|
The average generation II improved outer tactical vest weighs
about 26 pounds. But the new torso and extremity protection system,
or TEP, under development now at Program Executive Office Soldier,
sheds about five pounds of weight and also adds a wide degree of
scalability that commanders can make use of depending on threat
level and mission.
|
March 16, 2017 - The Torso and Extremity Protection System" or TEP, under development now at Program Executive Office Soldier, sheds about five pounds of weight from the IOTV, and also adds a wide degree of scalability that commanders can make use of depending on threat level and mission. (U.S. Army photo by C. Todd Lopez)
|
The TEP is part of the new Soldier Protection System
under development now at PEO Soldier. The SPS includes both
the TEP and the integrated head protection system.
RANGE OF OPTIONS
The TEP can replace the IOTV, at less weight and greater
scalability, depending on the mission. It includes the modular
scalable vest, the ballistic combat shirt, the blast pelvic
protection system, and a battle belt, which is aimed at getting
weight off a Soldier's shoulders and onto the hips.
With the
TEP, commanders can require Soldiers to go with full protection --
which provides the same level of protection as a fully-loaded IOTV
-- or go all the way down to wearing soft armor under their uniforms
for missions that require less protection.
"It's about giving
commanders on the battlefield the ability to use the modularity
capability of the equipment to fit their particular mission profile
or protective posture level," said Lt. Col. Kathy Brown, the product
manager for Personal Protective Equipment at PEO Soldier, Fort
Belvoir, Virginia.
BALLISTIC COMBAT SHIRT
The IOTV
sometimes required Soldiers to wear the deltoid auxiliary protection
-- cumbersome parts that snapped on to the IOTV and protected their
shoulders. Soldiers might have also been asked to wear the smaller,
easily-lost collars that also snapped on to the IOTV. Both are gone
with the TEP. They've been replaced by the ballistic combat shirt,
which is a shirt with breathable fabric and which also includes
those smaller ballistic protection parts built in. Soldiers would
wear the BCS under the TEP's modular scalable vest.
"We have
tested it," Brown said of the ballistic combat shirt. "Soldiers like
it. There is 95 percent Soldier acceptability of it. What we are
working on now is tweaking the sizes."
NEW PELVIC PROTECTION
The TEP also includes the blast pelvic protection system, which
is designed to protect a Soldiers thighs and groin against ballistic
threats and burns. The BPPS is meant to replace the current
combination of the pelvic undergarment and the pelvic outer-garment,
or "PUG" and "POG." The PUG has sometimes been referred to as
"ballistic underwear."
Brown said the BPPS "provides the same
level of protection" as the PUG and POG combined, including both
burn and fragment protection. She said Soldiers have reported that
it feels more like it is "part of the pants."
BELT TAKES LOAD
OFF SHOULDERS
The battle belt included with the TEP is part
of a weight management system, but it also offers some protection as
well.
"It's designed to remove the weight from your shoulders
and put it on your hips," Brown said. Whereas Soldiers might strap a
radio or other gear onto their IOTV in the past, the battle belt can
now take that gear and move the weight onto a Soldier's hips.
Brown said that after successful ballistic testing, production
of the TEP will begin in probably May of this year, and that
Soldiers could see it in 2018 or 2019.
NEW HELMET
Another part of the Soldier Protection System is the integrated head
protection system, or IHPS. In its full configuration, it looks
similar to a motorcycle helmet.
The IHPS consists of a base
helmet, similar to the polyethylene enhanced combat helmet that some
Soldiers are already wearing. The IHPS also includes add-ons for the
base helmet, including a visor, a "mandible" portion that protects
the lower jaw, and a "ballistic applique" that is much like a
protective layer that attaches over the base helmet. The complete
ensemble is known as the "high threat configuration."
Brown
said that eventually all deploying Soldiers will get the IHPS with
the base helmet, which is the standard configuration. Other
Soldiers, vehicle gunners in particular, will also get the mandible
portion and the ballistic applique as well, known as the turret
configuration.
The IHPS currently has a Picatinny rail
mounted on the side for attaching gear, and will also provide for
attaching head-mounted night vision goggles.
NEW SUNGLASSES
The visor portion on the IHPS provides ballistic protection to a
Soldier's face but doesn't provide any protection against the sun.
So Soldiers wearing it will need to wear darkened sunglasses
underneath the visor if they are in bright environments.
Maj.
Jaun F. Carleton, also with PEO Solider, had a pair of new
sunglasses that are authorized for use by Soldiers if they want to
buy them, or if their commanders buy them for them.
The
sunglasses, which also come in a face mask version as well, start
off as un-darkened -- offering no protection against the sun. But
with the press of a button, LCD modules that adhere to the lenses
darken and provide protection against the sun. That happens in less
than a second.
"The benefit is that using one pair of
protective eyewear, you wouldn't have to switch from a clear goggle
to a dark goggle -- you'd have one protective eyewear for all
conditions," Carleton said.
Brown said the goggles will be
available for units to be able to requisition as part of the Soldier
Protection System.
"If we are able to drive the price down,
the Army could eventually make a decision to include that on the
list of items that we carry for deploying Soldiers," Brown said.
SOLDIER TESTING
Brown said the IHPS will likely be
available to deploying Soldiers sometime between 2020 and 2021.
As part of extensive human factors evaluations, Brown said that
PEO Soldier has used Soldiers, extensively, to evaluate the new
gear.
"We had a massive scale of Soldiers to evaluate the
equipment, usually over a three-week to month-long timeframe, where
they would perform their different mission sets, where they will
execute basic rifle marksmanship, and ruck marches," she said.
Afterward, she said, those same Soldiers were asked what they
think of the gear through a qualitative evaluation methodology
(Soldier survey).
"They would give us the good, the bad, the
ugly," Brown said. "It's extremely important to get Soldiers' input.
First, Soldiers are brutally honest and they are going to tell you
exactly how they feel about the equipment. Second, why buy equipment
Soldiers won't wear? And third, who's better to give us the best
answer about how the kit should be designed than the Soldier who
will actually wear the equipment?
By U.S. Army C. Todd Lopez
Army News Service
Copyright 2017
Comment on this article |
