Joint Service General Purpose Mask (JSGPM) Page!
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The Avon Rubber & Plastics lead team is now mid-way through its current three-year system design and demonstration (SDD) phase of the new Joint Service General Purpose Mask (JSGPM) designated the XM50/XM51. The system is being developed to replace the current M40/M42 series of masks, mask carriers and accessories for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps as well as the MCU-2/P masks for the U.S. Air Force and Navy.
The JSGPM is being developed to provide the joint services with a protective mask that is lighter, more comfortable and better able to meet current and new threats from chemical and biological agents and selected toxic industrial materials. The program features the successful design and integration of innovative technologies to provide the U.S. joint forces with the most advanced mask in the world.
The technological improvements for the JSGPM mask include innovative filter technologies, advanced lens materials, new blended face-piece material technology and an overall low maintenance design.
The filter technologies incorporate a revolutionary design that will allow the filters to be placed significantly closer to the face hence increasing weapon and systems compatibility and improve the overall vision of the warfighter. This design will also significantly reduce breathing resistance thereby decreasing the physical burden to the warfighter. In addition, the filters will also include toxic industrial materials and toxic industrial chemicals protection to enhance the ability of the warfighter to perform at peak levels in a multitude of hostile environments.
The new JSGPM design also features an advanced single eyepiece, which provides users with an improved field of view and more visual clarity as compared to currently fielded mask systems. Although the eyepiece is a fully flexible single lens that can be folded to allow for easy storage in a smaller carrying case, the lens still provides the user with CB and ballistic protection. As the lens is located closer to the user’s eyes, it will provide better interface with current and future combat systems such as night vision and weapons-sighting systems, as well as conventional weapons.
The material that is being used for the face-piece of the JSGPM is a mix of polymer materials in a unique blended form. This combination will allow the face-piece to provide better full CB protection without a second skin as well and better fit and comfort.
The combination of the improved filters, advanced lens and the use of new face-piece blended materials for the JSGPM mask reduces the overall weight and bulk of the new mask while also dramatically increasing the protective capabilities for the warfighter.
Development of the JSGPM incorporates military user trials performed by both the joint and individual services. Additional requirements include material and system agent testing to ensure that there is no leakage of the toxic agents into the masks. Environmental testing is also being done to confirm that the new JSGPM will perform properly and can be stored, transported and utilized in all environments globally.
The mission target of achieving at least a 50 percent performance improvement in the new protective mask is expected to be met in all critical areas, while at the same time reducing the overall physical and logistics burden to the warfighter. Advancements in all performance specification areas are meeting or exceeding the joint service customer expectations.
Avon Rubber & Plastics of Cadillac, MI, is the team leader and prime contractor for the JSGPM program. The JSGPM integrated product team includes Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) of Abingdon, MD, Guild Associates of Dublin, OH, and the joint services of the U.S. DoD. The benchmark cradle-to-grave contract includes all development, testing, production and options for contractor logistics support. The continuous communication between the different team members ensures that the joint services and the individual war fighter will receive a mask system that not only satisfies their current and future needs but also goes beyond their expectations.
The JSGPM team is scheduled to complete the SDD phase at the end of the 2nd quarter of FY05 before transitioning to low rate initial, then full rate, production. The initial fielding by the joint services of the new JSGPM mask system is planned for FY06, with an acquisition objective of full procurement of two to three million masks during the following 10 years. In addition, there are plans to qualify the new JSGPM for use by first responders and civil support teams in support of homeland security.
Gary Dunn works for Avon Rubber & Plastics Inc.
Excerpts from JSGPM Article for the PAO at Natick:
Joint Service /Avon Team Develop Revolutionary CB Protective Mask
By John G. Maruscak, PM-NBCDS
The Joint Service General Purpose Mask (JSGPM), currently in Program Definition RiskReduction (PDRR) phase, will be the next generation ground/ ship, and combat vehicle chemical and biological (CB) protective respirator replacing the USAF and USN MCU-2A/P series mask and the USMC and USA M-40 series mask. Using the entire Soldier and Biological Command’s vast experience inmask and soldier equipment development for over 50 years, we have the technical expertise and capability in facilities and personnel to manage the development of a totally revolutionary mask, fully integrated into the Warfighters’ combat ensemble for the next generation.
This mask, designated the XM-50 (ground and shipboard use) and XM-51 (combat vehicle crew use), will provide the Warfighters with a cheaper, easier to maintain, more durable mask while achieving better protection to a broader range of threat requirements. Our goals are to have improvement in performance against CB agents, Toxic Industrial Materials and Nuclear particulate matter, an improvement in field of view, compatibility with interfacing equipment, such as the JSLIST, reduced weight and bulk, and significantly reduced breathing resistance. The system unit price will be lower than existing masks and with the lower maintenance costs, the Total Ownership Costs (TOC)will be reduced least fifty percent. How can this be accomplished? Advances in scienceand technology in materials, filtration media, and manufacturing methods contribute tothese improvements and lower costs that were not possible in past years. The system’s First Unit Equipped is scheduled for 4th quarter 2006.
In his opening and welcome remarks to the audience of over 80 government and contractor personnel, Col Reeves, the Project Manager for NBCDS and lead materiel developer for this joint service protective mask program, stated that in terms of a development program the progress made has been remarkable. The contractor has been able to progress from the Award to the Start of Work to the Pre-Concept Review to the Concept Review, while maintaining the proposed schedule and costs. The three concept prototypes displayed,represented the culmination of much research and years of experience and corporateinformation exchanged since award of the contract as well as additional compatibilitytesting. This testing included the current Land Warrior system with Human Engineering Research laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD. The concepts represent a revolutionary change in mask design and filter technology. Col Reeves said “the joint-service management sought to make the mask more comfortable.” “It's lighter than the current M-40 or MCU-2/P masks and easier to see through than previous masks”.
"Unlike some prior masks that had binocular eyepieces, the joint-service mask has a single eyepiece," Col Reeves said. "This gives the service member much greater field of view. We're testing this vision piece to ensure it will interface with night vision equipment, any weapon-sighting systems, as well as individual weapons."
He said, “the filter technology is probably the biggest and most radical change advancement”. “One objective is to reduce breathing resistance by half”, he said. “This means it won't be so tiring to use because it will take less work to breathe”. To achieve this the filter designers, Avon and its subcontractor, Guild Associates, are looking at several different filter media, a radical departure from the traditional filter bed. There are risks to doing this but the benefits are substantial. The ability to make a smaller canister and shape it in different configurations to fully integrate it into the mask helps with increasing the field of view and improving the equipment compatibility, a major program thrust, and a major measure of success. Some additional features in the mask will include color coded repair parts for easy identification, a filter shelf life indicator, the ability to safely and quickly change filters while in a contaminated environment, and an improved drinking system for easier use and greater flow of liquids.
We are also investing a lot of time and effort into looking at the logistics issues in the early design stages and designing ease of maintenance into the mask. The maintenance concept is to have all maintenance at the operator and unit level with limited repair with replacement of piece parts. The repair parts NSN’s will be reduced from thirty-six for the current mask to twelve. A sustainment study is looking at the supply support considerations such as Contractor Logistics Support and/or Direct Vendor Delivery.
We are attempting to do whatever it takes to assure we exceed our customers expectations, the soldier, sailor, airmen and marines. We include the uniformed service representatives in our IPT structure and assure they attend our program and contractor review meetings. They are invaluable since they have the first hand knowledge and experience that we as engineers, logisticians and technicians don’t. “Keeping the lines of communication open between product developers and those who will ultimately use the mask is paramount,” said Capt Matt Seipt, Project Officer for the Marine Corps. “The JSGPM team is exactly that – a ‘team’ – and to that end I am confident the final result of this program will truly be a mask that satisfies, and even goes beyond, Service expectations.”
