Month: July 2020

High-Performance Tactical Apparel

Posted on by Mathew Pruitt

XGO® is a leading provider of tactical high-performance base layer & apparel, located in  North Carolina (just a few miles west of Fort Bragg). Since 2005, XGO has been proudly providing the best next-to-skin base layers to the US Military, Government Agencies, Law Enforcement, and First Responders.

 

XGO® utilizes a ‘vertical’ model of manufacturing in full compliance with the Berry Amendment.  Every aspect of the manufacturing process is in localized facilities in the USA. Localization and vertical manufacturing allow XGO® to maintain “hands-on” quality control, speedy delivery, and superior customer satisfaction while providing the best possible products and value.

 

XGO® offers two collections; Performance and Flame Retardant (FR). Within each collection, there are five Phases. Each phase represents the weight and suggested temperature range.

 

Performance:

Phase 1 – Lightweight (40 – 100F)

Phase 2 – Midweight (20 – 50F)

Phase 3 – Super Midweight (10 – 40F)

Phase 4 – Heavyweight (<40F)

Phase 5 – Heavyweight + (<30F)

 

FR:

Phase 1 – Lightweight (40 – 100F)

Phase 2 – Midweight (20-50F)

Phase 3 – Midweight Stretch (40 – 100F)

Phase 4 – Heavyweight (<40F)

 

Within each phase, you will find styling offerings, examples of offerings are: t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, zip mocks, boxers, long-john bottoms, and accessories. Everything XGO sells incorporates Acclimate® Dry Moisture Management (wicking/drying) and Ag47® Anti-Odor/Anti-Microbial treatments. From the frontlines to the field, regardless of the environment and temperature, XGO has you covered. The goal of XGO is your comfort and focusing on the mission at hand.

 

 

Alpha A10 FR Neck Gaiter/Face Mask

XGO FR Phase 1 Alpha A10 Lightweight Neck Gaiter is constructed using a patented industry-leading lightweight FR blend of Modacrylic & FR Rayon. The FR is inherent and built-in at the yarn level, meaning it will not wash out and provide no melt/no drip protection for the life of the garment. Acclimate® Dry moisture management, and Ag47® anti-microbial/anti-odor will keep your face protected, comfortable, and odor-free. Clean Seam® flat seams provide a comfortable contoured next-to-skin fit that fits close to the face and neck but does not constrict.

 

Gear Specs

  • Fabric: Patented blend of Modacrylic & FR Rayon
  • Weight: 4.8 oz/sq. yd / 136 grams
  • Layer: Next-to-Skin
  • Sizing: One Size Fits All
  • Fit: Contoured Fit
  • Length: 10” / 25 cm
  • Temp Range: Warm to Warmer temps/environments

 

Features

  • Inherently FR At Yarn Level – FR Protection For Life Of Garment
  • Superior Acclimate Dry Moisture Management
  • Ag47® Anti-Microbial Protection
  • UPF UV Protection – 25+
  • Clean Seam® Next-To-Skin Comfort, Durable, Breathable & Won’t Shrink
  • Tagless label
  • 100% USA Made & Berry Compliant

 

This product is 100% Made in the USA, Berry Compliant, and is available in Tan 499.

 

 

 

Alpha A10 Performance Neck Gaiter/Face Mask

XGO Phase 1 Performance Alpha A10 Lightweight Neck Gaiter uses high-performance 100% Acclimate Dry Polyester Eyelet Mesh. Lightweight, superior moisture management, incredible next-to-skin comfort, and durable.  Acclimate® Dry moisture management, and Ag47® anti-microbial/anti-odor will keep your face protected, comfortable, and odor-free. Clean Seam® flat seams provide a comfortable contoured next-to-skin fit that fits close to the face and neck but does not constrict.

 

Gear Specs

  • Fabric: 100% Acclimate© Dry Polyester – Eyelet Mesh
  • Weight: 4.0 oz/sq. yd / 114 grams
  • Layer: Next-to-Skin
  • Sizing: One Size Fits All
  • Fit: Contoured Fit
  • Length: 10” / 25 cm
  • Temp Range: Warm to Warmer temps/environments

 

Features

  • Superior Acclimate® Dry Moisture Management
  • Ag47® Anti-Microbial Protection
  • UPF (Sun Protection) Rating – 35+
  • Clean Seam® Next-To-Skin Comfort, Durable, Breathable & Won’t Shrink
  • Tagless label
  • 100% USA Made & Berry Compliant

 

The product is 100% Made in the USA, Berry Compliant, and is offered in colors: Tan 499, Black, Coyote Brown, and OD Green. 

https://vimeo.com/user120590328/review/443402991/f6b66234fe

 

Mastodon Design Scourge Antenna for the Dismounted Soldier Kit

Posted on by Mathew Pruitt

Today’s soldier is often required to carry multiple radio systems for a single mission.  As a retired Combat Controller, it didn’t take long to see the many benefits of swapping traditional handheld tactical radio antennas with Mastodon antennas.  Additionally, most “next-generation” radios have dual channels and GPS; therefore, a single device may require three or more antennas.  On today’s battlefield, and certainly the next contested/ near-peer fight, soldiers will depend on a multitude of communication networks and Video Downlink (VDL) feeds to enhance combat effectiveness.  While these communication networks improve situational awareness, force protection, and lethality, they also can be cumbersome and impractical for a dismounted soldier who must carry multiple antennas to utilize them.

 

Traditional tactical radio antennas snag on equipment, interfere with line of sight, and create a sizeable visual profile of the soldier, making them an easier target.  Many soldiers fold the antennas or remote them to their back to reduce signature and interference with their primary mission tasks, but these “fixes” significantly reduce antenna performance.

 

Mastodon Design’s RF engineers have decades of experience designing tactical radios and antennas.  Mastodon Design’s Scourge antennas are a family of flexible, ultra-lightweight antennas designed for tactical military operations.  Utilizing the help of real-world SOF inputs, the Scourge antenna was designed to be routed through MOLLE and uses a TNC connector to work with fielded tactical radios.  The streamlined design allows soldiers to weave the antenna through their equipment to reduce target profile, save space, and prevent snags while increasing their communication signal gains. These antennas are currently being fielded by USSOCOM units and provide increased range and performance with a drastic reduction in size, weight, and profile.

The Scourge antennas work with the dismounted soldier kit in a way that does not impede their movement, create snag hazards, or reduce antenna performance.  Additionally, the antenna’s placement over the soldier’s shoulder alleviates poor performance in the prone position. Whereas, this design improves omnidirectional performance caused by body masking.  This positioning also eliminates the “cone of silence” that occurs directly above a traditional antenna, a common problem with helicopter operations.

Mastodon Design Scourge antennas are a must for anyone in the communications business while on the battlefield.

Viasat: Communications-on-the-Move, Mobile Satellite Broadband, No Matter Where You Are

Posted on by Mathew Pruitt

If you are in the military tactical communications systems business, you’ve seen broadband “Communications-on-the-Move” (COTM) promised by many satellite terminal vendors.  Many of those vendors do not tell you that their ability to provide said services depends on tenuous lashups with satellite companies, exorbitant bandwidth costs, and dead spots in your required area of coverage.  I’ve planned missions for and used many satellite terminals over my active duty years, but only one mobile broadband satellite solutions provider has delivered consistently:  Viasat.  Their success comes from their end-to-end integration capabilities, including satellite, terminal, and managed services.

 

Viasat has built and launched a high capacity, commercial Ka-band satellite constellation that is still growing.  In 2022 Viasat-3 will launch.  Once fully completed, Viasat will be able to provide complete global connectivity and provide high capacity satellite WiFi anywhere at “60 times more affordable” and “15 times more capacity than DoD satellites”. (https://www.viasat.com/products/government-high-capacity-satellites).

 

Viasat has been the lead satellite modem developer for over a decade.  Their modems are the de facto DoD-standard.  You can tailor your terminal for EBEM, LinkwayS2, or CBM-400 modems, with CBM-400 providing quad-band (X, C, Ka, Ku) access, diverse network topologies (including full mesh), and the most bandwidth (up to 400 Mbps (waveform dependent)).  Viasat offers several preconfigured satellite terminals for air, land, and maritime uses, but you can tailor your terminal to your specific needs.

 

Along with the satellite modem development, Viasat has been a leader in communications security equipment development and communications protocol development.  For example, the NSA Type 1 KG-255X HAIPE Inline Encryptor has enabled faster network speeds (2Gbps) for secure networks up to TS/SCI.  It can operate in Layer 3 HAIPE mode to maintain interoperability with their older, but still widely used, KG-250X, or as a VLAN/Ethernet tunneling on Layer 2.

 

Finally, there are the various services they provide.  You can choose to run your own network and only call for training, technical support, or repair/warranty support.  In this complex communication environment, with rapid deployments, using Network Operations and Management services from Viasat on a private IP network is a better choice.  Viasat’s Network Operations and Management services can provide:

 

  • Performance Monitoring and Fault Resolution
  • Traffic Management and Beam Optimization
  • Provisioning, Commissioning, and Configuration Management

 

Viasat’s ability to provide satellite broadband communications on the move is based on their end-to-end integration of the entire communications and services path, as I’ve briefly outlined.  With highly talented, expert satellite, communications, and cybersecurity personnel, Viasat is a winning option as your tactical network provider.  If you would like to explore that option, contact us at Quantico Tactical.

Stalker – The Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Targeting System

Posted on by Mathew Pruitt

The Safran Optics 1 STALKER is a lightweight, handheld, day/night target acquisition, surveillance, and reconnaissance device that is capable of locating targets even in adverse weather conditions. It is extremely lightweight and has an intuitive user-friendly interface. It is reliable in all weather conditions and allows operators unprecedented situational awareness for a variety of missions. It also has outstanding C4I (command, control, communication, computers, and intelligence) capabilities, along with multiple interfaces including RS-232 and USB for data exchange with other devices. It has three observation modes to detect targets: Direct View Day Optics, Low Light CMOS Optics, and LWIR Thermal Imager.

STALKER is a similar device to the Optics 1 MOSKITO TI, but has an integrated SAASM (Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module) GPS. It utilizes the unmatched L1/L2 antenna and uses a Class 1 eye-safe laser capable of ranging over 5,000m in harsh conditions and up to 10,000m in good condition environments. Stalker utilizes a lower power consuming digital magnetic compass to determine azimuth and inclination and has an operational run time of over 3.5hrs (dependent on mission profile).

Key Features:
• Three observation modes:
o Direct view day
o Low light
o LWIR Thermal
• Target detection and acquisition
• Ranges up to 10,000m (conditions dependent)
• Integrated with a digital magnetic compass
• Integrated with SAASM GPS

ATAK Enabling Technology with PLRF25C

Posted on by Mathew Pruitt

Android Tactical Assault Kit, ATAK, is an app-based technology to support complex communication and coordination.  ATAK utilizes Blue Force Tracking technology to track team members in real-time.  ATAK is beneficial for large-scale operations and small tactical teams; it also allows users to communicate via text or file sharing.  The users can also identify points of interest, terrain, weather, and other topographical elements.  ATAK gives the operators enhanced real-time situational awareness.

 

PLRF25C (Pocket Laser Rangefinder)

The Safran Optics 1 PLRF25C is a reconnaissance, surveillance, and targeting device that provides accurate distance and angle measurements (conditions dependent) in a lightweight and rugged, compact unit. It is the smallest eye-safe laser rangefinder in its class designed for single-handed use with a one-button function by snipers/spotters, marksmen, and forward observers. The PLRF25C will measure and display distance, azimuth, inclination angle, and the horizontal and vertical distance of the target. It even has an optional fall of shot calculator.

 

 

 

PLFR25C / ATAK Integration

The PLRF25C with Bluetooth can wirelessly transmit azimuth, elevation, and LRF distance information to ATAK, automatically populating the target location onto the user’s ATAK map for situational awareness or targeting.

 

Highlights:

  • MIL-STD-810 ruggedized
  • Small and compact Laser Rangefinder for single-handed use
  • 6x magnification
  • Ranges up to 6000m
  • Bluetooth capable and connects ATAK and Kestrel® with Applied Ballistics
  • External GPS (Rockwell Collins DAGR / PLGR II / PLGR +96)

ATAK Enabling Technology with ECOTI

Posted on by Mathew Pruitt

Android Tactical Assault Kit, ATAK, is a game-changer for increasing situational awareness and is ideal for law enforcement and military operators. ATAK is app-based and available to all government agencies and provides the ability to view the location of various elements within the area of operation. The system utilizes Blue Force Tracking to track team members in real-time and help coordinate movements.  ATAK also uses Red Force Tracking to see where “bad guys” and dangerous elements may be. Operators can view entered points of interest like terrain, topographical elements, and even weather. It also enables encrypted data communication like text and file sharing (i.e., photos and videos) for user-to-user, user-to-team, user-to-command, or user-to-entire force communications, which was never before available until ATAK.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdNy0YBfEvU

 

ECOTI (Enhanced Clip-on Thermal Viewer)

The Safran Optics 1 ECOTI is a night vision enhancement and visual augmentation system that provides unmatched detection capability and situational awareness by adding a long wave infrared thermal overlay on the user’s night vision device. It bears a lightweight, compact design and significantly increases an operator’s ability to detect and eliminate threats. It has low-power consumption, thermal sensor technology, and high-performance optics that integrate seamlessly. ECOTI is designed for low-light and no-light environmental conditions such as dense foliage, caves, and tunnel systems.

 

WITHOUT ECOTI                                                  WITH ECOTI

 

             

 

WITHOUT ECOTI                                                  WITH ECOTI

            

 

ECOTI / ATAK Integration

The ECOTI integrates with ATAK and acts as a heads up display, HUD. The Augmented Reality, AR, capability connects to the app and aids in identifying teammates and targets, while also providing point-to-point navigation, allowing for a heads up and hands-free operation.

             

             

ECOSI (Enhanced Clip-on SWIR Imager)

The Safran Optics 1 ECOSI bears the same lightweight, compact design, yet offers a different, critical technology. It adds a short wave infrared overlay on to the user’s night vision device. It can see out of band markers, designators, strobes, beacons, and pointers that operate in the SWIR spectrum, undetectable by standard NVDs. It allows JTACs, JFOs, and FOs, to view laser makers and designators during day or night operations. Like the ECOTI, ECOSI connects to ATAK to provide AR and HUD capability.

 

ECOSI can be used during the day when attached to the Optics 1 Daytime See-Spot 2x Extender. This accessory provides See-Spot, PRF code counting, and zoom capability all in a small handheld or rail mountable configuration.

 

Key Features:

  • Overlay on to the I2 scene and does not require modification to existing hardware
  • Heads up display capability that shows COT icons for situational awareness and route navigation
  • Powered by a single CR123 battery and/or connects to an external battery pack
  • Waterproof up to 20 meters
  • Built-in 16GB SD card for image capture
  • Can be used during the day or night, mounted to NVGs or handheld

ECOTI

Two thermal detection modes:

  1. White Hot
  2. Black Hot

Three observation modes:

  1. Full Thermal
  2. Patrol
  3. Outline

 

ECOSI
Two polarity modes:

  1. White observe
  2. Black observe

Two observation modes:

  1. See-Spot
  2. Pointer