It has been far too long since we have updated the blog… so there is really a lot to cover. Things are moving along very well with the Fortis, actually better than we could have ever hoped for.

Our engineering models are done and they have been undergoing Finite Element Analysis for a few weeks now – the results of this testing show that the internal changes we have made are indeed improvements over the original design.

While striving to retain the original appearance and ergonomics of the Bren Ten, we have addressed nearly every internal part of the pistol – the Fortis incorporates many changes and improvements to part design, materials and manufacturing technique.

So, it would seem that the “big news” around here is that we are satisfied with most of the engineering and design work, and we are ready to start prototyping parts… that would seem to be the big news; and would be, if not for what happened about a month ago.

In our search to find out as much as possible about the original Bren Ten, we were able to get all of the original blueprints, engineering notes, designs and drawings – even the design and data packages for never produced versions. There is no way to describe how much this has helped us, we can honestly say now that the Fortis is not just a reverse engineered, slightly modified version of the Bren Ten – the Fortis is the next generation of the Bren Ten! Now, so much more than ever, this is more than continuing the legacy – this is about evolving the “greatest handgun ever made” into the Greatest Handgun Ever… period.

With every step we take, we are picking up more support… we have made some great friends and met some truly wonderful people. There are a lot of great things in the future, and we are honored to be able to make them happen.

Thanks for your support,

The Vltor/Fortis Team

These two screen captures are from the preliminary Finite Element (FEA) studies that have been performed on the slide and receiver components of the Fortis pistol. The colored areas illustrate the distribution of stresses within the components due to impact loading during recoil. The slide and receiver were assembled together and the tests simulated a ‘fixed’ firing event in which there was no recoil allowed. This imparts the maximum impact energy on the components, and quickly reveals areas of concern. These studies have been used to ensure the safety of the pistol under rigorous use, as well as help to determine the causation behind the failures of the original slides and frames. The data collected has been extremely revealing, showing stress risers in places one might not expect at first glance. Extensive measures have been taken to ensure a reliable, durable weapon system.

The 10mm Auto round is indeed a tenacious beast, though by designing the system to the full-house specs of the 10mm the Fortis will thrive where other weapons fail.

Note that these are not representative of final geometry, or performance. The analysis process can be lengthy when investigating such a complex system of components, and these captures are simple illustrations taken from the very first passes made for simulation validation.