After a long wait of about nine years, the Indian Army has finally received a good news that the government has signed the contract to provide 1.86 lakh bulletproof jackets. According to reports, the Defence Ministry signed the contracts after successful field evaluation trials.
As per the new contract, every soldier of the Indian Army will receive life-saving bulletproof jackets which are a basic necessity during crucial operations. It is said that the contract cost around Rs 639 crore. The Army has released an official statement informing about the contract which says, “A major contract through capital procurement route, for procurement of 1,86,138 bulletproof jackets (BPJs) has been signed. The impending requirement of the Indian Army for effective BPJs has been met after successful conduct of stringent field evaluation trials.”
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As per reports, the contract has been secured by indigenous defence manufacturer SMPP Pvt Ltd, a Delhi-based company which has a Research and Development Centre in the Okhla Industrial Area. As per reports, the new BPJs will be able to provide “360-degree protection” to the soldier in combat, including from hard “steel core” bullets. The Defence Ministry has processed the contract under the ‘Buy Indian’ category.
According to S C Kansal, chairman and managing director of SMPP, the BPJs can provide maximum security at the lowest possible weight. He said,”These bulletproof jackets will have ‘boron carbide ceramic’ which is the lightest material for ballistic protection. This makes SMPP BPJs the best of the class and will be able to provide ballistic protection at the lowest possible weight.”
Defence Ministry officials said that the new BPJs will be able to increase the confidence of the soldiers. It also stated that the new BPJs that have been developed indigenously will give a new impetus to the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government.
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