24 Jan 14. Revision Military won a contract for PEO Soldier’s Integrated Head Protection System (IHPS) Soldier Protective System (SPS). The 2 year development-to-acquisition program is to refine the U.S. Army’s next generation helmet system, a contract worth an initial $783,000 with additional options valued at $15m. Revision’s IHPS small arms helmet serves as the foundation for the company’s proposed head protection system. The helmet’s optimized shell design contours the shape of the wearer’s head, increasing their area of coverage and protection while reducing system weight and unneeded space. The system weighs less than existing combat helmets and includes upgradeable mandible and visor protection. It also features an innovative retention and netted suspension system with dial-in comfort settings and high-impact ballistic padding. The suite includes modular ballistic armour plates that can be applied to the helmet’s exterior for an increased level of protection.
“Revision is proud to have been selected as a development partner for the U.S. Army’s next-generation head protection system, explains Alex Hooper, Revision’s Vice president International Sales. “With lineage emerging from NSRDEC’s HEaDS-UP Program and our history in protecting the soldier, the IHPS is a protection suite that can be tailored and will increase survivability through capability and technology.
The use of next generation ballistic materials and progressive manufacturing techniques has allowed for increased protection at a lighter weight. We’re proud to provide a solution that ensures soldiers’ mobility on the battlefield while allowing them to tailor the system to their mission.”
PEO Soldier’s intent for this program is to conduct iterative human factors testing leading to ballistic and non-ballistic testing and the eventual fielding of an initial quantity of 7,000 systems to a U.S. Army Brigade, prior to moving into full rate production. The Army intends the IHPS SPS system to be their next, widely fielded head protection system.
20 Jan 14. The carrier variant of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, known as the F-35C, flew with a full external weapons load on 13 January at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. CF-01, an F-35C test vehicle, was equipped with AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles, GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided munitions, and a gun pod. The weapons load was not the heaviest that the F-35 can carry, but every rack capable of carrying a weapon was loaded, F-35 spokesperson Laura Siebert told IHS Jane’s. The F-35C and the F-35B – a short take-off/vertical landing version for the US Marine Corps, US Navy and UK Royal Air Force and Royal Navy – all feature a removable gun system housed in an underside pod. The F-35A conventional take-off and landing variant, designed for the US Air Force, includes an internal pod. The pilot during the mission was UK Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Andy Edgell. The F-35 is considered a ‘stealthy’ aircraft; however, mounting external stores on it clearly increases the airframe’s radar cross section. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
21 Jan 14. India test launches Agni-IV nuclear missile. India has successfully test-launched the 4000km-range nuclear capable ballistic missile, Agni-IV, from the Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha, India.
Launched from a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)-developed road mobile launcher, the composite solid fuel rocket motor technology-propelled missile hit the target with two digit accuracy, meeting all mission objectives and proving its capabilities. The test firing represents the missile’s third consecutively successful trialand the last one in the series of development launches. An array of long-range radars and electro-optical tracking systems (EOTS) located along the coast tracked and monitored all the parametres throughout the flight, while two ships located near the target point tracked the vehicle and witnessed the final event. DRDO DG and Indi