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U.S. Army Shows The Lighter And More Maneuverable Ballistic Combat Shirt

Dom

The quest for a lighter protective gear for the American warfighter continues as reduced weight means speed and less load stress on the soldier where being able to move and maneuver quickly can mean life and death. Body armor is always much desired but existing protection is heavy and cutting weight without compromising the protective features is always a goal.

In this area, the U.S. Army has been hard at work, showing off the award winning Ballistic Combat Shirt on YouTube and other social media recently. Already revealed early this year, the Ballistic Combat Shirt has already earned the inaugural Maj. Gen. Harold “Harry” J. Greene Award for Innovation.

The Ballistic Combat Shirt was invented by Robert DiLalla, a civilian supervisory engineer at the NSRDEC and leads the Infantry Combat Equipment team. Developed with the Protect the Force, Llc, the shirt is an integrated armored shirt that protects the soldier in the chest, neck and upper arm areas. This can replace the present Army Combat Shirt (ACS) and since it is worn just like any normal combat shirt but providing ballistic protection it is lightweight and provides more mobility than the combined ACS and Interceptor Body Armor.

Protective gear used by U.S. military soldiers have grown and expanded during the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. The NSREDEC is on a mission to revolutionize protective gear, DiLalla and his team was supported by the PEO Soldier since 2014 to develop the Ballistic Combat Shirt where they integrated high performance materials that were developed by the athletic clothing manufacturers and the U.S. army.

According to NCOsupport.com the Ballistic Combat Shirt will be part of the U.S. Army’s Extremities Protection System which is slated to be fielded in 2019.

 

Top Photo:  Robert DiLalla with the Ballistic Combat Shirt (Source: Army.mil)

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