Entertainment

What Military Equipment Used in ‘The Avengers’ Is Actually Real?

Tactical Gear Supplier Outfits Some Characters in The Avengers With Authentic Gear

Tactical Pro Shop outfitted the characters in this photo from The Avengers with some of their garb. (Photo: The Avengers/Marvel)

Many Hollywood movies often bases their imaginative gadgets on real technology — or at least uses them as a starting point for before adding flare with movie magic. And the latest blockbuster “The Avengers” is no different.

With all the explosions and lasers, you might have found it easy to overlook some of the military gadgets featured in the film that are actually the real deal. But we have the rundown.

The film, which stars superheros such as the Incredible Hulk, Captain America and Thor, earned $200.3 million after its debut weekend. The premise is, as you might guess, saving the world from a villain and his army. To accomplish this feat, everything from the most futuristic technology to the simplest of essential gear plays an important role. According to Soldier Systems,  some of equipment used was no joke.

(Related: Did you know there’s a secret “Avengers” post-credit sequence? Here‘s what it’s all about)

Soldier Systems says that Tactical Pro Shop LLC — a merchant that provides equipment to everyone from the “‘Tier 1’ operator [to] police academy recruits” — outfitted some of the Avenger team with the tools they would need.

Here is some of the gear used in the movie:

Matt Kime with Tactical Pro Shop told Soldier Systems that, “We also involved a leading Halo equipment manufacturer for the [oxygen] mask systems.” He also said that “The Princeton Tec/Ops-Core paring in particular has been an amazing relationship, and we continue to work with them extensively in regards to our film customers. They understand very clearly what Tactical Pro Shop does for them, and appreciate the way we do it.”

(Related: Why the U.S. military refused to cooperate with “The Avengers”)

Here’s more from Solider Systems about how the partnership between the show and the shop was a win-win:
  • The show won by bringing equipment that was extremely current (actually not yet commercially available yet) to the big screen first.
  • The manufacturers/vendors won by getting some exposure for their gear.
  • And Tactical Pro Shop wins by continuing to prove ourselves as the go-to company in Hollywood that can leverage our outstanding relationships with our vendors, to accomplish the extremely difficult for a very demanding film industry customer base.

Did you spot any other cool tech in the film? Let us know about it in the comments section below.

If you haven’t seen the flick yet, here’s the trailer:

Comments (16)

  • Sniper48
    Posted on May 23, 2012 at 9:06am

    I wonder how many people actually expect these cartoonish characters to save the USA and fail to see that our real enemy is stinking up the White House.

    Report Post »  
  • eodx9000
    Posted on May 17, 2012 at 4:31am

    The U.S. Military was offered a chance to give the movie a realistic feeling, but turned it down all because they didn’t like S.H.I.E.L.D. or the movie’s portrayal of the military as the not-so-good-guys. So you can quit complaining about Hollywood being the problem here.

    Report Post »  
  • THX-1138
    Posted on May 16, 2012 at 3:00pm

    Avengers?

    Report Post » THX-1138  
  • BeingThere
    Posted on May 16, 2012 at 9:22am

    Ok, how about, I no longer support these liberal Hollywood motherfrakers!!!

    Maybe if I find the movie for a dollar in a garage sale I’ll see it … maybe!!

    Report Post » BeingThere  
  • blackripleydog
    Posted on May 16, 2012 at 8:08am

    After attempting to read this story, I have to agree with JTHUNDER’s assessment of it.
    It really did not expand on the premise and Liz Kilmas’s sub-par understanding of tactical gear is clearly showcased here. It is a mish-mash of links that only serve to make the story harder to read. She should write something specific about this gear instead of being lazy and expecting the links to do the work for her. It used to be called “research” followed by writing.
    Elaborate on how some of this gear is really a prototype and not yet ready for prime time. How about few images illustrating this gear as well.
    Sorry for the rant, but this style of writing is becoming more and more mainstream everyday and it really makes my hair hurt.

    Report Post »  
  • Halo9x
    Posted on May 16, 2012 at 2:20am

    I can affirm that there are NO flying aircraft carriers!

    Report Post »  
  • liinsivi
    Posted on May 16, 2012 at 1:59am

    Sure they used a few “neat” gadgets, but Fiery was shooting a .22 (M&P22 to be exact) and Scarlett was using airsoft “glocks”. Wouldn’t want the actors to shoot anything with recoil… might make them look bad.

    Report Post »  
  • CatherineAnn
    Posted on May 15, 2012 at 11:15pm

    I loved the movie and liked the freedom angle. It had some digs at the administration. The old man that stands up for freedom and is killed has meaning too. If you have not seen it, go check it out.

    Report Post » CatherineAnn  
    • liinsivi
      Posted on May 16, 2012 at 2:00am

      Yeah, I thought it was quite touching too. Then I thought about how far the country has fallen since that generation beat back evil and it made me sad all over again.

      Report Post »  
  • DeVain
    Posted on May 15, 2012 at 6:22pm

    I just looked at the links in the story. Did that place buy advertising or something? lol

    Report Post » DeVain  
  • superSTARBLAZER
    Posted on May 15, 2012 at 6:16pm

    That first paragraph reads like a poorly written 5th grade paper…

    Report Post » superSTARBLAZER  
    • JThunder
      Posted on May 15, 2012 at 6:41pm

      It wasn’t just the opening paragraph, this entire article is painful to read. Doesn’t the Blaze edit these things? Where has the professionalism gone? And this is not the only poorly proofread article, I have noticed the sloppiness on this site increasing more and more over the past few months. I used to check this site daily, now I look at it once or twice a week. I may drop it altogether if the quality continues to decline. Too bad, I hoped for so much more.

      Report Post » JThunder  
  • DeVain
    Posted on May 15, 2012 at 6:16pm

    My wife is a buyer at a LEO/military supplier, she specializes in ballistics and tech. Whenever a movie comes out like this she gets customer service reps having customers call wanting items “just like the movie”, not realizing quite a bit isn’t real or modified for the movie.

    Ill have to have her see this list later just so if she gets calls she knows why.

    Report Post » DeVain  
  • Psychosis
    Posted on May 15, 2012 at 5:43pm

    what rita declined to tell you ………………..

    she actually made that money hooking

    hope she wasnt your mom

    Report Post » Psychosis  
  • keehncommando
    Posted on May 15, 2012 at 5:37pm

    The bow that Hawkeye uses is a Hoyt Formula RX, made right here in the USA.

    Report Post »  

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