With the objective of achieving self-reliance in the defence sector, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a light-weight bulletproof jacket which meets the qualitative requirements of the Indian Army.
Giving the details here on Thursday, officials said the DRDO laboratory, Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), Kanpur has developed the light weight Bullet Proof Jacket weighing 9.0 kilogrammes.
The Front Hard Armour Panel (FHAP) jacket was tested at Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh and met relevant BIS standards.
The importance of this vital development lies in the fact that each gram of jacket weight reduction is crucial in enhancing soldier comfort while ensuring the survivability. This technology reduces the weight of the medium sized jacket from 10.4 to 9.0 kilogrammes. Very specific materials and processing technologies have been developed in the laboratories for the purpose.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO scientists and Industry for developing the light weight bullet proof jacket to make the soldiers more comfortable. Secretary Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO G Satheesh Reddy congratulated the DMSRDE team for the development.
The infantry soldiers guarding the Line of Actual Control(LAC)facing China and the Line of Control(LOC)with Pakistan besides troops deployed in counter-terrorist operations need these jackets.
The jacket has to be light yet able to stop the bullet as the soldier carries lot of other equipment including the rifle, spare ammunition, communication set and other related items for fighting effectively.
Till about ten years back there was a shortage of more than three lakh bullet proof jackets. However, in 2016, the government ordered procurement of more than 1,80,000 jackets worth over Rs 650 crores. The entire lot, more or less, has been delivered.
Incidentally, the first ever India Standard (IS) on Bullet Resistant Jacket specifically for Indian armed forces to protect against small arms and ammunition was released in 2019. Now, India has its own Standard for Bullet Proof Jackets (BPJ)which prescribes minimum requirements of bulletproof jackets against small arms and their evaluation procedures.