03 Feb 11. Based on soldier trials, technical compliance and best value pricing, Revision, leading developer of protective eyewear for militaries worldwide, has secured a UK Ministry of Defence contract for Protective Combat Eyewear. Following tender evaluation and user trials, Revision was selected for providing the best value and for being the most technically compliant bidder. The estimated contract value is £3.4 million to provide the UK MoD with Revision’s Sawfly® Military Eyewear System and Bullet Ant® Goggles.
“Revision is extremely proud to receive the UK MoD contract for Protective Combat Eyewear,” said Jonathan Blanshay, CEO of Revision. “The focus behind all Revision eyewear is to meet and exceed the stringent requirements set forth by our military customers. It’s an honor to be supplying UK troops with what we believe to be the best performance-enhancing eye protection products.”
The Revision Sawfly Military Eyewear System is an all-purpose spectacle designed to provide protection on a 24-hour, all-weather continuum. Maximizing fit, function and comfort, the Sawfly Military Eyewear System exceeds the rigorous optical and ballistic testing standards in use today; it is the most widely used military spectacle in service. The Bullet Ant Goggle System provides powerful ballistic protection against medium-energy fragmentation while protecting against the environment: sand, wind and dust. The goggle system features interchangeable OcuMax® coated lenses for high-performance anti-fog and anti-scratch capabilities and provides flawless optics for unprecedented visual clarity. The Bullet Ant Goggle also exceeds the rigorous testing standards in use today.
Both products are prescription capable with a single insert—the Revision Rx Carrier. The Combat Protective Eyewear Tender (number DC4/4055) is the UK MoD’s first competition for protective eyewear since 2005. In addition to securing this procurement, Revision is the major supplier of protective eyewear for numerous NATO countries including the USA, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Belgium; Revision also fulfills the protective eyewear needs of 40 other countries around the world.

08 Feb 11. Raytheon Company and Aerojet, a GenCorp company, completed a kinetic warhead system integration test for Standard Missile-3 Block IB. The test verified the ability of the warhead to detect, track and intercept a moving ballistic missile target in a zero-gravity environment. During the test, a fully operational, flight-weight kinetic warhead operated on an air-bearing test stand and performed in a high-altitude chamber at Aerojet’s Sacramento, Calif., facility. The kinetic warhead’s seeker tracked a simulated target while the guidance computer sent information to the new Throttleable Divert and Attitude Control System. Once the TDACS received the information, the system fired its divert and attitude control thrusters and maintained aim on the target during the entire test sequence, simulating an actual flight mission. (Source: Yahoo!/PRNewswire)

07 Feb 11. The nights are getting deadlier for the Taliban now that it’s much harder to see Americans shooting at them. Late last year, overall Afghanistan commander Gen. David Petraeus became concerned that the muzzle flash from weapons such as the M4 carbine was too easy for the enemy to spot. As a result, the Army began equipping troops with special muzzle flash hiders that significantly reduce the visual powder flare during night firing.
“He wanted an immediate fix,” said Col. Doug Tamilio, the Army’s top weapons buyer, at a Feb. 2 Pentagon round table with reporters.
The Blackout flash hiders, made by Advanced Armament Corp., replace the M4’s closed flash hider with an open-prong device. The Army’s Rapid Equipping Force shipped about 10,000 of these flash hiders to Afghanistan for use on the M4 carbine and the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon and about 1,000 flash hiders made by Surefire, for the 7.62mm M240 machine gun.