Aircrew Survival Egress Knife

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ASEK
ASEK

The Aircrew Survival Egress Knife or ASEK is a US Army aircrew survival knife, designed and manufactured by the Ontario Knife Company, and entered service in 2003.[1][2]

Contents

[edit] Features

It has a number of features that aid in escaping an aircraft, such as the ability to be used as a hammer to break plexiglass cockpit windows and cut through an aircraft's aluminum skin. It may also be used as a screwdriver or precision edge marker. It includes a crushed diamond disk sharpener and a separate blade for cutting through seatbelt webbing.[1] The knife is 10.25 inches in length, the blade is 5 inches in length, .1875 inches thick and constructed from 1095 carbon steel.[2]

[edit] Adoption

It was adopted after trials by United States Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center in Natick, Massachusetts using requirements set forth by the United States Army Aviation Branch.[2]

[edit] Gerber LMF II ASEK

The Gerber LMF II ASEK used by SFC Johnson to sever the 220 volt line; arrows point to the minor damage done to the cutting edge by the current
The Gerber LMF II ASEK used by SFC Johnson to sever the 220 volt line; arrows point to the minor damage done to the cutting edge by the current

In May of 2005, Gerber Legendary Blades introduced its own ASEK compliant knife (available commercially under the name LMF II) to the military for evaluation. The Gerber ASEK met all requirements, and outperformed the Ontario model in the area of electrical insulation. During the initial evaluation, the insulated handle was considered to be a desirable but not mandatory. The United States Army Aeromedical Research Lab (USAARL) considered the inability of the Ontario knife to be a catastrophic failure of the standard, and Ontario is redesigning their ASEK to meet this requirement. The Gerber ASEK has been approved for purchase, and Gerber released an additional version with a foliage green handle to match the Army's combat uniform.

The electrically insulated handle has already been credited with saving at least one life. In October of 2005, a platoon of the US 3rd Infantry on an IED patrol in Iraq, was cut off by insurgents and took shelter in a building to wait for backup. The platoon was nearly discovered when the insurgents turned on the lights, but SFC Dillard Johnson, carrying a Gerber LMF II ASEK, was able to cut through a 220 volt electrical line and douse the lights, allowing the platoon to use their night vision advantage to neutralize the threats and wait for evacuation. While SFC Johnson realized the risk inherent in cutting through live electrical wires, he later said “I wasn’t exactly thrilled about having to cut hot lines, but in battle, you do what you have to do.”[3]

[edit] Sources

  1. ^ a b Army developing new aircrew survival knife
  2. ^ a b c ASEK - Aircrew Survival Egress Knife
  3. ^ Christopher Trumble. FlightFax 2006. US Army. (Word document)


[edit] See also