In Waffen Digest 1999 your author covered the continuing developments of the American Company of Mission Knives & Tools, Inc. Many changes have occurred to both the company and the world since that previous article, and the date of 11 September 2001 has only intensified these changes and their advances.

Mission still builds knives and mine probes of the highest grade and quality of titanium, and the company is at the tip-of-the spear in titanium and non-magnetic knife development for the United States Special Operations community.

The company is now commanded by Mr. John R. Moore, a WWII Army combat veteran, and a specialist in materials development and design. His able second-in-command and business planner is Mr. Michael K. Smith. Even before 11 September, the military demands on Mission kept the company in a constant state of hyperactivity, but since the soul rending 11^th, Mission’s products have accompanied all of the U.S. military services, around the world, in the battle against terrorism and the attempt to destabilize modern civilization.

As previously written, the great demand for Mission’s products is because of their distinctive non-magnetic properties. These properties are all important for specialized military work in Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), and also for units who need the other unique characteristics of titanium for Special Operations work. Additionally, the lightweight and extreme durability of titanium have opened up new avenues into the Special Operations community, which needs to reduce its weight loads, and also wishes to reduce its group and individual magnetic signatures.

Mission products are now in use by all five U.S. military services, as well as by most of the major federal law enforcement agencies. Additionally, a growing number of non U.S., allied military units, carry and use Mission products. Mission’s blades and mine probes are carried by units as diverse as the Army’s Rangers, the Marine Recon, the Air Force’s Special Operations personnel, and the Navy Seal teams. Even the U.S. Coast Guard has made purchases of the company’s knives and demining probes.

As this article is being written, Mission’s probes are in regular use on the grounds of the White House, at the Pentagon, and on the battlefields of Afghanistan. In the demining and EOD fields, Mission’s probes and knives are used all over the world, including by the U.S. State Department’s demining programs and the United Nations mine clearance projects. U.S. EOD personnel, both military and civilian, can be found training and instructing in such diverse places as Angola, Cambodia, Columbia and the Philippines.

Mission has even thrown its hat into the ring with the U.S. Marines, by providing two bayonet designs being considered in the Marine Corps’ competition for a new Marine bayonet. These are purposely not illustrated in this article, as this competition is still on going.

The company is still located in Laguna Hills, California, as this article is written but Mission is looking around for a more compatible home for its increasing volume and variety of machinery. The company’s product line has expanded over the last few years, with Mission refining and updating its knives and probes to meet the expanding U.S. and allied military requirements. In order to keep up with the military’s new applications and tactical concepts, Mission has aggressively developed and field tested new products and new designs.

Among the cosmetic changes at Mission, is the adoption of a new company logo. Previous to 2002 Mission simply used its name "MISSION" in large block capital letters. Since the first of the year the company has begun to gradually change over to a new logo with "MISSION" in block capital letters, surrounded by two ovals, with the crosshairs of a gun sight within the ovals. This is a permanent change and will be reflected in the markings on all knife models, as new production runs are manufactured.

(Left - The new Mission logo adopted in 2002)

Since 11 September 2001, Mission has refined the MPT’s design into its 2^nd generation. During the first months of this year (2002), in response to Special Operations requests, a group of 40 MPT’s were specially manufactured and molded in the U.S. Desert Tan color. This unique group of knives was produced and shipped out at the requests of U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan. The 2^nd generation MPT is 30.48cm (12") in overall length, with a blade of 15.24cm (6"), the same dimensions as the 1^st generation MPT. The knife’s blade now has a more comfortable and reduced depth of grooving on the blade’s thumb rest, located on the blade’s spine. Mission has also added a section of raised ribbing on the molded tip of the upper guard. This is to give a better thumb pressure point when using the knife.

The MPT’s scabbard has been improved by modifying its mold, and adding ribbing to its face. This was done in order to add additional strength to the scabbard, and to greatly reduce its reflected light and reflected infrared signatures.

While most MPT’s are produced with blade serrations, some in the military community prefer it unserrated. In cooperation with these requests, Mission produces about 8% of each MPT production run with unserrated blades. The MPT is still produced with an unsharpened false edge, but this can be readily sharpened according to the user’s preference.

No MPT’s have yet been produced with the new Mission logo, but it should be noted that the block style ricasso marking on the 2^nd generation MPT’s were purposely inverted, while remaining otherwise the same. This was done in order to read the markings from the user’s visual perspective, and to keep them consistent with the rest of the knives in the product line.

In addition to the special order of Desert Tan colored MPT’s for service in Afghanistan, Mission also previously produced a very small group of 2^nd generation MPT knives in forest green color. These were promptly exported overseas.