The latest piece of high-tech kit due to be issued to all British forces deploying to Helmand already has a nickname. It is known by the troops who have tested it as the "combat codpiece".
The name may be irreverent, but the intention behind the new piece of body armour is deadly serious: to protect soldiers' most important piece of personal kit from blast injuries to the pelvic area caused by the Taliban's roadside bombs.
All those deploying to Helmand are already being issued with four pairs of special anti-blast underpants.
They look like black cycling shorts, but are made from special ballistic material crafted from silk and synthetics, which is ultra-lightweight but can stop or mitigate the effects of most small pieces of shrapnel and dirt travelling at high velocity after a blast.
Although no figures are available, many soldiers wounded by roadside bombs in Afghanistan have suffered severe injuries to the pelvic area, mainly due to the increased use of "victim-operated" roadside bombs, when the weight of a soldier or a vehicle triggers the explosion.
That means that much of the destructive force of the blast is aimed upwards, directly towards the groin and top of the legs.
The protective underpants are known as "tier 1" of the protective system, with the second layer, or "combat codpiece", simply known as "tier 2" by the MoD's equipment boffins.
Some 45,000 pairs of the underpants have already been delivered to Afghanistan, with another 15,000 ready to be issued to deploying troops - and more to be delivered early next year from their manufacturer in Northern Ireland, in an order worth £6m.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12014274
The name may be irreverent, but the intention behind the new piece of body armour is deadly serious: to protect soldiers' most important piece of personal kit from blast injuries to the pelvic area caused by the Taliban's roadside bombs.
All those deploying to Helmand are already being issued with four pairs of special anti-blast underpants.
They look like black cycling shorts, but are made from special ballistic material crafted from silk and synthetics, which is ultra-lightweight but can stop or mitigate the effects of most small pieces of shrapnel and dirt travelling at high velocity after a blast.
Although no figures are available, many soldiers wounded by roadside bombs in Afghanistan have suffered severe injuries to the pelvic area, mainly due to the increased use of "victim-operated" roadside bombs, when the weight of a soldier or a vehicle triggers the explosion.
That means that much of the destructive force of the blast is aimed upwards, directly towards the groin and top of the legs.
The protective underpants are known as "tier 1" of the protective system, with the second layer, or "combat codpiece", simply known as "tier 2" by the MoD's equipment boffins.
Some 45,000 pairs of the underpants have already been delivered to Afghanistan, with another 15,000 ready to be issued to deploying troops - and more to be delivered early next year from their manufacturer in Northern Ireland, in an order worth £6m.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12014274