New Delhi, April 10: Finally the wait of nine years is over. The Indian Army is going to get a modern bullet proof jackets. The Indian government has signed a contract of Rs 639 Crore with a domestic private company SMPP Pvt. Ltd for the procurement of 1.86 Lakh bullet proof jackets. The company has successfully cleared the stringent field evaluation trials.

As reported by The Times of India, an officer said, “The contracted bullet proof jackets have contemporary and state-of-the-art specifications with added protection level and coverage area. These ergonomically designed bullet proof jackets have modular parts, thereby providing immense protection and flexibility to soldiers operating in different operational situations ranging from long-distance patrolling to high-risk room intervention scenarios.” He further added, “The new bullet proof jackets will provide 360 degree protection to soldiers in combat, including from latest hard steel core bullets.” The SMPP Pvt. Ltd will start the supply of these jackets within the next few months and the entire order will be delivered within next three years.

SMPP chairman S C Kansal said, “The new jackets meet the most advanced GSQRs 1438 (technical parameters) standards of the Indian Army. These bullet proof jackets have `Boron Carbide Ceramic’, which is the lightest material for ballistic protection.” In 2009 The Indian Army put forward the requirement of 1.86 Lakh bullet proof jackets, but due to slow procurement process it took almost nine years to finalise the contract. Seeing the urgent requirement the army ordered 50,000 jackets in March 2016, but these jackets were designed to older specification and could not fulfill the requirements of the army. As per a report published in NDTV, The Indian Army requires almost 3.5 Lakh bullet proof jackets.

The procurement of these jackets from a domestic manufacturer will give a boost to ‘Make in India’ campaign. Apart from jackets The Indian Army also requires new assault rifles, close-quarter battle carbines and light-machine guns.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 10, 2018 10:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).