TS-1: Enhancing Multi-Capable Airmen Combat Readiness and Weapons Safety

Agile Combat Employment (ACE) doctrine requires Multi-Capable Airmen that can perform various air base activities in a deployed environment - to include air base defense. This requires weapons familiarity and proficiency. Most Airmen are unfamiliar with weapons because they do not handle them in their day to day career fields. In a deployed environment at forward operating bases, this has resulted in DAF/DoD personnel carrying weapons without magazines loaded or rounds in the chamber out of fear of accidental or negligent discharges. In a sudden insider threat situation or if the air base comes under attack, Airmen must be ready to rapidly draw their weapon and engage an adversary in combat. In a sudden firefight, the time it takes to load a magazine and chamber a round can get an Airmen killed. To address this challenge, Gun Guardian proposes to modify and adapt its Trigger Shield-1, One-Stop Opening (TS-1) firearm safety mechanism to enable Multi-Capable Airmen to cover the trigger well of their weapons while deployed and to rapidly transition to “fire” if under attack. The innovation allows a magazine and round to be loaded and chambered while the trigger remains covered, increasing safety while maintaining an elevated combat readiness posture.