Good luck to those going to serve NS...
Life-saving body armour for all army units
It will be used not only during operations but also when soldiers
train
By David Boey, Defence Correspondent
LOCAL troops will be better protected against bullets and shell
fragments, with the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) planning to
introduce body armour to all units.
Mindef has asked defence companies for information on the armour,
worn as vests to protect the body from the neck down to the waist
and groin area.
The Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) - the national
authority that buys weapons and equipment for the Singapore Armed
Forces (SAF) - will assess what is available in the market, after
which Mindef will progressively equip all army units with body
armour.
Colonel Darius Lim, Mindef's director of
public affairs, explained that the body armour will be used not
only during operations, but also for training purposes such as
during route marches, live-firing and urban warfare
exercises.
Body armour is not new to the SAF, but it has been issued mainly to
crack units, such as the Commando Special Operations Force, or SAF
units involved in hazardous operations such as peace-keeping duties
with the United Nations.
Armies worldwide have found that body armour and better military
medical care save lives. Statistics kept by United States medical
units indicate that some 30 per cent of all injured American troops
died during World War II.
Better medical care saw that figure drop to 24 per cent in Vietnam
but in Iraq, just 9 per cent of the injured lose their lives.
Body armour is usually made of soft bullet-resistant fabrics, or
hard plates made of ceramics or resins. Such armour is numbered
with Roman numerals from I to IV according to the protection they
offer. Smaller numbers indicate lighter protection.
For the SAF troops, DSTA said the body armour should
comprise:
# The basic vest - built of tough and lightweight fabrics like
nylon, the vest is designed to hold armour panels. DSTA said it
should be 'inert to saltwater and mud' and 'printable with
camouflage patterns'.
# Removable soft ballistic armour panels - lightweight and
water-repellent, the panels should repel 9mm rounds fired from
submachine guns like the MP5.
# Removable hard ballistic armour plates - these should resist
7.62mm bullets fired by general purpose machine guns.
# Detachable soft protection pads for the neck and shoulder, and
the groin - made of the same material as soft armour, the pads
should be fitted when needed.
To ensure the vests work fine in Singapore's environment, DSTA said
the vests should be able to withstand 98 per cent humidity and
tolerate 'heavy rain conditions'.
Military equipment suppliers told The Straits Times they are
steeling themselves for fierce competition when DSTA issues the
body armour tender.
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