Marines want a new bomb suit and other gear for their explosives ordnance disposal personnel.
Col. Jeff Stower, commander of Logistic Combat Element Systems at Marine Corps Systems Command, told an audience at Modern Day Marine military expo at Quantico, Virginia, Tuesday that the new suit would likely need to be lighter.
More importantly, the new suit must be compatible with the self-contained breathing apparatus necessary to operate in the suit. The current variety is not compatible with the breathing apparatus, Stower said.
Stower said the Corps is assessing what the Army is doing with its EOD bomb technician suit, but indicated that Marine officials would continue to evaluate needs as the replacement is developed.
The colonel said in his presentation that they would put the request for industry proposal out in the second quarter of FY19.
Other equipment upgrades for the Marine EOD community include remote fuse disassembly systems and a larger panel X-ray system, both due to industry by the third quarter of FY19.
In other areas, the logistics commander is looking for water purification systems, power management systems, advanced, rugged solar panels and mobile electric hybrid power sources, with all proposals due to industry in FY18.
Todd South has written about crime, courts, government and the military for multiple publications since 2004 and was named a 2014 Pulitzer finalist for a co-written project on witness intimidation. Todd is a Marine veteran of the Iraq War.
