Be it a soldier heading for a combat zone or an officer from a law-enforcement agency responding to an emergency call, they never give a second thought for their own safety when there is a call of duty.
These soldiers perpetually face fatal threats, and returning home is always a looming question for them. However, this can be answered more positively and with more certainty if the soldiers, in the line of fire, are equipped with the right body armor.
Body armor in form of ballistic vests and ballistic headgears has proved to be a life preserver for thousands of soldiers and law enforcement officers across the globe. Studies have shown that soldiers and law enforcers who wear body armor have three times higher chance of surviving a gunshot as opposed to those who don’t. However, despite acknowledging the benefits, defense and police personnel avoid wearing body armor for the following reasons.
Depending on the mission type, which varies from patrol, reconnaissance to combat, a soldier on an average carries 36-40 kg of weight on him. Of this, around 25 kg comprises ammunition, food and other survival supplies, while 17-20 kg load is of body armor, helmet and other combat wearables. Body armor is probably the heaviest single gear that a soldier carries.
Bulky and cumbersome body armor places restriction in free arm movement interfering with soldiers’ firing positions/stances, thus rendering body armor restrictive and uncomfortable for the wearer and impacting his combat effectiveness.
Fortunately, in the last two decades, body armor technology has witnessed tremendous advancements. As a result they have transitioned from being bulky and heavy to becoming super-light and flexible with exceptional ballistic stopping capabilities.
Some of the benefits of ultra-lightweight body armor are:
- Speed: Lighter body armor reduces overall combat load helping in reducing soldier’s fatigue, thus increasing his energy reserves for faster and rapid action
- Maneuverability: Allows soldiers free movement of arms and legs to carry out tasks such as shooting, climbing, parachuting, running, lying in prone position etc. with more ease and comfort
- Agility: Quick reflexes and swift reactions are a key to soldiers combat zone survivability. Body Armor is a staple component of a soldiers’ ensemble, constituting up to approximately 31% of a soldiers combat load. Globally, stress is on reducing the Body Armor weight without compromising on protection level. Lighter armor ensures reduced combat fatigue and higher degree of agility and awareness. For every 4.5 kg load carried, a soldier’s agility at assault gets degraded by 6.5% per hour*
- Endurance: With lighter body armor, a soldier can carry more ammunition, ration, or other mission critical equipment, if required, thus increasing his battlefield endurance and effectiveness
MKU’s range of 6th Generation ultra-lightweight body armor has been designed keeping in mind all the problems that heavy body armor presents. 6th Generation armor solutions, namely, AMMOFLEX 6 and POLYSHIELD 6 serve as perfect solutions for this challenge that soldiers face, as they are up to 40% lighter and almost 30% thinner and 40% more flexible than similar standard solutions.
MKU is an Indian defense company with 4 production facilities of which 3 are in India and the fourth is in Sittensen, Germany.
MKU manufactures protection and surveillance range of equipment and solutions. MKU has spent the last three decades building up a broad product portfolio that includes ballistic vests, ballistic helmets and other personal protection products for military and security forces as well as Platform armoring solutions for land-air-sea platforms. It has recently set up one of the most modern facilities for the manufacture of Night Vision Devices and Day sights.
MKU has provided protection to over 2 million soldiers and 2000 platforms. Its products are used by 230 forces in over 100 countries worldwide.
