Photoluminescent Products for Tactical Vehicles

Photoluminescent Products for Tactical Vehicles

Defense Holdings, Inc.® (DHi) is offering its AfterGlow® Brand photoluminescent (PL) safety products and AfterGlo® Brand PL paint for a variety of military and law enforcement vehicle applications. DHi has pioneered the PL safety product market and is currently the largest installer of PL safety products in the United States.

DHi is supplying its AfterGlow® Brand Photoluminescent (PL) Emergency Egress Lighting™ Kits to the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps to improve Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle safety and our Warfighters’ emergency egress capabilities. MRAP vehicles are armored fighting vehicles designed to survive IED (Improvised Explosive Device) attacks, mines and ambushes. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) determined that MRAP exits and escape hatches needed to be positively marked or illuminated to aid emergency egress. After evaluations and review, DHi’s Emergency Egress Lighting™ Kits were selected for rapid field installation inside the troop compartment and driver/passenger sections of all MRAP vehicles in order to provide the Warfighter with simple, highly-reliable emergency markings. DHi is presently working with DoD and manufacturers to define kits for other types of platforms.

The U.S. Department of Defense MRAP Joint Program Office released a Safety of Use Message (SOUM) (DTG 081829Z JAN 09) for the “illumination of exits and escape hatches of mine resistant ambush protected family of vehicles.” The JPO message directs the purchase and installation of “photoluminescent magnets/tape in locations that will clearly identify all exits and escape hatches” to prevent personnel injury or death if the interior of an MRAP vehicle becomes dark during an emergency egress event.

U.S. Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM), Life Cycle Management Command (LCMC) recently released its own Safety of Use (SOU) Message 09-010 for the “Marking and Illumination of exits and escape hatches on all MRAP vehicles” to all Army MRAP units (DTG 211723Z NOV 08). This message directs the purchase and installation of “MRAP Photoluminescent (PL) Emergency Egress Kits or individual PL safety tapes as needed” into their vehicles as a quick safety solution to assist occupants during emergency egress in no light situations.

Similarly, the U.S Air Force has issued its own SOUM identifying DHi’s products and directing their installation. The Marine Corps Systems Command is also issuing a maintenance advisory message for Force Protection’s Cougar vehicles which will include the NSN 9390 01 570 7240 for the Cougar Emergency Egress Lighting Kit™. It is anticipated this requirement may soon be levied on other DoD combat vehicles as well.

All of these messages identify Defense Holdings, Inc® (DHi®) as the sole producer of the products, such as the Photoluminescent (PL) Emergency Egress™ Kits, and either provide our website (www.afterglowdirect.com) for ordering our products or direct that they be ordered via the Defense Logistics Agency.  Thus far, we have shipped more than 12,000 of these kits.

Currently, DHi has three types of kits available depending on the type of MRAP vehicle and the needs of each unit. They are the MRAP Basic Kit, the MRAP Cougar Kit, and the MRAP Buffalo Kit. All Emergency Egress Lighting Kits and most kit components have been assigned NSNs.

  • The MRAP Basic™ Kit consists of 100 feet of 1-inch wide PL tape with magnetic backing and 25 feet of adhesively-backed (peel and stick) PL tape.
  • The MRAP Cougar Kit contains 100 feet of peel and stick PL tape, 25 feet of PL/magnetic tape, two retro-reflective PL markings for fire extinguishers, and 100 individually wrapped alcohol wipes for preparing/cleaning installation sites. The amount of magnetically backed PL tape and peel and stick PL tape in the Cougar Kits have been reversed because of the non-magnetic spall liners used throughout the Cougar MRAP vehicles.
  • The MRAP Buffalo Kit contains 25 feet of 1-inch wide PL tape with magnetic backing and 25 feet of adhesively backed (peel and stick) PL tape. It also contains two retro-reflective PL markings for fire extinguishers, and 50 individually wrapped alcohol wipes for preparing/cleaning installation sites.

DHi’s PL phosphors are non-radioactive and are non-toxic. Since the wavelength of the emitted light is outside of the range of IR Night Vision Goggles, use of the paint does not interfere with operator visibility or make the vehicle more vulnerable to hostile visual detection.

DHi has pioneered the photoluminescent safety product market and is currently the largest installer of photoluminescent safety products in the United States. You have undoubtedly seen our AfterGlow® PL safety products throughout The Pentagon or in many other locations around the country. Our products are also used onboard a number of U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships and are being used extensively throughout the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77).

DHi conducts PL research and development at our Trenton, NC facility where we develop and manufacture/convert our products. Our scientists, engineers and installers have many years of experience working with PL products and would be pleased to work with your team to apply our PL engineering expertise and PL safety products to your tactical vehicles. We believe that our experts can develop optimized emergency egress lighting systems tailored for your range of military or law enforcement vehicles that would be similar to the “quick response” kits described above, designed for Warfighter installations on MRAPs in the field.