lakota buy is still uncertain, a baseline cost for the helo is $5.5 million per unit, without extra mission systems added on. (Tech. Sgt. John Orrell / US Army)
By Paul McLeary
Staff writer
FILED UNDER
News
Military Technology
WASHINGTON — The Army will request money to buy 100 new UH-72 Lakota Light Utility Helicopters in the fiscal 2015 budget, Army and civilian officials say. The helicopters will eventually replace the current training aircraft used at Ft. Rucker, Ala., which the service plans on deactivating as part of a larger restructuring of its rotary aviation fleet.
The proposed new helicopters are part of a controversial plan which came to light in December. The proposal calls for the Army National Guard to hand its fleet of AH-64 Apache attack helicopters over to the active duty Army while receiving Black Hawk helicopters in return. The Army also wants to divest its entire fleet of OH-58 Kiowa scout helicopters, using the Guard Apaches to fulfill that mission.
The new Lakotas would replace the TH-67 training helicopters that the service will also do away with.
One source who is familiar with the plan said that the 2015 funding would cover 55 helicopters, while the Army would ask for more money in fiscal 2016 to complete the buy.
The proposed removal of the Apaches from the Guard has drawn condemnation from the politically powerful National Guard Association (NGA) and some members of Congress — and it promises to be front and center once Army leaders testify on Capitol Hill after the defense budget rollout on March 4.
“We’re probably better connected to the Hill than the active duty guys,” said NGA president (ret.) Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett Jr. “But what we want to do is find a smarter way to pay the bills. And we think we can do that without sacrificing our ability to respond and to protect the homeland as well as deploy overseas.”
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel threw his support behind the Army plan during a Feb. 24 Pentagon briefing, saying that he was “mindful that many in the Guard and Reserve community and in Congress have argued that the Reserve component should be protected from cuts because they provide more troops at lower cost.” But going forward, the Pentagon “must prioritize readiness, capability and agility" over numbers.
And that is exactly what the Army claims it is doing in its aviation restructure plan. One senior Army official who spoke on background said that in order for the active duty Army to retain its combat punch amid an era of flat budgets, the service has to cut down on the number of different airframes it operates.
Getting rid of two models of the Kiowa and the TH-67 would eliminate three aircraft models of the seven that the service currently flies, while continuing to modernize the Chinook, the Apache, and the Black Hawk until replacement helicopters begin to enter the fleet in the late 2020s and 2030s.
“What do the states need?” the Army official asked. “They need this light utility helicopter to do the missions they have and they need lift; they need Black Hawks.”
Single-use combat helicopters like the Apache “have very little to no utility to a governor,” the official continued.
While the cost of the new Lakota buy is still uncertain, a baseline cost for the helo is $5.5 million per unit, without extra mission systems added on.
Lakota maker Airbus Group, Inc., formerly EADS North America, has delivered 296 helicopters to the Army overall, not including the twenty more that Congress added into its January omnibus spending bill.
The Army National Guard currently fields eight battalions spread across nine states outfitted with Apaches, but the Army insists that the multi-use OH-60L Black Hawks will be more useful in natural disaster and homeland security missions than single use-Apache attack helicopters.
“The states gain 111 more Black Hawks than they have today,” the official continued.
When the service began tackling the problem of what to do with its helicopter fleets in the face of sequestration and flattening budgets, the original plan was to eliminate five aviation brigades: three in the active force and two in the reserve.
“Apaches, Chinooks, Black Hawks — our best equipment that we have built up over these last 13 years — were going to be divested entirely out of the Army,” the official said.
But by eliminating the Kiowa and replacing it in the active force with the Apache, the service says that it will save over $1 billion a year in operating costs, while not giving up any of the firepower that ground units have relied on so heavily in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Next-generation body armor will fight fatigue on the battlefield
Feb. 8, 2014 - 06:00AM | Comments
Next-gen body armor: Modular Scalable Vest
Next-gen body armor: Modular Scalable Vest (Via MARCORSYSCOM)
By James K. Sanborn
Staff writer
FILED UNDER
News
Marine officials have field-tested modular, next-generation body armor prototypes designed to alleviate fatigue while providing troops with a single vest system for all circumstances.
Ground troops now have two vests, the Improved Modular Tactical Vest, which offers robust fragmentation protection, and the Plate Carrier, a minimalist vest suited for operations in hot, humid climates. Both could be replaced by the Modular Scalable Vest.
Two components of the vest were tested in November by Marines with 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion during a field exercise at Fort Irwin, Calif.
The MSV fighting jacket is sleek, for use with lighter loads, while the MSV plate carrier with load distribution system is designed to carry heavier loads for long periods of time. The central load management system, which mimics the human spine, also helps distribute weight away from Marines’ shoulders and onto their hips.
“The primary goal of the MSV is to provide the Marine with a single vest system that is scalable in area of coverage and increases mobility,” said Barb Hamby, a Marine Corps Systems Command spokeswoman at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.
In addition to the fighting jacket and plate carrier, other components include the load distribution system, a throat/neck guard, a lower back guard and a groin protector. That will allow Marines to adjust the level of protection needed, depending on the mission and threat level. Parts of the system can be worn separately, or they can all be worn together for an “IMTV-like level of protection.”
Representatives from MARCORSYSCOM, who deployed with 1st LAR to collect feedback, say Marines told them the new vest is superior to current body armor.
“We had a few Marines ask if they could keep their systems because they liked them so much, so we figured that we’re on the right path,” said Mackie Jordan, an engineer for Program Manager Infantry Combat Equipment, in a Marine news release.
Marines in vehicles preferred the lighter, sleeker fighting jacket because it was conducive to mounting and dismounting. Dismounted scouts showed a preference for the plate carrier because of its better load-bearing properties. Marines also liked the placement of side small-arms protective inserts and the ability to adjust components.
One problem with past vest designs was the discomfort felt by short Marines, many of them females. In response, officials procured 3,780 “small stature IMTVs” which are in production and expected for fielding by May.
When Marines in the fleet might see the vest is not clear. Marine officials say the MSV is still in the research and development phase.■
