The late General Bipin Rawat previously stated that if the Indian textile industry can create and manufacture the garments necessary to keep its soldiers warm in tough conditions across the country, the Indian armed forces will completely block the import of such gear. Soldiers are no longer relying on imports for severe cold-weather clothing systems, thanks to indigenous clothing systems developed by AROO, India’s first military start-up specialized in defense gear (ECWCS).
When worn together, the ECWCS is a three-layer modular clothing system designed to keep the body warm in temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius. Soldiers wear it in high-altitude situations such as the Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest combat. The first batch of around 41,000 ECWCS was delivered in the second half of 2021.
Because the Army is confident in the product, it has reordered the indigenous ECWCS rather than importing it from Switzerland, Vietnam, or even Sri Lanka, as it had previously done. AROO undertakes product research, while production is handled by another firm with which it has cooperation. AROO began shipping the second batch of ECWCS last week, via its Bengaluru-based manufacturing partner — the third since completing field trials in 2017.
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