Special Operations Command plans to acquire new uniforms and a suite of wearable
technologies for its warfighters, a program official said May 25.
After
years of fighting in the desert climates of the Middle East, U.S. commandos need
to be prepared to operate in the Arctic and the jungle, said Adam Fields,
SOCOM’s program manager for survival, support and equipment systems.
“We
haven’t been fighting in those areas,” he said in an interview following a
briefing on his portfolio at the National Defense Industrial Association's
Special Operations Forces Industry Conference. “It’s going to be different
things that we need.”
Operators in the Arctic must be able to tolerate
temperatures 50 degrees below zero, he said. “We want to reduce bulk as much as
possible so the guys aren’t simply surviving in the Arctic but they’re actually
able to do their job,” he said “It’s mostly about reducing weight and
bulk.”
In the jungle, uniforms need to counteract heavy rainfall and
high humidity, Fields said. “We want to be able to get the moisture off of the
operator [and] we also don’t want the uniforms to get soaked after five
minutes,” he said.
The uniform needs to be durable in heavy brush, which
can tear materials when troops are on the move. “You need to make it strong but
absorb water but quickly dry and protect them from that sort of thing,” he
said.
The command is looking for gloves that provide similar advanced
protection, Fields noted.
A single company doesn’t need to produce the
entire uniform, which will consist of multiple layers, Fields said during his
briefing to members of industry.
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