By Debbie Gregory.

The U.S. Army will be spending $451 million to upgrade M1 Abrams tanks and Stryker combat vehicles.

The tanks will be equipped with the Trophy Active Protection System. The system, made by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., proactively detects, locates, and if necessary, neutralizes anti-armor threats, increasing platform survivability.

Rafael, an Israeli company has partnered with Leonardo DRS, a U.S. firm headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. Under the terms of the $193 million contract, Leonardo DRS will provide the Army with TROPHY systems, countermeasures, and maintenance kits.

“This award is the culmination of several years of hard work by a strong, bi-national government/industry team to protect our warfighters and address a critical capability gap in our armored formations,” said Aaron Hankins, vice president and general manager of the Leonardo DRS Land Systems Division.

Rafael has provided protection solutions to U.S. service members for over two decades via lifesaving passive and reactive armor on vehicles such as Bradley, Stryker and AAV7.

“The majority of Trophy components are manufactured by the American defense industry, and we are excited by the opportunity to increase manufacturing in the U.S., including for Israeli systems, as the U.S. acquires additional systems,” said Moshe Elazar, executive vice president and head of Rafael’s Land and Naval Division.

General Dynamics Land Systems was awarded a contract worth up to $258 million to upgrade 116 Stryker vehicles to the A1 variant.

The Stryker A1 builds upon the combat-proven Double-V Hull (DVH) configuration, providing unprecedented survivability against mines and improvised explosive devices. In addition to the DVH survivability, the Stryker A1 provides a 450-horsepower engine, 60,000-pound suspension, 910-amp alternator and in-vehicle network. The Stryker A1 Infantry Carrier Vehicle is one of the most versatile, most mobile and safest personnel carriers in the entire Army inventory.

The Stryker A1 work will be performed in Lima, Ohio; Anniston, Ala.; Tallahassee, Fla.; and Sterling Heights, with an estimated completion date of March 2020.

By Debbie Gregory.

Former Marine Cody Nichols is the owner/operator of Our Troops Services. The Tulsa, OK resident is also an employer whose company hires veterans for landscaping, fencing and construction jobs.

But unfortunately, on May 20th, Nichols was the victim of a theft that left him without any of his equipment, despite the fact that the equipment was stored in a yard with a barbed wire fence. Working with just of a couple of donated push mowers, the company was facing hard times and falling behind.

Just when it seemed the darkest of times for this veteran and his employees, a shining light in the form of non-profit Soldier’s Wish surprised Nichols with $15,000 worth of new lawn equipment!

Soldier’s Wish identifies and fulfills the unmet needs of military veterans, regardless of branch or rank. The 501(c) 3 organization provides support directly to veteran service members and/or their families to help them lead normal, productive lives.

“We’re going to survive. I really thought our company was going to die,” said Nichols.

As a veteran-owned business, Our Troops Services is one of the approximately 2.4 million veteran-owned small businesses that drive the U.S. economy and employ about 5.8 million individuals.

The company is mostly focusing on lawn care now to get back up and running. According to a GoFundMe campaign set up to help this seven-month-old start-up, the company is looking to move operations out of a private home and in to a safe area.

So far, they have raised over $7,500 of their $25,000 goal. But these veterans have the fortitude they learned during their military service, and they will keep moving forward.

VAMBOA would like to give a big shout out to both Our Troops Services and Soldier’s Wish. We applaud the great non-profits who are assisting those who serve, past and present, as well as their families and supporters.

By Debbie Gregory.

Beginning in boot camp, servicemembers learn how to navigate unknown terrain and make things happen with limited time and resources. The transition from military service to entrepreneur is a path that many veterans take. In fact, nearly 10 percent of U.S. small businesses (approximately 2.4 million) are veteran-owned and employ about 5.8 million individuals.

Veteran-owned small businesses contribute approximately $1.4 trillion to the nation’s total sales/receipts per year. But military and veteran entrepreneurs face many of the same challenges as their civilian counterparts run into: funding, financial management, regulation and compliance, and marketing strategy.

Linda McMahon, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), is a rock star who is currently on the Ignite Tour. No, it’s not a musical event, but rather a spreading of awareness of the SBA’s programs and services that assist veteran entrepreneurs.

One of McMahon’s missions is letting veterans and active-duty servicemembers know that aside from loans, the SBA offers a variety of mentoring and network opportunities, with more than 20 specialized veteran outreach centers and a numerous training programs.

At the veteran outreach centers, veterans can access business plan workshops, concept assessments, mentorship, and training.

Aptly named Boots to Business, one SBA program is part of the Department of Defense’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP) and is offered at participating military installations and online. The program works with veterans (and their spouses) as they prepare to leave the military and transition into the private workforce.  Last year alone, about 17,000 people went through the program

As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start and grow their businesses. For more information the SBA’s veteran programs, go to www.sba.gov.

By Debbie Gregory.

The U.S. Army has narrowed the field to build prototypes of the Next Generation Squad Automatic Rifle to five gun makers.

Contracts to build the replacement for the M249 squad automatic weapon were awarded to AAI Corporation/Textron Systems, FN America LLC, General Dynamics-OTS Inc., PCP Tactical LLC and Sig Sauer Inc.

The contract awards are the result of a Prototype Opportunity Notice the Army released in March, and each firm will submit one weapon, a fire-control system and 2,000 rounds of ammunition within 12 months.

The weapon must combine the firepower and range of a machine gun with the precision and ergonomics of a rifle, yielding capability improvements in accuracy, range, and lethality. The weapon can’t weigh more than 12 pounds, including sling, bipod and suppressor, and the fire-control system must weigh less than three pounds. The maximum length of the weapon is 35 inches, two pounds less and five inched shorter than its predecessor.

Textron may have a leg-up on the competition due to its long term work on next-generation light machine guns that fire case-telescoped ammunition in its Lightweight Small Arms Technology program.

“We are leveraging and building upon our lineage of lightweight squad weapon technologies that we have been working on over the last 14 years,” said Wayne Prender, vice president of Applied Technologies & Advanced Programs at Textron Systems.

The Army also wants ammunition to weigh 20 percent less than the current brass-cased ammo. Textron has invested a large amount of research into its case-telescoped ammunition technology. Futuristic cartridges that utilize a plastic case rather than a brass one to hold the propellant and the projectile offer significant weight reductions compared to conventional ammo.

Despite Textron’s expertise, Prender admits it will still be a challenge to deliver what the Army wants.

By Debbie Gregory.

The Bell V-280 Valor helicopter will soon be equipped a sensor system that will give pilots an early warning when enemy activity is approaching.

Manufactured by Lockheed Martin, the Pilotage Distributed Aperture Sensor (PDAS) system provides “360-degree awareness around your aircraft via sensors,” said retired Army Maj. Gen. Jeff Schloesser, executive vice president for strategic pursuits at Bell.

The head-tracked helmet-mounted display feeds pilots video from the 360-degree sensor devices.

The  V-280 Valor provides warfighters strategic options, operational reach, tactical agility and overmatch at the point of decision. The design supports ground maneuvers and is purpose built for the squad plus enablers.

With more than twice the speed and range of current helicopter platforms, the V-280 Valor is designed to fly an infantry squad on a 200-mile air assault mission and return to base without the need to refuel.

Safe and survivable, the design features integrated cabin armor, fly-by-wire component redundancy, state of the art countermeasures and performance.

Beyond the increased functionality, it should be more comfortable, too. Because the V-280’s wing doesn’t tilt like a V-22, a necessity for shipboard operations, fast-ropers leaving the aircraft’s side-door avoid “the hot air from the engine going out backwards,” Schloesser said.

“If you’ve got a new car, you’ve probably got a TV camera in the back so when you back up you don’t back into something,” Schloesser said.

But this new technology expands that view to 360 degrees.

The V-280 isn’t designed for ship launches, but in a pinch, takeoff from the deck of a carrier would be possible.

Bell is working to finalize its V-280 Valor, making sure it can meet its performance goals.

The Valor has demonstrated that it can fly at 195 knots, but it will soon be able to reach a max speed of 280 knots, Schloesser said.