SpecialOperations.com

Zero Tolerance’s Best EDC To Date?

The Zero Tolerance 0900 is a collaboration between Zero Tolerance and Les George. Les George has been a custom knife maker and designer since 1992. In 1997 he enlisted in the Marine Corps to work within the Explosive Ordinance Disposal – EOD – and served there for 10 years. After his honorable service, Les George went through machinist school courtesy of the GI Bill. With his combined machinist training and service in the Marine Corps, he has a unique perspective on what should go into a blade and what actually works in the field. This is reflected in his design of the ZT 0900.

Style of Knife: This is a small yet stout EDC (everyday carry) knife – you could call it a stubby. The blade has a wide belly which assists in easier cutting for all your EDC tasks.

Blade Length: 2.7″ Long / Closed length is 3.9″ / Overall length is 6.6″

Type of Edge: Clip point design for precision cutting.

Blade and Handle Materials: The blade material is a stainless S35VN with a satin stone wash. Both the handle and frame lock are machined titanium. Both the stone washed blade and all titanium handle/lock give the blade an extremely durable finish and the look of a higher end custom knife.

Blade-and-Handle_opt — Titanium Handle & S35VN Blade

Weight: 4.3 oz

MSRP: $240 direct from Zero Tolerance. Can be found on Amazon for a little less.

Unique Features: Manual opening with the Kershaw Velocity Technology – KVT – ball bearing system. The frame lock contains a hardened steel lockbar insert. Reversible deep carry pocket clip for left or right side carry.

pocket-clip_opt — Deep carry pocket clip

Application: Everyday carry for the prepared citizen, law enforcement and military.

Pros: Designed by a combat veteran and made in the USA.

Cons: Due to the nature of the titanium handle, it can get a little slippery in wet conditions or if your hands are really cold and you start to lose basic dexterity.

Bottom Line/Overall Performance: The ZT 0900 is a compact knife. The blade is shorter – under 3″ – making it very convenient to carry almost anywhere without violating local knife laws. This knife has an amazing solid an tight construction consistent with Zero Tolerance’s philosophy.

– Scott Witner for LoadoutRoom.com

From The Cockpit: U.S. Airpower At Its Finest!

Alright FighterSweep fans, we know that you absolutely love to watch airplane videos!

So do we, as a matter of fact…a lot. That being the case, just for you, we have put together this little gem and we’re sure you’re going to love it.

As a group, we have amassed quite a collection of footage over the years we’ve been doing this–from several different platforms and a wide range of locations–and we feel it’s about time to share our first demo reel with you!

This clip features some of our nation’s best in action: Alabama Air National Guard F-16s topping off at the tanker before dropping some live ordnance, a B-2 launching at dusk for a nighttime mission over the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), an LUH-72 Lakota in a striking OPFOR paint scheme over Fort Irwin, California, and much more.

We hope this video gets you just as pumped as we are about U.S. air power. We are thrilled to be able to share with you all, and we would like to dedicate this to the outstanding men and women that serve our country day in and day out, wherever their call to duty might take them.

We have much, much more to bring you and our collection of homegrown video seems to grow each day, so much so that our video editors are having a hard time keeping up!

Stay tuned!

– Scott Wolff for FighterSweep.com

An Ideal Everyday Carry Light: Olight M18 Striker Flashlight

A good everyday carry light in my opinion is a must. Along with my blade, I carry one everywhere. A flashlight can make an ideal weapon in a non permissive environment where you cannot carry a concealed firearm or even a blade. Recently, I was traveling out of state for work, which meant I wasn’t able to carry a gun or blade. My only option was my light. I threw my Streamlight ProTac 2L in my bag and went through security without any issues. Even on a plane, a light with a decent strike bezel can subdue a would-be threat. Never underestimate the capabilities of a quality everyday carry light.

Recently I came across the Olight M18 Striker light. Olight also makes a version of the M18 without the strike bezel, but I’m a sucker for a good quality strike bezel on my everyday carry light. Another feature to look for in an everyday carry light is the pocket clip. Most lights in this category have pocket clips, but the Olight seems to be a deeper carry than most – I prefer this.

Specifications:

Weight: 0.0575 kg

Dimensions: 5.24″ long x 0.91″ in diameter

Power Source: Powered by two CR123a, two RCR123a or a single 18650 battery. I prefer the CR123 batteries due to their extended shelf life when not in use. The batteries are housed in a plastic sleeve in order to ensure a solid electrical connection and to reduce the noise of the batteries rattling around.

Pocket-Clip1-e1431890773482-up — Deep Carry Pocket Clip

Runtime:

High Mode: 800 Lumen / 1.8 hrs – Overheat protection ramps down initial output after one minute to the low setting
Low Mode: 150 Lumen / 8 hrs
Strobe Mode: 10Hz

batteries-up — Two CR123 batteries contained in a plastic sleeve inside the flashlight.

Lens: Glass Lens – protected by the strike bezel

Strike-Bezel-e1431894035552 — Strike bezel into a tree!

Light: 800-Lumen high setting and 150-Lumen low setting. The low setting is never kept in memory, so you have instant access to the 800-Lumen high setting for defensive use. Simplicity under stress is key to surviving an attack.

Impact Resistance: The stainless steel bezel provides extra protection for the lens against drops.

Water Resistance: waterproof up to two meters.

MSRP: Can be found on Amazon for just over $50.00!

Uses: Personal defense, hiking, exploring caves or other dark areas, camping, and everyday household use.

– Scott Witner for LoadoutRoom.com

Snake Bite Review: A Perfect Beer Pour From a Can

I’ll bet that many of you have poured a beer a little too quickly and had it mostly turn to foam. I know I have. It’s annoying to sit and wait for the foam to subside, or worse, to pour out the foam, wasting time and tasty beverage. Well, I’ve found a solution to my troubles in the Original Snake Bite.

When it comes to beverage accessories, you can find a product for just about everything. In reality, most are junk and a complete waste of money and space. When I first saw the Original Snake Bite, that’s pretty much what I thought it was going to be. I’ve been carrying this thing on my keychain for the last month and I have to admit – I was wrong.

The first thing that made me actually give the Snake Bite a legitimate run-through was their pour-test video (below). This is all dependent on the carbonation level of the beer you are pouring, but even then, it beats out any regular can pour. Even the guys at Snake Bite will tell you that pours may vary from beer to beer. But overall, I found it an awesome bottle opener/beer-pouring accessory.

If you only drink your beer out of the can, well, this isn’t the product for you. If you like to drink your beer out of a pint glass or an innovative beer receptacle like the Hydro Flask True Pint, believe me, you want this. Not only does the Snake Bite give you the smoothest pour out of a can, but it’s 100 percent American-sourced and -made.

From its protective cowhide sheath (so you don’t accidentally stab yourself in the inner thigh or worse while carrying it in your pocket) to the razor-sharp steel, you can count on quality craftsmanship.

To test it, I poured the beers much faster than an average pour. When poured slowly, the vent holes provided by the Snake Bite eliminated extra head from an imperfect pour. As I said earlier, no one wants to wait around for the head to subside or pour out precious beer.

The Bottom Line

You can now smoothly pour your ice cold Hamms, the champagne of beers, Olympia, Coors Light, or even hipster beers like Pabst or Montucky just like they came from the tap. Ok, maybe not quite, but the video below will give you the idea. The Snake Bite also comes in handy if you want to feel like you’ve warped back to your college years to shotgun some beers.

As craft breweries start to can their beer more and more frequently, this product couldn’t have arrived at a better time. I can drone on about how convenient the Snake Bite is, or you can watch the videos and see for yourself that you should get out and get an Original Snake Bite.

– Isaiah Burkhart for LoadoutRoom.com

From The Cockpit: Checkered Flag

Within the construct of our military is a capability known as the Global Response Force (GRF). Its sole purpose is to provide the Secretary of Defense with a menu of rapidly deployable forces. It enhances the ability of the United States to respond quickly to a variety of contingencies world-wide, and its presence has the potential to deter conflict. The GRF has components representative of our air, land, and maritime capabilities.

In order to prepare the combat air forces (CAF) components of the GRF to deploy, there is a large theater-level combat training and integration exercise hosted by the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group at Tyndall Air Force Base called Checkered Flag. It is an event designed to get the GRF commands to spin-up for their vulnerability period (VUL) as a team, which increases their effectiveness when called upon to deploy.

From a tactical perspective, Checkered Flag executes large force employment exercises representative of real-world threats in areas the GRF could deploy to. That is, all of the training scenarios are reality-based, utilizing threat-replication measures to make the exercise as real and robust as possible.

A Lockheed-Martin F-22A Raptor rages through the airspace above Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska during a combat airpower demonstration.

In this home-grown FighterSweep video, we follow along with an F-15E Strike Eagle crew from the 335th Fighter Squadron, based at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. You’ll see them gearing up for their flight, pre-flight preparation, and although we can’t show you the live missile shots and some of the other aspects of the exercise, you will see the jet as it rejoins with two Wild Weasel F-16s from the 79th Fighter Squadron at Shaw AFB, as well as an F-22 Raptor from the 525 FS at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska.

Enjoy the ride over the Gulf of Mexico during a beautiful day this past December!

– Written by Scott Wolff for Fightersweep.com

Zero Tolerance Knife 0566: Review

Having a knife in your everyday carry kit is a rule that all individuals should follow. There are so many times during a day when a knife is needed. Whether opening a package, prying open a case of ammo at the range, or protecting yourself, a knife can be indispensable. Saying that, I would not consider myself a knife connoisseur, but I know quality when it’s there. Any handler of the Zero Tolerance Knife 0566 will recognize its craftsmanship and almost overbuilt quality immediately.

The Zero Tolerance Knife 0566 is truly built like a tank. Watch the short video below to see some of the unique features and how easy it is to deploy the blade on this finely crafted tool.

The Zero Tolerance Knife 0566 blade is made from ELMAX steel. ELMAX has only been around for about six years, making it fairly new in the blade market. The blade is made using a powdered metallurgy-based production. This means it’s made from a blend of fine-powdered materials and compacted under very high pressures and temperatures to create the blade. One cool bit about the process is that it produces very little waste and scrap material. Being the Zero Tolerance Knife 0566 blade is 18 percent chromium, is it very corrosion resistant.

Zero Tolerance 0566 Knife recommended uses

Everyday carry (EDC) – Designed for deep-pocket carry, the hardness of the blade’s steel and its corrosion resistance makes this knife well-suited for everyday abuse.
This is great for those who spend time in a variety of environmental conditions. In saltwater, lakes, rivers, or while on snowy mountains, I haven’t had to worry about damaging this knife or possible corrosion.
I have broken down boxes, busted open ammo crates, cut a variety of cords and ropes, and chopped up kindling with no noticeable wear to the blade.

Zero Tolerance has a limited lifetime warranty on all of their products. If you happen to snap the tip off your knife, Zero Tolerance will replace the blade for $30. I can’t imagine it would be very easy to break this blade, but on the off-chance it happens, you’ll know the repair bill will be very reasonable. When you purchase a Zero Tolerance Knife, it’s evident you are purchasing a knife from a company who cares and stands by their work.

MSRP: $180

For ZT’s full line of knives, go here.

From The Cockpit: A Day At The Beach

There is a long string of barrier islands extending north to south (ish) approximately two hundred miles from the southeastern corner of Virginia and it covers most of the coastline of neighboring North Carolina. Known as the Outer Banks, they are the narrow islands separating the Atlantic Ocean from Currituck Sound, Albemarle Sound, and Pamlico Sound and are known for their beautiful beaches, pretty nice weather, and historical landmarks.

Especially noteworthy for you aviation history buffs is the Wright brothers‘ first flight took place on December 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills near the seafront town of Kitty Hawk. Present day, given the proximity of Dare County Bombing Range, it is not uncommon for the beach-goers to look up and see Boeing F-15E Strike Eagles transiting the airspace at low level.

Sun, sand, Strike Eagles, the sound of freedom echoing off the water?? Definitely not a bad way to spend an afternoon, we’d say!

In this video, we are back inside the cockpit of the Mighty Mud Hen, thanks again to our awesome friend “Ditch,” as a four-ship of jets based at Seymour Johnson AFB in Goldsboro takes a very lazy afternoon tour of the outer banks on a beautiful, sunny day.

It was the fini-flight of the WSO in the pit of Ditch’s jet, and we think he chose a pretty nice afternoon with some great scenery to enjoy his last ride in a Dark Gray. Anyone else agree?

SEW_2200 — A Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle from the 4 FW at Seymour Johnson AFB going vertical during an airpower demonstration.

– Written by Scott Wolff for FighterSweep.com

From The Cockpit: Air Power Demo

Welcome back, FighterSweep Fans! This week we take you into the cockpit of the mighty Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle, courtesy of “Ditch” and “Stealth,” two instructors at the 334th Fighter Squadron, a Strike Eagle Formal Training Unit (FTU) part of the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.

The footage takes us through a combat airpower demonstration held in April of 2012 during the Shaw (AFB) Air Fest, the biannual airshow hosted by the 20 FW. Participating were the two Strike Eagles, a pair of Republic A-10C Warthogs from the 74 FS, and a four-ship of Lockheed-Martin F-16CJs from the 77 FS.

The basic premise was simple: full rage. The Vipers and Strikes blaze through the airspace in full ‘burner, max performing both offensively and defensively, providing cover for the Hawgs rolling in to simulate CAS and defeating simulated ground threats by popping flares and performing gut-wrenching high-G turns out of the target area.

SEW_2184 — A Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle passes through the target area and dispenses flares to defeat a simulated, ground-based IR missile threat.

In this video clip, you’ll get to experience the raw power of the Strike Eagle as it tears through the airspace, propelled by its two Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engines. You’ll see the variable geometry inlet adjusting the airflow into the engine at various power settings and angles of attack, as well as vapor exploding off the wings and fuselage in spectacular fashion as the airspeed and G increase.

So buckle up and hold on. It’s going to be a wild ride!

– Written by Scott Wolff for FighterSweep.com

From The Cockpit: Lake Powell Low Level

In our last video, you saw the gut-wrenching reality of dogfighting in the defensive position from the cockpit of a Lockheed-Martin F-16CM Fighting Falcon. In this video, we illustrate what it’s like to conduct a low-level, visual flight rules (VFR) sortie along a Military Training Route, or MTR.

MTRs are corridors through which military aircraft can operate below 10,000 feet mean sea level (MSL) in excess of 250 knots indicated air speed (KIAS), the speed all other aircraft are restricted to when operating at or below that altitude–per the Federal Aviation Administration‘s regulations.

These training routes are a joint venture between the FAA and the Department of Defense to provide for high-speed, low-level flight operations for tactical platforms. In other words, you won’t see C-5s or KC-10s flying through the canyons. Generally speaking, air combat or special operations assets would utilize a low-level MTR on a consistent basis. Occasionally the heavies will do such a thing, but only under specific circumstances–a C-130 conducting a low-level air drop mission, for example.

“We train low level flying to evade radar detection through direct or indirect terrain masking,” the F-16 pilot in this video explains.

NG-404_SWC_2012-03-13_FSJH-2 — Just prior to converting to Super Hornets, this C-model from VFA-192 the “World Famous Golden Dragons” is descending through Star Wars Canyon on the Sidewinder Route in Death Valley, CA. SSHWFGD!

Tactical aviators must train to this particular skill set and given the right environment and threat, it is a viable tactic in a combat environment. When available, flying below vertical terrain features, or between them, can allow a striker like the F-15E, F-16, or F/A-18 to get into a WEZ without being seen, increasing the chances of destroying a defended ground target before its position is detected and the adversary has an opportunity to repel the attack.

“US and especially British aircrews learned very harsh lessons during Operation Desert Storm of how detrimental it is to our survivability to fly at those low altitudes during combat without having terrain to hide behind,” the Viper Driver went on to say.

This is a perfect visual illustration of how the technique works. Not many get to see Lake Powell and the surrounding canyons from this perspective, so enjoy it!

– Written by Scott Wolff for FighterSweep.com

From The Cockpit: Defensive BFM

FighterSweep Fans, the moment has arrived. This is our very first “organic” From The Cockpit video, featuring two Lockheed-Martin Block 42 F-16CMs dueling over the desert in the Southwest.

So what are we looking at here? The camera is in the cockpit of of the Instructor Pilot’s jet, and as you can see from The Patch on his left shoulder, this IP is a graduate of the United States Air Force Weapons School. This day’s lesson consisted of 9K, 6K, and 3K setups for Defensive BFM, or Basic Fighter Manuevers.

What is Defensive BFM? Simply stated, you are in the WORST position a fighter pilot can ever be in. It’s the proverbial “Knife Fight in a phone booth,” where your bandit has somehow obtained a position of advantage at or near your six o’clock and has entered his gun WEZ (weapons engagement zone).

When you think of Defensive BFM, think of very High-G, difficult maneuvers that are executed while straining your neck to watch what the bandit behind you is doing. There’s no magic move, so to avoid getting yourself killed, you’re going to have to work really, really hard.

Something to keep in mind? If you fly perfect Defensive BFM and your bandit happens to fly perfect Offensive BFM, your family is going to be planting flowers next to your name in a garden of stone. That’s a fact. So your objective is to cause problems for your bad guy and force him to make a mistake. If he doesn’t, all you can do is make him work really hard to kill you, try to force an overshoot, regain a position of advantage, and own his ass.

Sounds simple, right?

It’s neck-straining, gut-wrenching, breath-stealing, rivet-popping brutal. So from the comfort of your easy chair, strap into the Viper and ride along with this experienced IP while he tries to teach his student to kill him–and stay alive at the same time.

Fight’s On!

– Written by Scott Wolff for FighterSweep.com