U.S. Special Operations Command is looking for a new aviation goggle mount and a way to get portable oxygen to troops in need.
Two recent postings under the U.S. Special Operations Command small business innovation research program seek solutions for those two issues among special operations forces.
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SOCOM wants a helmet mount that will work across various aviator helmets with “various night vision goggle systems,” including the AN/AVS-6 and Wide Field of View Aviation Goggles. The mount must also work within the Aviation Night Vision Imaging System mount currently used by special operations forces, according to the listing.
The portable oxygen device must not only hold oxygen but also generate it. The purpose, according to the posting, is to “improve oxygen therapy at point-of-need in an austere, pre-hospital environment.”
Operators need a rugged, compact instrument that can provide oxygen “as far-forward as possible” to cut down on the use of oxygen cylinders, according to the posting.
The Pentagon has focused in recent years on improving the delivery of medical aid in remote and austere locations across the services. Decades of ready medical services during the Global War on Terror allowed for rapid response to medical emergencies and theater evacuations for advanced medical care.
Most war game projects are showing higher casualties and less access to medical care in future conflict than in previous combat operations.
SOFWERX, a platform that conducts research and development for SOCOM, plans to hold a virtual Q&A session on the two initiatives on Feb. 18, according to the listing.
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.
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