If the service thought they’d buried the issue of armor testing, they forgot to ask their new Secretary.

ArmySec John McHugh announced today he had enlisted the services of the National Research Council to examine the service’s armor testing procedures and compliance protocols in light of a recent GAO report calling into question the Army’s adherence to QA standards.

Secretary of the Army John McHugh announced today that the National Research Council (NRC) will perform an independent assessment of the Army’s body armor testing, following last month’s recommendation by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for an independent review. The NRC functions under the auspices of the National Academies, a private, nonprofit institution that provides science, technology, and health policy advice to the federal government and the public on critical national issues.

Under an agreement between the National Academies and the director of operational test and evaluation (DOT&E), the Department of Defense’s final independent authority on survivability testing of body armor, the NRC will perform an independent assessment of ongoing body armor testing. The purpose of the NRC assessment is to ensure that the Army maintains the highest standards for testing processes and protocols, thus addressing concerns raised by the GAO about current testing procedures.

On the face of it, this is a good thing. As ballistics experts will tell you, there’s still some voodoo in the ballistic testing science and one more set of eyeballs on the problem wouldn’t hurt. Maybe at the end of this saga the Pentagon can adopt one standard testing protocol for all military body armor and the notional threats to it so there’ll be a bit more confidence in the results and less objectivity.

Walkoff question: Will they open the flexible armor testing standards and procedures can of worms?

– Christian

As if we didn’t already have enough to consider with Marpat, UCP, UCP-D, MultiCam and Desert Brush, in comes another pattern making inroads in the milgear blogosphere.

I’ve been trolling over at our friends Soldier Systems’ site over the past couple days, and the editor over there is obsessed with the development of this new pattern. Not one day after I scoped his post, our partners at Tactical-Life forwarded me an article (that looked more like a press release to me) unveiling the new, multi-environment pattern.

Companies participating in this unprecedented launch include Remington, Bushmaster, DPMS Panther Arms, Danner, EOTAC, Tactical Assault Gear, Blue Force Gear and Emerson Knives.

The the so-called A-TACS pattern departs from today’s “pixel” obsession and goes more along the blended lines, making it easy to slip between environments and still conceal movement. 

Many who have seen the pattern comment on how it is unlike any camouflage pattern they have encountered as its chameleon-like qualities cause it to blend into the surrounding environment. This unique “pattern within a pattern” concept allows it to break up the outline of the human body relying on a palette of inter-mingled natural colors over a neutral tan base for use in open, rocky, or arid environments.

And here’s the conglomerate’s explanation for their design:

Many of the modern digital camouflage patterns currently in use by the tactical community have flaws. The square pixels used to create the distortion effect do not replicate the shapes, forms and shadows of the environment they are deployed in-especially when viewed through optics. The ninety-degree angles and limited use of natural colors can in many cases, make detection easier.

Additionally, the “visual noise” in these same patterns tends to make them close-up into a solid color, producing a “blobbing” effect when viewed from a distance. A-TACS addresses and improves these critical issues in three ways.

1. — Replace un-natural square pixels with organic pixels. Utilizing our patented process, we created a palette of natural colors digitally sampled from real-world elements in carefully controlled lighting. The pattern is then created using a mathematical algorithm that writes “organically-shaped” pixels using the specific color information given. The resulting pattern while still digital, is far more organic in appearance.

2. — Use small patterns to create larger more distinct shapes designed to work at a distance. Small shapes create larger shapes and larger shapes are organized into a distinct pattern with no horizontal or vertical orientation. This unique “pattern within a pattern” concept allows A-TACS® to effectively break the human outline at great distances thereby, minimizing the “blobbing” effect of other patterns when viewed from a distance.

3. — More effective use of color-range produces a better concealment system. A-TACS® is created using a far greater range of inter-mingled natural colors than was previously possible. The overall base color for the cast is a neutral tan which is designed for use in open, rocky or arid environments.

Furthermore, the abstract and intricate nature of this pattern gives it a unique “fingerprint”which is not only adaptable to various service branches, but also makes it difficult to copy.

I dunno, another desert/urban pattern? Aren’t we debating the flaws of the UCP because of the forested environments of Afghanistan? Doesn’t this one look as if it would stick out on a green background?

On the other hand, it’s interesting to see someone make a play against the ever-popular MultiCam and to tinker with the science of concealment. Let’s not forget, the Army is in the midst of a comprehensive look at its camouflage effectiveness and A-TACS is surely poised to play a role in pushing the argument and science.

– Christian

Manufacturer BAE Systems is formulating its marketing of the Mantis medium-altitude long-endurance UAV demonstrator air vehicle in the U.S., following the recent kickoff of test flights of the U.K. version.

Mark Brown, BAE Systems vice president of unmanned aerial systems, is positioning the Mantis as a next-generation UAV. “When we talk about Mantis specifically, you’re talking about a theater/strategic platform that has the ability to satisfy intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance requirements and also be a weapons carrier,” Brown said.

Mantis is the largest autonomous vehicle ever built in the U.K., with a wingspan of 65.6 feet. Were BAE to build the Mantis for a U.S. market, a second, separate production line would be launched. Whether that line were based in the U.S. or in the U.K. is “an open question,” Brown said. The company is also open to partnering with another defense contractor, but “no decisions” have been made, he added. As to when the Mantis will make its North American debut, BAE’s U.K. liaison officer Matt Pearson would say only, “it’s certainly worth thinking about.”

Brown said Mantis is flexible. “We built this aircraft with manned standards in mind,” he said, noting the UAV was designed just like any other manned aircraft, from the twin engines to the logistics plan. “It gets us where we want to be — fully certified in any airspace,” Pearson said.

Read the rest of this story, see how much the expanded Afghan army’s going to cost and consider how close China is to stealth technology from our friends at Aviation Week, exclusively on Military.com.

– Christian

Not really…but got you to look, right?

My colleague Bryant Jordan ran across this photo and passed it along to Defense Tech just to show how very far we’ve come with ballistic protection.

According to a caption from the archival section at Corbis, these garcons are French soldiers of the Army Ordnance Department showing off the test articles of their WW I-era body armor.

I can’t even see what this is made of, but it sure looks like cold rolled steel and leather. I’m digging the groin protector and the jaunty dude on the right with a 45 hole right in his junk.

Also, what gives on the 1984-esque eye shades built into the helmet?

I went on The Google for this one and came up empty. But I did run across a FAS entry that references the US Army’s experimentation with body armor. It was called the Brewster Body Shield (sure beats “Interceptor”) and looked more like a bad 1950s B movie robot costume than a combat ready ballistic outfit.

But it could stop bullets…

The Brewster Body Shield, was made of chrome nickel steel, weighed 40 pounds, and consisted of a breastplate and a headpiece. This armor would withstand Lewis machinegun bullets at 2,700 f.p.s. but was unduly clumsy and heavy.

I’ll say. Makes Dragon Skin look positively featherweight by comparison (I’m just pulling your leg Murray).

It’s interesting to see how body armor technology has evolved, and no doubt we still have a long way to go. But pictures like this offer a glimpse of what was state of the are nearly 100 years ago.

– Christian

It took more than six months, but the Air Force coughed up some details yesterday on a laser program it’s developing to plink drones and other flying objects from the sky.

Out at China Lake in May, a joint team sponsored by the Air Force Research Lab that included the engineers from the Naval Air Warfare Center fired a 2 Kilowatt class laser at a series of five UAVs, tracking them and shooting them down  “at long ranges and using relatively low laser power,” according to a release from the laser maker Boeing. The so-called Mobile Active Targeting Resource for Integrated eXperiments beam rides on a trailer and is tethered to a fire control radar that helps it zero in on the drone and track the intruder before zapping it with laser precision.

The Mobile Active Targeting Resource for Integrated eXperiments (MATRIX), which was developed by Boeing under contract to the Air Force Research Laboratory, used a single, high-brightness laser beam to shoot down five UAVs at various ranges. Laser Avenger, a Boeing-funded initiative, also shot down a UAV.

During the same test, the AFRL fired their Laser Avenger prototype at another drone, downing it and giving the engineers a chance to blast the 25 mike-mike the Avenger wields as a “hybrid directed energy/kinetic energy” air defense system.

We’re still looking to get more information on how high these lasers were able to deal their lethal energy. But this, combined with other news coming out about directed energy weapons quietly making strides, goes to show that lasers may be a lethal addition to modern platforms sooner than we think.

– Christian

Rather than waiting for the U.S. Army to flight-test the Fire Scout vertical-takeoff unmanned aerial vehicle (VTUAV), Northrop Grumman is investing heavily in a test program of its own. The company’s impatience may well pay off — when the Army finally makes a decision about air vehicles for its new Brigade Combat Team Modernization (BCTM) program, Fire Scout will be ready to go.

The dissolution of the Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) and cancellation of the manned ground vehicle component has forced the Army to re-examine its requirements as it moves forward with the BCTM. In the case of the UAV piece of the modernization plan, the Army will field its Class I UAV (a small VTUAV weighing 50 lb.) in Fiscal 2011 and 2012. The next VTUAV to come online as part of the BCTM is a Class IV UAV — in this case, Fire Scout. The Army selected Fire Scout for the FCS in 2003, but brigade combat teams are not scheduled to field the aircraft until 2014, according to current requirements.

The Navy, on the other hand, is already flying its MQ-8B Fire Scout from the USS McInerney on counternarcotics missions in the Caribbean. The service contracted with Northrop Grumman in 2004 to create a Fire Scout variant to use on the Littoral Combat Ship. The aircraft has executed 600 hr. of flight testing and 110 takeoffs and landings from the McInerney.

Subsequently, Northrop Grumman is not waiting for the Army to make its move. On Oct. 6, the company announced that its corporate-owned Fire Scout, dubbed White Tail, flew under the command and control of a new company-developed Stanag 4586-compatible ground control station (GCS). Stanag 4586 is the NATO interoperability standard for unmanned aircraft. The company flew the White Tail in late September at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz., promoting the flights as having demonstrated the functionality of its own GCS. Future demonstration flights will also use the company’s GCS, including ongoing flights at Yuma in preparation for the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment at Ft. Benning, Ga., early next year.

But the GCS is just one piece of Northrop Grumman’s multi-pronged investment strategy. Joe Emerson, the company’s Fire Scout Army program manager, says Northrop Grumman is partnering with platform manufacturer Schweitzer on investing in a new rotor. Adding payloads adds weight, and the “fastest fix is to change out rotor blades. It’s the first area we’re looking at,” says Emerson.

Read the rest of this story, check out DARPA’s bomberbellylaserplan, find out why it’s hard to get the Afghan army its bullets and see who’s to blame for bad program management from our friends at Aviation Week, exclusively on Military.com.

– Christian

Or is it?

This guy’s clearly wearing MultiCam and has all the high-speed identifiers that a US trooper would wear. I can’t seem to find a high-rez version of this photo, which itself is a mystery, but given the story that surrounds the photo and context of that area of Afghanistan, I’m leaning heavily toward an adoption by at least some groups of French military (their version of the PJs) of MulitCam uniforms.

In this photo released by the French Army, Nato French soldiers evacuate wounded from Tagab, Afghanistan, Monday Nov. 16, 2009. Insurgents fired two rockets Monday into a crowded market northeast of Kabul where the head of French forces in Afghanistan held a meeting with tribal elders. The attack killed at least twelve and wounded 20 other people, the French military said. (AP / HO / ADC Jean-Charles Thorel)

The only thing that makes me pause, is that I reported a while back that USAF PJs were wearing MultiCam combat uniforms in the AO. This guy could be a PJ but I can’t see enough of the helo and am skeptical that an AF bubba would be sporting Rock Star hair and a hillbilly beard. Wouldn’t look too good with the rest of his pals at the Bagram Links.

So help me with this dear readers…who is this guy?

– Christian

The first production model F-35B arrived in the ‘hood last Sunday.  BF-1 will begin the JSF’s developmental test program in the next few weeks, including vertical takeoffs and landings.  Meanwhile DoD reports show the program is behind schedule and over budget – not a good place to be these days (just ask the F-22 or Presidential Helo guys).  And adding to the bad press is a report from the UK Register that says both the V-22 and JSF have a problem with melting flight decks at sea.  (Surprise … er, I mean, “No comment.”)

So enjoy this happy snap.  We’re trying to get over to Pax to get some more before manned flight goes away altogether, which may be sooner than planned if the acquisition professionals don’t get their acts together.

(Gouge — NC)

– Ward

Yesterday we received a call on our new Tip Line wondering if the Russians and US were working on submarine technologies that create an air bubble in front of the sub that allows it to travel 3x the normal speed.

Here’s what our readers asked:

This is more of a “Is it true” tip?? Someone told me just last night that the Russian Navy & the US Navy are separatley working on “an air bubble in front of a ship (sub) can make it travel 3 times its normal speed & that it was already tested on a torpedo & it moved as fast as 300 mph under water. Is there any truth to this story?? I am not beleiving anyone or any story unless I see it posted here or on military.com. Can you let me what if anything you’ve heard about this. Thanks…

I don’t know much about subs, but I do know guys that do. So I sent this query on to our friend Joe Buff who had this reply (be sure to read his earlier post on DT regarding this subject):

Sounds like supercavitation. USSR/Russia has had supercavitating rocket torpedoes since the Cold War. USN also developed a good one prototype but decided not to deploy, preferring the mark 48 ADCAP torpedo. USN right now doing good work w. GDEB on “Underwater Express”, a 100-knot manned minisub which would give a “really quick and sonar-deafening getaway vehicle” for SEALs near the beach/surf zone.

The process uses rocket propulsion to get the underwater hull/vehicle going fast enough to create a partial-vacuum bubble around itself, eliminating water flow resistance against hull (but not the need to push water around and away from the bow/tip). Rocket engine burning fuel provides thrust allowing very high speed (200 to 300 knots for a sharp-tipped torpedo) not possible using a traditional rotating water screw (as in Ohio class) or pump-jet turbine (as in Virginia class).

I’ve not heard of this being applied to surface ships, where I think it would not work, and where air cushion, hydroplaning, or wing-in-ground-effect would give high speed much more practically. There are separately though things like “Prairie Masker” which emit bubbles (engine exhaust I think, not “air”) to isolate hull noises from the sea to provide acoustic stealth for the ship against enemy subs & sonars.

Well, there you have it. Hope this answers the mail and please keep the tips coming…

– Christian (with Joe Buff)

The U.K.‘s Mantis medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstrator has completed a series of test flights using the range at Woomera in Australia. The first flight was made Oct. 21, but was only revealed today. Several mission-representative trials have since been carried out, marking the culmination of phase one of the Mantis program, which has now been concluded.

The BAE Systems-led program is being jointly funded by the Defense Ministry and industry and is aimed at addressing both potential British and export requirements for a UAV in this class. Phase Two of the program has yet to be agreed between the industry partners and the ministry, with discussions ongoing examining a variety of funding mechanisms to support the next stage of the incremental development project. The Mantis, which has 65.6-foot wingspan, is the largest autonomous UAV to be built by the U.K. The rapid development program took 19-months from concept to first flight. The Mantis is intended to be able to carry electro-optical and radar sensors, as well as a range of air-to-surface weapons. BAE partners on the program include Rolls-Royce, Qinetiq, GE Aviation, Meggit and Selex Galileo.

Read how MAVs might jam the bad guys, ponder China’s defense buildup and check out some sweet MP-RTIP pics from our friends at Aviation Week, exclusively on Military.com.

– Christian