Modernisation of Indian Army Infantry

[WolfPack86]

MKU Bullet Proof Jackets and Helmets

 

[WolfPack86]

MKU Bullet Proof Jackets

 

[3deffect]

what about others soilders...their life important tooo...may be jackets provided to those place where border cross pb is huge by terrorist...

Rest soilder without life jacket >>>> stay in Tent and watch Border:biggrin2::biggrin2:

 

[garg_bharat]

Rest soilder without life jacket >>>> stay in Tent and watch Border

It is only first order. Typically repeat orders come easier and without much paperwork.

Plus Army has 1.5 lakh jackets currently as per some reports.

I am sure para-military forces buy such jackets separately. Since equipment for para-military is bought by Home department; and largely from domestic sources; it does not make news.

 

[Kshatriya87]

MKU Bullet Proof Jackets and Helmets

Pictures by @Kunal Biswas ? When did he become a photographer? Anyways, are these helmets for regular army? Or commandos?

 

[Mikesingh]

It will now get 50,000 such vests for which it had to sign an "emergency" procurement contract worth Rs 140 crores.

And this, too, took 10 years

'Emergency procurement' takes 10 years? I don't know whether to laugh, cry or stamp my feet in utter disgust!

 

[Indx TechStyle]

Essar Steel develops bullet proof steel for defence segment

The company said it has developed high performance bullet proof steel and become part of an elite club to produce this grade.

MUMBAI: Essar Steel has claimed to have become the first domestic company to launch high performance bullet proof steels largely used in defence sector.

The company said it has developed high performance bullet proof steel and become part of an elite club to produce this grade.

There is good and growing potential for this product as it can be used in light armoured vehicles and protective shields or structures. The steel is ideal for bullet proofing of civilian vehicles and for security personnel, it said.

"The company is known for developing high grade import-substitute steel products. The development of high performance bullet proof steels is a proof of the organisation's commitment towards government's 'Make in India' campaign," Essar Steel Executive Director (Strategy & Business Development) Vikram Amin told PTI here.

The government has emphasised indigenisation of the defence sector and involving private players under the banner of 'Make in India', he said.

Today, manufacturing bullet proof steel is a highly specialised technology. In India, such steels have either been manufactured under the restrictive technology transfer agreements with foreign countries, or simply imported.

The newly developed bullet proof steel at Essar absorbs the impact of bullets travelling at speeds of 700 m/sec with barely a dent on the surface. This steel has hardness levels above 500 (Brinell hardness number) BHN and is extremely tough.

Ballistic performance of this product was successfully tested in India and in Germany, at the Gujarat Forensic Science Laboratory (GFSL), as well as at IABG, an internationally renowned German laboratory.

ESIL is not a new entrant in defence segment. It had been supplying DMR 249A grade, a special steel for building warships, from its hot strip mill since 2001.

After commissioning of its 5 metres wide plate mill with sophisticated heat treatment facilities in 2009, several new grades were developed and the product range for the existing grades were enhanced.

The Essar team had collaborated with the defence sector to produce grades like CDA-99, EN10025-6-S690QL, very tough steels used in heavy armoured vehicles.

However, the crowning glory has been the production of DMR-1700, an ultra-tough steel of yield strength 1,500 Mega Pascal designed by Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO). All of these products had been stabilised and commercialised through the dedicated in-house R&D and operations efforts of its engineers, Amin said.

READ MORE:
Make in India'|Essar Steel|DMR 249A|bullet proof steel

 

[Kunal Biswas]

In reality most of the Indian Army ranks, trained in the practical and common sense tradition of the British Army, would be happier with more modest goals, like an improved assault rifle like MICWS, better boots, and body armor like one developed by various Pvt firms, rather than with a computerized infantry system that shoots around corners and gives the troops instant message capabilities. In particular, better load bearing gear and better quality rations tend to be high on the list of wants for the foot soldier.

These groups are also smart enough to realize that the country maybe getting ahead of itself. The Army, for example, introduced their current assault rifle, the improved 1B1 and even this weapon is yet to be issued to every soldier. Older equipment is still in use and, in a country like India, introducing and issuing any kind of new weapons or gear to every single soldier is going to be a costly, cumbersome, and arduous task.

The best and always is to better what is already in service ..

 

[airtel]

How U.S. Army spent $5BILLION on 'failed' pixel camouflage... because they 'wanted to look cooler than Marines'

• Camouflage made of grey and green pixels was designed to work in desert
• But soldiers say uniform 'universally failed in every environment'
• Design was based on Marine Corps uniform and experts say it was result of a 'political' effort to stay 'cool' in comparison

By Hugo Gye

Published: 23:25 GMT, 25 June 2012 | Updated: 08:56 GMT, 26 June 2012

• 
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  The U.S. Army is set to replace its 'Universal Camouflage Pattern' less than a decade after it was first introduced at a cost of $5billion.
  
  The design, which combines grey and green blotches in a pixellated pattern, was supposed to disguise soldiers equally well in desert and in more temperate terrain.
  
  But critics claim that the camouflage did not work properly in either environment - and some have even suggested that its main purpose was to make the Army appear 'more cool' than the Marines.
  
  Scroll down for video
  
  
  
  
  
  Dangerous: This pixellated camouflage design fails to protect soldiers fighting in the Middle East, experts say
  
  
  
  
  
  Innovative: But the original design is said to be no improvement on wave-based camouflage patterns
  
  The inspiration for the innovative design, known as UCP, came after the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to The Daily.
  
  While soldiers were issued with desert camouflage uniforms, their darker equipment - including flak jackets - stood out against the light-coloured clothing, making troops dangerously conspicuous.
  
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  So researchers at the United States Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Massachusetts got to work designing a replacement which could be used by soldiers wherever they are in the world.
  
  But their delicate work was held back by official meddling, accord to some of the people involved in the process.
  
  'It got into political hands before the soldiers ever got the uniforms,' Cheryl Stewardson, a textile technologist at the centre, told The Daily.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Redundant: The design is being replaced even though it has already cost the Army around $5billion
  
  The problem was apparently that Army commanders were envious of a cutting-edge new camouflage recently developed by the Marine Corps which incorporated pixels rather than the more traditional waves of colour.
  
  So officials from PEO Soldier, which is responsible for procuring equipment, ordered developers to adapt their new grey-green colour scheme into the pixel pattern - even though experts argued this compromise would leave soldiers vulnerable in battle.
  
  'Brand identity trumped camouflage utility,' according to military journalist Eric Graves. 'That's what this really comes down to: we can't allow the Marine Corps to look more cool than the Army.'
  
  The results, according to some of the soldiers who had to wear the new uniform after it was introduced in 2004, was a disaster.
  
  
  
  
  
  New look: This MultiCam design is a temporary replacement for the failed Universal Camouflage Pattern
  
  'Essentially, the Army designed a universal uniform that universally failed in every environment,' an Army specialist who served in Iraq told The Daily. 'The only time I have ever seen it work well was in a gravel pit.'
  
  He continued: 'As a cavalry scout, it is my job to stay hidden. Wearing a uniform that stands out this badly makes it hard to do our job effectively. If we can see our own guys across a distance because of it, then so can our enemy.'
  
  Now researchers are working on developing a replacement to the $5billion flop, and for the time being have introduced a temporary fix in the form of a new green and brown camouflage known as MultiCam.
  
  The permanent solution will not be ready for battlefield use until some time next year.
  
  When it is introduced, the UCP saga will formally come to an end, though not without a certain amount of recrimination within the military.
  
  'You've got to look back and say what a huge waste of money that was,' camouflage expert Lawrence Holsworth said. 'UCP was such a fiasco.'
  
  VIDEO: Filmed Jan, 2008
  
  
  Read more:
  • The Daily: $5B CAMO SNAFU
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  Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...wanted-look-cooler-Marines.html#ixzz4HA3Di500
  Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[tharun]

BUT whats the status of the project coz last time i heard that it was broken into two different programs
1. to acquire a good AR
2. to get a good BMS
well the AR tender has been scrapped and there is not much know about the BMS program
i think this will meet the same fate as other drdo projects
(no wonder why drdo is called defence research and development org. it should be called defenceless research and dud org.)

i think a good AR itself would cost around 75k and then there are attachements to the gun,NV goggles,BP vest,communication and bms along with other electronics and other equipments.
total kit for a basic soldier will itself cost around 150k

Thing is i didn't speak about gun, i just gave rough figure for minimum soldier equipment...
With adding gun and other things cost 150k......so 150kx12 lakhs=18k crores which is 3$ billion

 

[tharun]

So out total budget of 40$ billion 40% is used for capital procurement so that would be 16$ billion....
For total soldier equipment like gun,radio,bpj etc would cost roughlt 3$ billion
Take it account for 5 year program 600$ million

 

[Prashant12]

Deal worth Rs 170 cr for better, lighter Army helmets to be inked

NEW DELHI: The Indian Army is still nowhere near getting desperately-needed modern helicopters, howitzers and air defence weapons, or even new assault rifles and carbines, to plug its critical operational deficiencies. But its infantry soldiers are now finally poised to get some basic protection gear after decades of neglect.

Defence ministry sources on Monday said a contract for 1,58,279 light-weight ballistic helmets, worth around Rs 170 crore, is on the anvil now.

"The deal would have been inked much earlier after the CNC (contract negotiation committee) was completed. But there has been a complaint, as also some financial queries...these are now being addressed," said a source.

If the contract for the new helmets is indeed inked, it will be the second such deal to ensure better personal protection for infantry soldiers, who are often forgotten in the clamour for sophisticated weapon systems.

As was first reported byTOIin March, the Army had inked the Rs 140 crore contract for "emergency" procurement of 50,000 new bullet-proof jackets from Tata Advanced Materials Limited after a delay of over a decade.

Similarly, the proposed purchase of the ballistic helmets -with 13mm trauma protection pads -is slated to take place from an Indian manufacturer, MKU.The helmets for "commanders" will also be equipped with integrated communication headsets.

The Army has been demanding light-weight ballistic helmets for almost two decades now because the existing ones are not only bulky, but also provide protection from only splinters and rocks.

"Head injuries are a major problem in both conventional as well as counter-insurgency operations. We want ballistic helmets that can stop 9mm bullets from around 20 metres. It should also be possible to mount night-vision sights, protective goggles and other devices on them," said a senior officer.
"Such helmets would be a great morale booster for soldiers, who make do with old, heavy helmets that only give limited protection to the top of heads and not the sides," he added.

Consequently, soldiers generally prefer to use the lighter bullet-proof "patkas" during counter-insurgency operations.
"But they too weigh around 2.5 kg and protect only the forehead and the back of the head," said another officer.

In contrast, soldiers in advanced countries wear ultra-light helmets made of high-tenacity composite and polyethylene materials. Some helmets also integrate video cameras, thermal, chemical and biological sensors, along with visors which act as "heads-up computerized display monitors" in front of the eyes.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...helmets-to-be-inked/articleshow/54023127.cms?

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Defence ministry sources on Monday said a contract for 1,58,279 light-weight ballistic helmets, worth around Rs 170 crore, is on the anvil now."The deal would have been inked much earlier after the CNC (contract negotiation committee) was completed. But there has been a complaint, as also some financial queries...these are now being addressed," said a source.

the proposed purchase of the ballistic helmets -with 13mm trauma protection pads -is slated to take place from an Indian manufacturer, MKU.The helmets for "commanders" will also be equipped with integrated communication headsets.

"Head injuries are a major problem in both conventional as well as counter-insurgency operations. We want ballistic helmets that can stop 9mm bullets from around 20 metres. It should also be possible to mount night-vision sights, protective goggles and other devices on them," said a senior officer. "Such helmets would be a great morale booster for soldiers.

Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...helmets-to-be-inked/articleshow/54023127.cms?

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Dedicated thread : http://defenceforumindia.com/forum/threads/army-combat-helmet-deal-have-been-inked.77334/

Deal worth Rs 170 cr for better, lighter Army helmets to be inked

NEW DELHI: The Indian Army is still nowhere near getting desperately-needed modern helicopters, howitzers and air defence weapons, or even new assault rifles and carbines, to plug its critical operational deficiencies. But its infantry soldiers are now finally poised to get some basic protection gear after decades of neglect.

Defence ministry sources on Monday said a contract for 1,58,279 light-weight ballistic helmets, worth around Rs 170 crore, is on the anvil now.

"The deal would have been inked much earlier after the CNC (contract negotiation committee) was completed. But there has been a complaint, as also some financial queries...these are now being addressed," said a source.

If the contract for the new helmets is indeed inked, it will be the second such deal to ensure better personal protection for infantry soldiers, who are often forgotten in the clamour for sophisticated weapon systems.

As was first reported byTOIin March, the Army had inked the Rs 140 crore contract for "emergency" procurement of 50,000 new bullet-proof jackets from Tata Advanced Materials Limited after a delay of over a decade.

Similarly, the proposed purchase of the ballistic helmets -with 13mm trauma protection pads -is slated to take place from an Indian manufacturer, MKU.The helmets for "commanders" will also be equipped with integrated communication headsets.

The Army has been demanding light-weight ballistic helmets for almost two decades now because the existing ones are not only bulky, but also provide protection from only splinters and rocks.

"Head injuries are a major problem in both conventional as well as counter-insurgency operations. We want ballistic helmets that can stop 9mm bullets from around 20 metres. It should also be possible to mount night-vision sights, protective goggles and other devices on them," said a senior officer.
"Such helmets would be a great morale booster for soldiers, who make do with old, heavy helmets that only give limited protection to the top of heads and not the sides," he added.

Consequently, soldiers generally prefer to use the lighter bullet-proof "patkas" during counter-insurgency operations.
"But they too weigh around 2.5 kg and protect only the forehead and the back of the head," said another officer.

In contrast, soldiers in advanced countries wear ultra-light helmets made of high-tenacity composite and polyethylene materials. Some helmets also integrate video cameras, thermal, chemical and biological sensors, along with visors which act as "heads-up computerized display monitors" in front of the eyes.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...helmets-to-be-inked/articleshow/54023127.cms?

 

[Adioz]

Is this a stop-gap measure or a final purchase? Looks like the latter, but that means integrated comms only for commanders and not for the section? Not sure if the entire section needs it though. They will most likely stay within earshot of each other.
Still, it looks cool.

 

[ezsasa]

Good good, kudos to whoever is taking this forward.

 

[Bornubus]

It took years just for a small deal 170 crore, OTOH Anti National Hurriyat turds got 100 - 500 and in return they screw India.


Tin Buckets and Patkas are being replaced, good riddance.

 

[Gessler]

Some excellent progress being made! We're getting the head protection & vest/body armor departments in order...now we need to back these up with the following elements :

• Customizable, multi-tier chest rigs. A good belt, combined with the molle on the vest should allow for a fairly good rig/backpack arrangement that a unit can customize according to the tactical requirements in that battlespace.

• Upgraded clothing (BDU/TDU-type) with spaces for accommodating knee/elbow pad inserts. If at all the Army has a plan for a new camoflague pattern scheme (ACU-type or MARPAT digicam or anything else), now would be the time to think seriously about it.

We get these ready, together with the AAR/MCIWS rifle system, modern NVGs etc., and we'll have one of the best-equipped infantry (especially when compared with the size of the Army in question) in the world.

It's good to see that MoD and FinMin are finally looking to plug the huge gaps existing within the Army's infantry equipment procurement programs. It's one of the most basic things of any military and it's an utter shame that they received as little attention from the higher-ups as they did till now. Well, I guess better late than never!

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Only commanders of small infantry formation like squad or platoon will have that helmet i am showing on first post, Units serving on front lines will get these helmets first ..

Nothing can replace Patkas, PARA SF has these helmets but they prefer PATKAs at field ..

Tin Buckets and Patkas are being replaced, good riddance.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Very specifically, better load bearing gear and better quality rations tend to be high on the list of wants for the foot soldier ..