Status Report on Protective Textiles

for

Indian Armed and Paramilitary forces

Dr. J. V. Rao

NITRA

Global Scenario

• In advanced countries more than 40% of total textile

manufacturing activity involves technical textiles

• China has devoted around 20% of its textile production in

this field

• Asia is emerging as powerhouse of both production and

end-use consumption of technical textiles

Considering its highly skilled manpower, abundant raw material

availability, India can play a major role in this filed

Challenges

• Non availability of raw materials (Spl. fibers)

• Inadequate skilled work force

• Inadequate R&D support

• Inadequate Common Facilities

• Production is limited & fragmented

• Lack of adequate legislative measures & standards

at par with developed countries

Stake holders

• Policy makers • Ministry of Textiles

• Facilitators• Centers of Excellence

• R&D centers & Universities

• Trade Associations

• End users• General Public

• Bulk consumers – Public & Pvt. institutes

• Entrepreneurs• Small, medium & large scale investors

Govt. of India Initiatives

• Five year focused action plan by Empowered

Committee on Technical Textiles (2004)

• Inclusion of Tech. Textile machinery under TUF

• Creation of Eight Centers of Excellence (2008 & 2011)

• Thrust on spl. fibers in National Fiber Policy (2010)

• Integrated skill development program (2010)

• Tech. Mission on Technical Textiles (2010)

Armed Forces - Army, Navy & Air-Force

Paramilitary forces -

Coast Guard Organization

Defense Security Force

Assam Rifles

Border Security Force

Central Industrial Security Force

Central Reserve Police Force

Indo-Tibetan Border Police

Rashtriya Rifles

National Security Guards

Railway Protection Force

States and Union Territories - Provincial Armed Constabulary

Clothing

for

Armed & Paramilitary Forces

Defense ServicesMarket Size

Demand (Qty in pieces) for the year 2008 by Army, Navy & Air Force

Camouflage Uniforms 4.7 Mn

Rainwear 2.3 Mn

FR Suits 0.2 Mn

High Performance Uniform 25,000

Defense services (Army, Navy & Air Force) strength - 1.5 Mn

25-30% are involved in high risk, counter insurgency & spl. operations

The demand for paramilitary forces is higher than the Defense services.

Indian armed forces being the

major users of protective textiles,

CoE has critically examined

specifications of protective textiles

used by them with an objective to

identify whether these

specifications match with the state-

of-art technology and address if

gaps exist.

Background

CoE hopes that this exercise will help in providing

maximum protection to Indian armed forces and

at the same time it assists the manufacturers to

produce the right product.

Requirements for

Advanced Integrated Combat Clothing System

– Physical

• durability to prolonged exposure to inclement weather and heavy

wear

• good tensile and tear strength and abrasion resistance

– Environmental

• water repellency, wind proof

• Battlefield (good camouflage & low noise generation)

– Physiological

• low weight, easy to wear, minimum heat stress

• air, moisture and vapor permeability

• comfort and good appearance

• The current armed and paramilitaryspecifications do not speak aboutwear, comfort and safety whichdepend upon the varying battle fieldconditions.

• High mobility and smart look to thesoldier are not a part of thespecifications.

Revise the specifications for

• Durability

• Operational efficiency

Wear properties In general

mechanical properties such as

tensile, tear and bursting strengths

indicate the fabric wear property.

However for combat uniform in

addition to these general wear

properties, it is essential to measure

wear resistance in terms of abrasion.

Abrasion resistance should also

be included as one of the

requirements.

The requirement should be such that there should not

be “thread breaks” up to 50,000 abrasion cycles when

tested as per IS: 12673:1989.

Comfort Properties To

enhance comfort properties of

the Indian solider the following

two requirements may be

added to the existing

specifications.

Air permeability of the fabric shall be at

least 5 cc/sec/cm2 when tested

according to IS 11056:1984.

Water vapor permeability (water method)

shall be 1400 g/m2/day (Minimum) when

tested according to ASTM E-96

Safety (Heat or flame resistant properties)

The presence of synthetic material such as polyester if

exposed to heat or flame melts and sticks to skin causing

severe burns. Combat uniforms having heat or flame

resistance properties is essential in the present day

context..

The use of either FR fibers or FR coating should also be

included in the present specifications to meet surface ignition

test when tested as per ISO 15025 (no hole formation, no

melting and no dripping)

Wrinkle Recovery Although wrinkle

recovery property of the combat clothing is

not directly linked to the performance of

the fabric during the battle but good

wrinkle recovery cloth makes smarter look

to the solider.

Therefore it is recommended that

the WR rating (after 24 hours) of

the combat shall be minimum 4

when tested according to AATCC

128-2004.

Color specification In the developed

countries, camouflage print Colors often

include khaki, green, brown and black, with

additional colors such as olive, yellow,

orange, pink, grey, beige and sand to

extend use to other urban, rural and desert

backgrounds

In India, almost same camouflage print (mostlydeveloped using khaki, green, brown and black) isused for all types of surroundings. If the solider isengaged in the urban area, he/she should have suchtype of camouflage print uniform that matches with theurban surroundings. In such case the use of dark greenand black need to be minimized.

CISFBSF

National Riffles

NSG

CRPF

ITBP

Indian Camouflage Prints

Color specification Most of thespecifications do not provide thecolor values leading to subjectivedecisions while making pass/faildecision

Therefore it is suggested that the

specifications should also include

CIE color values.

Standards & Specifications

prepared by

CoE (Protech)

Formulation of

Technical Specifications/Standards (Protech)

Technical Specifications

CoBRA

prepared by NITRA

for

NYCO Uniform

Life Jacket

Nylon Belt

Specifications

Multi purpose light weight

load bearing frame

with carrier facilities and

convertibility as stretcher

Waterproof multipurpose rain

poncho with convertibility as

bivouac

Jungle Hat

Anti-Mosquito Veil

Balaclava with convertible

properties as cap comforter, face

mask and cold weather muffler

Specifications

Pouches

Durable Combat

RucksackSpecial operation Rope

Technical Specifications

Indian Navy

prepared by NITRA for

UNARMED COMBAT DRESS

FOR MARINE COMMANDOES

Cap FS Blue

T-

Shirt

Short

Socks

IS Specifications (Revised/Drafted)

• Nylon life jacket with expandable

polyethylene foam, buckle and whistle

plastic (Revised & sent for adoption)

• Disruptive Pattern (Camouflage pattern)

cloth for combat uniform made of Nylon 66

and cotton blended material (Drafted &

communicated to BIS)

Bullet Proof Jackets

CoE examined the specifications of

Bullet proof jackets, Combat clothing,

Canvas tent fabrics and Woolen blankets

They were critically analyzed for the level protection

against - missiles, fire and heat.

Recommendations are made wherever necessary to have

highest degree of protection

Recommendations are also made to provide operational

efficiency, maximum comfort and smarter look to the

wearer

Technical Specification of Light Weight Bullet Proof Jackets

IV-21011/10/2009-Prov. I

Recently MHA finalized the above specification as per NIJ

Standard of Ballistic Resistance of Personal Body

Armour ( ) Standard -010104 – Threat Level III A

E Clause. Weight Jacket

Exisiting:

Total weight Jacket including Hard and Softarmour panels, trauma pads and other carriershould not exceed 6.31 Kg and 6.62 Kg for std.and large sizes respectively

Recommendation:

Weight of individual components should bespecified along with total weight of the jacket

IV-21011/10/2009-Prov. I

I Clause. MaterialIV-21011/10/2009-Prov. I

Outer carrier material is made out of high tenacity PU coated Nylon material.

Existing Specifications Recommendations

Parameter Test Method Requirement

Fire

retardantIS 11871 Duration after flame and

glow : 5 seconds each

Requirements are to be

modified as there are

two test methods –

vertical and inclined

Hydrostatic

head

IS 391(100

cm water)

Not specified Minimum to be specified

Water

Penetration

IS 392 Should be Zero Should be rated in 0 to

100 scale

UV

Protection

factor

IS 3417 Minimum 100 Test method is wrong (it

is older version for color

fastness

IV-21011/10/2009-Prov. IClause M.

Soft Armour Panel (SAP)

Existing Specifications Recommendations

Parameter Test Method Requirement

Fiber Not

specified

Aramid/suitable

material

To specify what are

the other suitable

materials

Weave and

GSM

Not

specified

To specify

Hydro

static head

Water

penetration

IS 391(100

cm water)

IS 392

Not specified

Should be Zero

Requirement to be

given

Should be rated in 0 to

100

PU coating Not

specified

% PU coating and test

method for

identification

Clause H (vi): Velcro

Existing: It is a Trade name of USA based company. Test method is not specified.

Recommendation: Name should be replaced by “Hook and Loop fastener” and tested as per IS 8156-1994

Clause H (viii): Belt/Kamarbandh

Existing: Made of Woven Nylon/polyester.

Recommendation: It should be made of same material as outer carrier (Pu coated HT Nylon) with Hook and Loop fastener.

Clause K: Color

Existing: Specification not given

Recommendation: Provide specification

IV-21011/10/2009-Prov. I

Existing:

Made of Polyethylene fibers; not covered with PU Coated fabric to make it water proof

Recommendation:

Test method for PE fiber and

Test methods and minimum requirements for identification of PU coating, %PU coating and water proof to be included

IV-21011/10/2009-Prov. I

Clause H Hard Armour Panel (HAP)

1. Fabric construction: EPI, PPI, weave, What about

warp and weft counts and GSM

2. Durability: Tensile & Tear strength, abrasion

resistance, dimensional stability, color fastness to

washing, light and rubbing

3. % PU coating on the fabric and test method for

identification of the coating

4. “Surface Ignition” test

IV-21011/10/2009-Prov. I

Following test parameters are to be included

To be deleted

UV protection factor as the jacket is made of multi layers

of material

Technical Specification completed by

CoE (Protech) till-date

1. Indian Navy 5

2. CRPF 30

3. BSF 1

4. National Disaster Response Force 1

5. Railway Police Security Force 1

6. Defense Bio-engineering &

Electro-medical Laboratory 1

High-Visibility Warning Clothing

for

Professional Use

Factors deciding Garment Classes

Performance Class 1:

• For low-risk environments - Lowest levels of fluorescent and reflective materials

Performance Class 2:

• For moderately severe environments - Balance of fluorescent and reflective materials

Performance Class 3:

• For use in most severe environments - Offers the greatest amount of fluorescent and reflective coverage

Quantity of material

• Class 1: • background material: > 0.14 m²

• retro reflective material: > 0.10 m²

• combined material: > 0.20 m²

• Class 2:• background material: > 0.5 m²

• retro reflective material: > 0.13 m²

• Class 3:• background material: > 0.8 m²

• retro reflective material: > 0.2 m²