SOF Week 2023 held at the Tampa Convention Center in Florida is an opportunity for the defense industry to feature some of their newest offerings to the special operations community. There are hundreds of exhibits by firms displaying products and services for the SOF professionals. It takes the entire week just to stop by each booth to check out what is offered. Depending on your interests, you tend to spend more time at some displays than others. Over the next several weeks I will write on some of the more interesting offerings on display at SOF Week. Today’s post is about a tactical diving vehicle called the Shadow Seal. The information below in quotes is from a press release about the Shadow Seal.

“JFD – part of James Fisher and Sons plc – has launched its advanced four man tactical diving platform, Shadow Seal, during SOF Week 2023, ahead of delivery to United States partner Blue Tide Marine (BTM) for demonstration and training purposes.

Shadow Seal is an adaptable and extremely capable lightweight Tactical Diving Vehicle (TDV) able to transport a pilot, navigator and two passengers in surface, semi submerged and submerged mode with a range of 80nm. 

Shadow Seal offers unparalleled underwater maneuverability to Special Operations Forces required to covertly cross the expanding offshore and littoral water gap. Adaptable to suit a variety of ISTAR and combat requirements, the platform provides sophisticated protection to complex, high value platforms and critical infrastructure. 

The TDV is a multi-mission capable platform provides an opportunity to modernize the undersea capabilities of USSOCOM, the US Navy, and other organizations with advanced mission focused technology, extended range and offers practical training and in service support.” 

Story by Thoman Johnson, 1st SFG(A).

In February 2023, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) successfully tested a new unmanned aerial delivery platform, the GD-2000 glider (glider disposable 2000 lbs.). This glider is an alternative to the current means of supply delivery into diverse environments. Implementation of the glider will result in enhanced capabilities of the Special Forces detachments deployed through varied, and often restrictive, terrain.

Timely and accurate resupply is imperative to the success of combat operations.

This success does not only lie with the operators on the ground but also with utilizing emerging technology. The GD-2000 is a glider platform that Special Operation Forces innovators hope will revolutionize aerial delivery to Green Berets in the field.

“It’s an autonomous aircraft that carries 1,500 pounds of payload,” said Chip Yates, CEO of Yates Electrospace, and the creator of the glider. “It flies for 15 minutes, flares and lands where you want it,” he continued.

Traditional supply delivery systems can be more cumbersome and more detectable by the enemy when compared with the glider. It was birthed out of a request from the U.S. Marine Corps as an alternative to the Joint Precision Air Drop System (JPADS). JPADS tend to be both larger in size and have limited ability to maneuver through the air, making them less accurate, especially over long distances or in high-wind conditions.

“What this glider does is give us a much greater [travel distance] and a much greater glide ratio into a target,” said a Special Forces detachment commander, whose team tested the glider.

The GD-2000 is a small aircraft designed to land at a precise location while being released from a greater distance than traditional supply drops. The glider can travel up to 40 miles once released and is completely disposable once on the ground, allowing it to be left in denied or contested territory without compromising the security of the Soldiers receiving the supplies or the technologies or techniques employed by the U.S. military.

“If we are able to get [the glider] up to 40,000 feet we’re looking at [travel distances] in excess of 25 to 30 miles. That’s a pretty unique capability and not matched by anything we currently have,” the commander said.

This would also allow for aerial delivery to remote islands that require a greater level of precision to reliably reach their destination. With some modifications, the designer of the glider claims it can also land and be recovered in a maritime environment, further enhancing resupply capabilities to the sort of small islands often found in the Indo-Pacific.

Photo: The GD-2000 glider is released from a C-27J airplane at Yuma Proving Grounds, Ariz. On February 13, 2023. 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) released the glider from the air multiple times over several days to test its aerial delivery capabilities. Photo by 1st SFG(A).

During the testing, the GD-2000 carried a 1,000-pound payload and was airdropped from a C-27J plane. During several drops, the glider landed within 30 meters of its intended target at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona. The hull of the aircraft was still intact and protected the cargo inside.

“[The glider] gives us the ability to drop this from a plane outside of controlled airspace into international air space and fly resupply in from an unmanned autonomous craft. It’s a huge enhancement to the mission” the commander said.

1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) is committed to innovating beyond the status quo. Today’s tests and experiments are done to ensure that tomorrow’s problems do not catch us off-guard. Enhancing our capabilities fosters an environment of competency within the unit and allows for our Soldiers to continue the mission of maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.

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This story by Sgt. Thoman Johnson of the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) was originally published by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service on March 30, 2023. DVIDS content is in the public domain.

Top Photo: Forces Group (Airborne) released the glider from the air multiple times over several days to test its aerial delivery capabilities. (Photo 1st SFG(A))

Related Articles:

Silent Arrow for Resupply and Relief, Silent Arrow.
https://silent-arrow.com/tactical

“Green Berets are testing a prototype glider drone for speedy resupply”, Task & Purpose, March 31, 2023.

The U.S. Army is leading the effort to replace some of the light tactical wheeled vehicles in each of the different services. The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) is a family of vehicles that will consist of two variants. One will be a four-seat Combat Tactical Vehicle (CTV) and the other will be a two-seat Combat Support Vehicle (CSV).

The JLTV will be transportable by fixed-wing (C-130) and rotary-wing aircraft (CH-47 and CH-53). It will be able to maneuver across a wide sprectrum of terrain to include urban areas. It will have protection against direct fire and improvised device threats with scalable armor. The JLTV will have joint forces network connectivity to improve siutational awareness of the operational environment.

The JLTV has been under development since 2015 and should be entering into full-rate production in late 2022. The intial contract should be for 30,000 JLTVs and 10,000 JLTV trailers; although this could change. Some JLTVs from the intial development phase have been delivered to the Army and Marine Corps. Other nations that may be purchasing the vehicle include the UK, Lithuania, Poland, and Motenegro. The first Army unit to receive the JLTV is the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia.

The JLTV provides greater protection and increased mobility and payload compared to the current armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle platforms. Its off-road mobility is improved as well as fuel efficiency and reliability over the Mine Resistant Ambush Proected All-Terrain Vehicles.

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Photo: United States Army Acquisition Support Center (USAASC).

OPTAC-X, a telehealth company, today announced it has entered a deal to provide U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) and the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (SWCS) with a global hybrid LTE and SATCOM enabled telehealth system. It advances the ability of special operations medics to provide remote, critical life-saving care and assistance in prolonged field care with expert physician oversight at the point-of-injury or time-of-need. 

USASOC’s initial purchase will place the OPTAC-X telehealth system, including global hybrid LTE and SATCOM connectivity by Kymeta Corporation, at the training institution at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. As part of the agreement, OPTAC-X will deliver sustained service and training on the use of its telehealth system. 

The OPTAC-X telehealth system, successfully field tested by special operators deployed to Africa earlier this year, gives deployed special operations medics the ability to perform telehealth examinations with its advanced Look & Listen technology using RealWear Navigator 500, a ruggedized, heads-up display device (HUD). Charged with performing advanced life-saving procedures and prolonged field care in austere conditions, special operations medics will use OPTAC-X’s integrated telehealth technology to communicate with a network of U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) physicians and surgeons offering advanced healthcare services at the time of need though separated by thousands of miles. What the deployed medic sees and hears at the time of need, the physician will see and hear at his or her location, enabling immediate life-saving and prolonged field care feedback.

Image: The OPTAC-X telehealth system leverages its exclusive LTE and SATCOM services partner, Kymeta, to deliver industry leading global LTE and SATCOM capability. Kymeta’s software-enabled, metamaterials-based electronically steered antenna (ESA) — the Kymeta Osprey u8 — provides mobile satellite and cellular communications whether on the move (COTM) or on the pause (COTP).

Retired Major General Kurt Sonntag was the commanding general of SWCS and deputy commander of USASOC for the U.S. Army during his military career and witnessed firsthand the need for advanced medical care in the field.

“This amazing technology interface significantly enhances the already phenomenal medical capabilities our special operations possess,” Sonntag said. “The ability to instantly reach back to medical subject experts, particularly when operating in denied or remote spaces, provides a new risk mitigation tool for commanders and operators alike and redefines the golden hour for saving lives.”  

The OPTAC-X telehealth system leverages its exclusive LTE and SATCOM services partner, Kymeta, to deliver industry leading global LTE and SATCOM capability. Kymeta’s software-enabled, metamaterials-based electronically steered antenna (ESA) provides mobile satellite and cellular communications. Backed by U.S. and international patents and licenses, the Kymeta Osprey u8 addresses the need for lightweight, low-profile, and high-throughput communication systems that do not require mechanical components to steer toward a satellite, whether it be communications on the move (COTM) or communications on the pause (COTP).

As part of OPTAC-X’s telehealth system, RealWear Navigator 500 HUD connects via OPTAC-X’s proprietary, cutting-edge cloud technology and globally monitored, secure network. The use of RealWear through simple voice commands in loud environments up to 100 dBA, enables full hands-free device control and navigation.  Physicians utilize the network to send video assets, images, charts or other material in 1080p that deployed medics can reference through the HUD device while simultaneously treating an injured soldier. OPTAC-X’s telehealth system helps the modern Special Operation Forces (SOF) medic to perform tasks with increased safety, efficiency and precision which directly contributes to more lives saved.

“Today’s announcement is a major milestone in the realization of OPTAC-X’s overriding desire to help soldiers and others who work in dangerous and difficult circumstances — remote from standard medical care facilities and services — to receive the lifesaving help they need via telehealth and achieve improved outcomes in prolonged field care,” said Dr. Patrick Fullerton, founder and chief executive officer of OPTAC-X.  “We look forward to partnering with USASOC and possibly other DOD entities to use the OPTAC-X telehealth solution to bring life-saving medical care to places around the globe that many never thought possible.”

“Partnering with OPTAC-X allows Kymeta to provide connectivity capabilities to the front line in telehealth and emergency medicine,” said Bill Marks, executive vice president and chief development officer of Kymeta, “We are excited about the wide range of innovations this partnership opens for digitally enabled care.”

“We’re extremely honored to be selected as the exclusive wearable assisted reality device for OPTAC-X’s innovative solution now being used by SOF medics,” said Chris Parkinson, cofounder and chief technology officer of RealWear. “By freeing medics’ hands to communicate with a remote consulting physician who can talk them through a life-saving procedure is elevating telemedicine to new heights. This approach could serve as a blueprint for the future.”

The OPTAC-X telehealth solution was developed to close the gap identified by military leaders and medical personnel desiring to have the audio and visual capabilities now offered by OPTAC-X’s Look & Listen technology at the point of injury and time of need. SOF medics have faced persistent challenges with latency in communications systems that impeded the transmission of clear images and or voice commands.  Products tested were unable to perform in challenging environmental settings or at the point-of-injury and within the golden hour without the dedication of significant physician staffing. OPTAC-X solved the problem by developing a combination of technologies which allow a medical provider to treat a patient while stationary or in a moving vehicle and sending and receiving voice and 1080p real-time images over thousands of miles with almost no latency.

Prolonged field care improvements via telehealth solutions have been a stated priority of the U.S. Secretary of Defense for years. In March of 2017, Lt. Gen. Nadja Y. West, then U.S. Army Surgeon General, testified before a U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee on the topic.

As reported in a U.S. Department of Defense News article, West identified virtual health capabilities including remotely monitoring patient vitals, providing virtual consultations, and letting medics provide combat casualty care as being important. She saw virtual health as a way to revolutionize access in garrison facilities, at patients’ homes or at points of injury.

Fullerton sees great potential for the application of the OPTAC-X telehealth solution beyond the military. He points to energy, maritime and mining industries, emergency management systems and natural disaster scenarios such as the recent Hurricane Ian in southwest Florida as spaces where OPTAC-X’s technology and service could have played a vital role.

OPTAC-X telehealth and tele-expert solutions are designed to bring expertise to first responders in under-served locations or in places where services have been disrupted making the system ideal for federal and state emergency services and multiple government entities. OPTAC-X is currently developing solutions for states that have been impacted by recent natural disasters while continuing to grow relationships within the DOD.

About OPTAC-X

OPTAC-X, Inc. is a veteran-owned company delivering new standards for reliability, access in hardened resilience for telehealth, and remote assistance with its remote physician and tele-expert networks. OPTAC-X provides a worldwide, resilient, high-speed, digital network (VSAT, Gen 4 & 5 LTE and terrestrial IP) to ensure that telemedicine and tele-experts are always connected to the teams they support. Leveraging the extensive military service and skill of its founders, OPTAC-X was created in 2021 and is mission-driven to increase access to critical medical care and save lives. For more information, please visit optacx.com.

Top Photo: As part of OPTAC-X’s telehealth system, RealWear Navigator 500 HUD connects via OPTAC-X’s proprietary, cutting-edge cloud technology and globally monitored, secure network. Physicians utilize the network to send video assets, images, charts or other material in 1080p that deployed medics can reference through the hands-free HUD device while simultaneously treating an injured soldier.

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Story by Pat Carty.

A formation of Royal Air Force Puma helicopters has made a nostalgic national flypast, to mark 50 years of service for the type.

The ten Pumas; acknowledged and respected as the workhorse of many tactical and Special Force operations, departed RAF Benson near Oxford on 7 July at 10.00 local. The route, flown as a training sortie but highlighting the fact that the type has been in constant use since its introduction into the RAF in 1971, overflew notable locations across England that had a historical significance to the Puma, by either hosting the type or by supporting the Puma Force over the past 50 years.

After departure, the formation routed over RAF High Wycombe, home to HQ Air Command, the European Air Group and the Joint Force Air Component Commander. They then flew over Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, where the formation split into two sections. “Ambush Flight”, which landed at RAF Scampton – home of the Red Arrows, and “Monster Flight”, which landed at the RAF College, Cranwell.

Photo: Ambush and Monster Flight approaching RAF Scrampton. (photo by Pat Carty).

Following lunch and a refuel, the two flights rejoined and then continued North-West towards Stafford. When overhead Herefordshire, they overflew Credenhill; home of the Special Air Service, and then along the Welsh borders back into Wiltshire. After overflying the Salisbury Plain Training Area, they landed at the Army Aviation Centre, Middle Wallop.

On departure from Middle Wallop, they overflew the Joint Helicopter Command Headquarters at Andover, and then RAF Odiham; the original home for the Puma, The formation then routed back to their home base at RAF Benson, where on arrival they were greeted by a welcoming party, which included the crews from two very special 658 Squadron Army air Corps Dauphine helicopters (call sign Hammer). These Dauphines, in a very commercial looking blue and white livery, provide covert air transportation for the SAS and are based alongside them at Credenhill, Herefordshire.

The Puma formation was led by XW224; a Puma HC Mk2, which has been given a unique new paint scheme to commemorate 50 years of service, with the colours replicating those used on the Puma HC Mk 1 and all the Squadron badges of squadrons who have flown the Puma HC Mk 1 and Mk 2, emblazoned on the engine housing.

Since 1971, the Puma has successfully contributed to UK humanitarian missions around the globe. It has also supported combat missions in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan.  Since post-2014, three Puma helicopters have been used extensively during “Operation Toral”; the name given to the UK element of “Resolute Support Mission”, transporting personnel based with Joint Helicopter Command in Kabul International Airport. Whilst there, the Pumas were able to provide vital airborne transport to UK and NATO forces, thereby mitigating the ground threat. Tasks also included transporting personnel and equipment around the different urban, mountainous and desert terrains in the Kabul area, as well as supporting the deployment of the NATO SF and Security Quick Reaction Forces. During that deployment, the Pumas flew 12,800 hours; the equivalent of over 533 days in the air, transported 126,000 troops, security personnel and embassy staff, and moved some 660,000kgs of freight.

The RAF Puma has also recently supported UK civilian disasters, by providing a helicopter lift capability for flood relief efforts. They have also assisted the COVID-19 response, by deploying at short notice in the early stages of the pandemic, to Kinloss Barracks in Scotland. Whilst there, they provided vital transport for medical personnel and equipment in both Scotland and Northern England, as well as being on standby 24/7 to support any other task required in the UK.

My own experience of the Puma, in addition to both day and night NVG training sorties, has included being transported as media during exercises, and being in the back, whilst certain troops were transported to Ireland during the “troubles”. Who they were, or why they were being transported, are best left unanswered, as I was told during the pre-takeoff briefs, not to discuss the subject with them!

For the more technical minded, the Aérospatiale SA-330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport utility helicopter, originally built by Sud Aviation of France, and continued to be made by Aérospatiale. However, the RAF Puma HC Mk.1 was a significant joint manufacturing agreement between Aerospatiale and Westland Helicopters in the UK. It had a crew of three and could carry up to 16 passengers, at up to 159 mph (138 knots) for up to 360 miles (580 km). It has a ceiling of up to 15,750 feet (4,800m). For self-protection, in addition to a self-defence suit, it can carry a 0.30 inches (7.62 mm) coaxial machine gun or side-firing 0.787 inches (20 mm) cannon.

A total of 48 HC Mk.1 Pumas were delivered to the RAF, of which 24 were upgraded to the HC Mk.2 variant. These had the more powerful Turbomeca Makila 1A1 engines, a glass cockpit, new avionics, and secure communications, together with improved self-protection equipment.

The Puma has served with 33 Squadron and 240 Operation Conversion Unit at RAF Odiham, 230 Squadron at RAF Gutersloh in Germany, No. 1563 Flight at RAF Belize, and RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland.

In 2009, both 33 and 230 Squadron relocated to RAF Benson from RAF Odiham, and in all that time, has a safety record that many would envy.

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Top photo: Credit to Ian Marshall.

Author: Pat Carty is a NATO accredited journalist who covers military news, events, operations, and exercises; including special operations forces. He is a contributor to SOF News as well as several other military defense publications.

By Mark Schauer.

There’s a new vehicle turning heads on the range at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), and it will likely begin arriving in Army brigades in a matter of months.

It’s the Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV), and it promises to give Soldiers an opportunity to arrive to a fight faster, rested, and ready.

Powered by a 2.8 liter turbo diesel engine with a six speed automatic transmission, the four-wheel drive vehicle carries up to a nine Soldier infantry unit and their heavy gear. If it looks familiar, it is because the platform is based on a commercially-available vehicle.

“About 70% is common with the Chevy Colorado ZR2, and the rest is a mixture of commercial parts that you can modify and put onto the Chevy Colorado,” said Steve Herrick, product lead for Ground Mobility Vehicles. “About 90% of this can be bought on the commercial market.”

The ISV is meant to reduce the burden on infantry Soldiers weighed down by heavy gear and faced with rugged terrain. The fast and lean ISV can be air transported into locales within theater rapidly and efficiently.

“It provides an operationally relevant vehicle for a small tactical unit to be transported to a drop off point as quickly as possible in a mission-ready state,” said Sean Lamorena, test officer. “It’s intended to be transported by means of the infantry’s rotary or fixed wing aircraft platforms.”

“This vehicle is going to help Soldiers in the Infantry Brigade Combat Teams that currently walk everywhere,” added Herrick. “It’s made to be ‘a better boot,’ a capability that allows you to effectively change how you operate.”

Right now it’s being put through its paces across the more than 200 miles of rugged road courses at YPG to ensure it functions as it should wherever in the world it could be called on to serve.

“We’re performing reliability and maintainability (RAM) testing to support the evaluation in a desert environment,” said Lamorena. “We’re also doing two performance tests at the conclusion of RAM testing.”

Over the next few months, the ISV will traverse 5,000 miles across Yuma Test Center’s rugged ranges, including sand slope mobility tests that will see it tackle a sandy 30% grade—for perspective, the steepest grade on an interstate highway in the contiguous United States is 6%. Through much of the testing, the vehicle and its driver will be joined by plastic dummies weighted with sand in the vehicle’s remaining seats.

“We up-weight the vehicle to its operational weight expectation,” said Isaac Rodriguez, team leader in the Combat Automotive Systems Division. “We also install a data acquisition system that monitors GPS and the vital signs of the vehicle.”

During testing, simulated missions take the vehicle across road courses featuring various terrain conditions, from paved to gravel, to punishing desert washboard that would severely rattle a vehicle without four wheel drive. As they traverse these roads, test vehicle operators continually verify performance of all the platform’s performance.

“Yuma provides the capability of extreme weather differences, as well as a desert terrain,” said Herrick. “We can’t get those things that Yuma provides at other testing locations. The distances travelled on the courses and the weather conditions really help here.”

The rising temperatures as spring approaches will also help the testing.

“We’ll take advantage of the hot temperatures to execute cooling performance of the vehicle,” said Rodriguez. “We’ll load the vehicle up and verify that it is able to maintain its proper operating temperatures.”

Though the vehicle is manufactured by General Motors and the company’s desert proving ground is co-located at YPG, there are currently no plans to utilize their road courses in tests of the ISV.

“We have the capability to do so, but based on the scope of testing for this vehicle it isn’t necessary,” said Rodriguez. “If the customer added a requirement that would need to be done at that facility, we would certainly entertain that idea.”

Eventually, the Army intends to field 59 ISVs to each brigade, beginning with brigades within the 82nd Airborne Division in May. The testing completed at YPG is an important element of the success of this rapid adoption and deployment of the vehicle.

“Yuma’s got a great history of being a prolific and great test facility for all Army platforms, let alone other Department of Defense items,” said Herrick. “We couldn’t be happier coming to Yuma.”

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Photo: Photo by Mark Schauer, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, Feb 17, 2021.

Original Story by Mark Schauer, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, March 15, 2021. This was first published by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) and is in the public domain.

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Sniper Systems Update for SOF – The last several years have seen new developments in training, tactics, and employment of sniper teams and their associated equipment and weapons. Sniper teams have taken a leading role in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. In addition, SOF has been employed in the small wars now taking place in Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and elsewhere.

Andrew White, an writer at Defense Media Network, has published (July 3, 2017) an extensive review of SOF sniper equipment, weapons, training, and employment over the past few years.

USASOC Sniper Competition. In March 2017 the annual U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) International Sniper Competition was held. The event high-lighted “. . . the wide-ranging skill sets required to effectively operate as a force multiplying sniper team.” Two-man teams from the U.S. Army’s SOF units as well as sniper teams from European countries participated in a series of sniper events during the competition. The events included many aspects of sniping to include marksmanship, stalking, battle preparation, sniper operations, and target acquisition.

Employment of Sniper Teams. White’s article goes on to explain how U.S. SOF sniper teams are engaged around the world in real-world missions. These operations range from disrupting terrorist networks, direct action (DA), counterterrorism (CT), and other missions. A key development taking place recently is the urban warfare being conducted over the past several months in the siege of Mosul. U.S. and other nation’s SOF snipe teams have been actively employed in fighting the Islamic State fighters in the Mosul fight. Recently a Canadian SOF sniper was recognized for conducting the longest-ever sniper shoot in combat. Snipers are also the ‘eyes and ears’ for commanders for a variety of operations.

USSOCOM and Sniper Systems. The United States Special Operations Command based in Tampa, Florida is actively pursuing advanced sniper systems for its special operations forces across all services (SEALs, Green Berets, Rangers, MARSOC, etc.). White’s article goes into great depth on the full range of these sniper systems currently being purchased or under development.

White concludes his long article on Sniper Systems Update with:

“The role of the sniper across the COE remains as relevant as ever, highlighted by the effort and investment paid to the training teams tasked with identifying personnel with the correct aptitude for such missions. This trend is unlikely to change as the future character of conflict continues to evolve toward a battlespace that will still require the force-multiplying effects of a sniper team.”

The full article can be read at:

“SOF Sniper Systems Developments”, by Andrew White, Defense Media Networks, July 3, 2017.
http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/sof-sniper-systems-developments/