In France temperatures are dropping but in Eastern Europe they are collapsing as over a thousand French soldiers are witnessing. There are about 100 in Lithuania, 300 in Estonia, and about 750 in Romania. In these regions, the temperature can drop to -30 or -40° in sensation, depending on the winds and the humidity of the rains and snow.
To protect them from these climates, the Commissariat des Armées, the service responsible, among other things, for clothing and feeding French soldiers anywhere in the world, has developed technical equipment. This “extreme cold” pack was developed in partnership with the Army, Air, Space, and Navy.
The principle of the onion
This packaging is based on the principle of the onion with multiple layers that allow air to pass between them to evacuate sweat and warm the body. Each soldier chooses to adapt it according to the area of action, the activity (static or dynamic), but also his own resistance to cold.
There is regulation and technical underwear, a combat tactical jacket, a thermal jacket, a weather set made up of a jacket and overtrousers and finally a parka. To this is added a hat, socks with silver threads, high mountain gloves, class 4 snow goggles to protect yourself from reverberation, a softshell jacket, mountain shoes with boot covers and even effective down to -35 degrees.
In fact, soldiers must also be able to use their weapons quickly, equip themselves with ballistic protection (helmet, modular bulletproof vest) and carry a combat bag. To create suitable garments, the team goes through a lengthy phase of field testing, and the path to final validation and an order can take several years depending on its complexity.
smart clothes
Captain Stéphane revealed to us some items that are being tested, such as an ultralight jacket that protects against cold and rain. It was designed to replace a heavy, bulky fleece no longer worn by soldiers.
For the equipment of the future, the Commissariat of the Armed Forces is working with the Agency for Defense Innovation (AID) to develop technological equipment. For example, teams are working on connected jackets capable of self-regulating based on weather conditions and even keeping headquarters informed of a fighter’s physical condition.
Science fiction? Not really, a smart clothing prototype was unveiled at the Defense Innovation Forum in Paris last year. To create this “augmented” soldier, AID launched the Centurion program with Thales and Safran. Studies started in 2019 to develop demonstrators in 2030.
Source: BFM TV
