Industry Interview: ADSI
.jpg)
Anthony J. Piscitelli
President and CEO
ADSI
Q: How did American Defense Systems, Inc. [ADSI] begin its work for the DoD?
A: We started out as a company that engineered physical security solutions for challenging law enforcement and government needs, mainly in hardening sensitive locations such as command posts, headquarters, court houses and jails. Eventually, word about the ballistic capabilities of our indigenous glass reached several agencies tasked with dignitary protection. The military learned about our glass and our opaque armor designs, and asked us to help out with up-armoring tasks for HMMWVs being deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. Our transparent and opaque solutions were enhanced by unique qualities, such as egress windows and emergency combat locks, and the DoD took serious notice of our capabilities.
Q: What vehicles does ADSI armor today?
A: We were always a company centered on providing our clients with specific solutions for situations when all others said it couldn’t be done. Several years ago several commands within the U.S. military approached us concerning up-armoring construction gear headed for Iraq and Afghanistan. We designed, engineered, produced and outfitted our first kits for this contract in less than 60 days. Ever since, from USMC TRAM loaders to JCB HMEEs, from USMC 50-ton cranes to U.S. Army D7Gs bulldozers, we have developed a reputation as an innovator in the design and fabrication of armor kits for heavy equipment and engineering vehicles. We have also entertained requests for commercial vehicles, as well. And, we are proudest of the fact that to date, of all the vehicles we have armored that have been attacked by snipers, RPGs and IEDs, we haven’t suffered a Purple Heart or a KIA.
Q: How has ADSI moved into the special operations market?
A: On the vehicles side, we are working, along with several partners, on the design and manufacture of several armored vehicle prototypes that are fast, durable and mission-specific for short-term and longterm DoD needs. We are also branching out into body armor designed for special operations personnel, as well as designing lighter weight solutions for ballistic helmets that can withstand the impact of 7.62 mm steel core rounds. We have also opened, here at our headquarters in New York, the American Institute for Defense and Tactical Studies, a center of excellence for the training of military warfighters and law enforcement special operations personnel. The institute will host classes taught by some of the world’s most preeminent subject matter experts in the fields of counterterrorism, Middle Eastern and Jihadist mindset, critical incident management, post-blast forensics, tactical medicine and many more. And, the centerpiece of this institute will be the ADSI T2 (tactical trainer) live-fire interactive training system.
Q: Can you talk a bit more about T2?
A: T2 is a live-fire interactive training system, used by some of the top tier counterterrorist units in Europe, which provides police officers, SWAT team members, federal agents and warfighters with the opportunity to hone their firearms and tactical survival skills sets by using their own weapons and ammunition in conjunction with realistic and high-impact video scenarios shown on a large life-like screen. T2 is designed to enhance combat realism by allowing tactical professionals to move away from paper targets and to interact, in the most realistic way possible—with their sidearms, MP5s, M4s, and even weapons with .308 calibers—with scenarios that can be made in-house, by units using the system. Unlike systems that rely upon animation to reenact battlefield-like conditions, T2 enables units and departments to react to an incident or a battle, use store-bought video equipment to film and replicate that incident, and then have personnel training on a reality-based scenario a day or so later.
Q: Is ADSI moving away from its armor roots and into training and simulation?
A: Not at all, in fact T2 fits in ideally with our corporate mission statement. When we started ADSI in 2002, we did so with the philosophy that we are here to protect and serve those who defend, serve and protect us. Our armor systems are an extension of that mission statement in that we want to be one step ahead of the enemy and produce systems that, by weight, function, design and ingenuity, protect our warfighters, our policemen and our elected officials. Our engineers are diligently working to make sure that we are ready to provide our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines with the next generation of armor that can defend against the sophisticated IEDs that the terrorists are developing.
We are also heavily involved in physical security work and the hardening of critical infrastructure with a line of products for use at high-threat installations and diplomatic posts around the world. T2, and the training we now offer, is an additional extension of our philosophy. If we, with classroom instruction, or technological advances like the T2 system, can help a warfighter or police officer get home to their families in one piece, then we are doing our job. ♦