Arm your people for war
The CZ BREN 2 automatic carbine in 5,56×45 mm NATO has already been adopted by the Czech Armed Forces, and in the version chambered for 7,62×39 mm was recently used by the French special forces GIGN. .
The period at the turn of the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries was in many ways similar to the so-called. Belle époque covering the period from the end of the Franco-Prussian War to the start of the First World War. After the collapse of communism in Europe and the collapse of the Soviet bloc and the Warsaw Pact, many breathed a sigh of relief, and it became a common belief that the world had finally come to its senses and that, at least in Europe, the threat of a confrontation between two hostile superpowers that had hung over it for the past few dozen years. You can jokingly say that Europe took a breath of fresh air and danced again. However, this euphoria did not last long ...
First, there were unrest in the Balkans, which turned into a civil war for several years, then a conflict broke out between Russia and Ukraine, and chaos reigned in the Middle East. Countries that lived for several years in a sense of unshakable peace and security, having sharply reduced the state of their armed forces and defense spending, suddenly found themselves in a situation where the question once again became relevant: will you protect your freedom and prosperity yourself or will you submit to someone else's will? Probably, there is no country in the world today where the authorities would voluntarily choose the latter option ... In recent years, in addition to the above, the second question has become more and more relevant: how will you defend yourself? The traditional answer, unchanged from biblical times, is: I will arm my people. However, this is easier said than done. It is not easy to produce good weapons, meaning effective, modern and high-quality execution. It is not enough to allow men (today more often women, whose percentage in the armed forces and law enforcement formations is constantly growing) to hand over their weapons and ammunition. A soldier must be dressed in such a way that he feels comfortable and free to move in any conditions. He also needs to be given something that will protect him from enemy violence. However, this is still not enough - the soldier must also be given equipment and equipment that will allow him to carry weapons, ammunition and all other necessary things. If weapons are to be compatible with other equipment, they must be carefully integrated and configured so that they support each other, withstand the impacts that occur during operation in the field, so that they best serve the user and at the same time not interfere with that what matters most to him is to protect his loved ones and their homes from danger.
From the point of view of the customer, many problems with the armament of the ground forces can be eliminated if there is someone who will take on the task of a system integrator, that is, someone who can offer not only individual elements, but also a complete system, interoperable and fully functional. The system integrator is also a provider of end-to-end solutions. However, in order to be able to offer them, it is necessary to know the requirements of the performer, the detailed characteristics of individual elements of the system, and, importantly, to know the nature of the service and the status of the recipient, i.e. soldier. or an officer of an armed formation. Competence and the ability to combine components that are not always compatible in terms of characteristics is what distinguishes an integrator from an ordinary vendor who dumps several products into one bag.
At first glance, it may seem that all of the above applies only to complex weapons systems. However, this is not true - all this can be applied to the armament of an infantryman. Infantry is considered the poor queen of combat. The assertion that only the territory on which our foot stands is safe remains valid. One can venture that today, in an era of asymmetric conflicts, it is relevant in two ways. Such conflicts are not won on the battlefield, but primarily in the hearts and minds of people. Not hidden under armor or flying high above the ground, but ordinary people walking on the ground. Nobody can replace them.
