Force Protection Equipment, Systems on Show

WASHINGTON, D.C. /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The stakes are high, the equipment is real and the demonstrations will be live August 14-16, when American industry and firms from around the world demonstrate their best available force protection equipment and systems at Stafford Regional Airport, Stafford, VA, and Marine Corps Base, Quantico, VA.

The 2007 Force Protection Equipment Demonstration (FPED VI) will be the sixth edition of the event, which has been produced every two years since 1997. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at that time determined there was a need for heightened awareness of commercial off-the-shelf equipment and systems for continually evolving threats against U.S. personnel and interests.

The objective of FPED VI is to provide military and civilian leaders and other decision-makers with opportunities to observe and become familiar with force protection equipment that can be available for procurement and testing within 90 days of the August demonstration.

Nearly 600 exhibitors will display and demonstrate more than 3000 items of equipment and systems at Stafford Regional Airport, just off Interstate 95, between Quantico and Fredericksburg, VA. Additionally, demonstrations requiring the firing of weapons or use of explosives will be presented on live fire and explosive ordnance ranges at Marine Corps Base, Quantico. Detailed information on FPED VI is available on the event's Web site. An online registration link for all attendees is posted under the "FPED VI Attendees" heading on the Web site.

The demonstration is an unclassified presentation that is not open to the public. Personnel from the Department of Defense, other federal departments and agencies, and state and local law enforcement and corrections agencies, as well as members of the press, are invited to register and attend. The event is being conducted by the U.S. Army Product Manager, Force Protection Systems, under the sponsorship of the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics, the Joint Staff, the Department of Energy, the National Institute of Justice, and the Technical Support Working Group.

Attendees can expect to see robotics displays, in-flight unmanned aerial vehicles, seismic and infrared sensors being activated by foot and moving vehicle patrols, and a number of explosive protection barriers and other products evaluated against 50-pound blasts of TNT.

Categories of items to be demonstrated include: automated entry control systems/equipment; armored and utility vehicles; biometrics; blast protection/mitigation; cargo inspection devices; chemical and biological detection, mitigation, and protective equipment; communications equipment; delay and denial technology; explosives detection systems; explosive ordnance disposal equipment; fence sensor systems; individual protective equipment; night-vision and optics devices; non-lethal weapons and technology; physical security equipment sensor and surveillance systems robotic vehicles and systems; unattended ground sensors; unmanned aerial vehicles; vulnerability assessment/analysis software tools; and waterside security equipment.