Page 23: of Marine News Magazine (June 2020)

Combat & Patrol Craft Annual

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Wing Group points out that people are the greatest asset. “Any technolo- gies that can further leverage the combat effectiveness of the operators will continue to be at the forefront of the develop- ment curve,” he says. “Something as simple as Wing’s CRRC (combat rubber raiding craft – small black in?atable boats that are so important to the special forces community), need to be evolved. Wing has introduced innovations to that prod- uct line each year for the last ?ve years culminating in a com- plete revamp of the platform for this year. We brought a large number of users together to share a host of different concepts that were all designed to reduce operator stress.”

New fabrics are also being developed across the group. “We are looking to unveil a ?fth-generation polyurethane fabric that is twice as durable, lighter and even more UV resistant.

Our dropstitch fabric design innovations are bringing com- pletely new boating designs to light. We have a fully in?atable boat design that reduces operator body G force by over 50%.

Our Patten company is using fabric and construction technol- ogy to dramatically reduce both the weight and footprint of our rafts by 35%.”

Among other ongoing innovations, while Mustang is devel- oping pilot ?ight suits that enhance comfort and effectiveness,

Henshaw has brought reduced radar cross section concepts to the marketplace and our Fabtek is examining ways to improve quality across all applications.

“We are constantly ?nding that our growth comes from technical solutions,” Branagh says.