MILITARY TEXTILE MATERIALS FOR EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS

Abstract

Despite the leaps in technology in warfare and modern weaponry, the human soldier remains the most important aspect of a competitive army. Military textile materials are an essential, yet often neglected, factor that protect the soldier and enable his or her actions in varying fields around the globe. The participation of most countries in larger military or peacekeeping organisations like the NATO and the UN involves the extension of the geographical areas of activity in environments varying greatly from the soldiers’ country of origin. Protection from the varying weather conditions and comfort are important factors for the optimal operational ability of a person in humanitarian actions or at combat field. Research in performance textiles has given rise to various forms of multilayered clothing and functional membranes with several commercial tradenames. These performance textiles aim at specialized sports and recreational activities as mountain climbing, hiking and cycling, among others. Additional advancements involve even more specialized function like the incorporation of microelectronics monitoring of vital signals of the human body or for the control of equipment. The incorporation of such technological advancements is a current challenge for the national and international military forces that inherit a set of strict procedures. These procedures involve standardization, detailed technical descriptions, cost and of course customs particular to each force. On the other hand, the advancements cannot be neglected and the numbers of soldiers involved are significant to enable the need for change. Current paper is concentrated on the clothing and fabric developments relating to the protection of the soldiers from extreme weather conditions.

Keywords

• Military textiles
• multi-layered clothing
• body insulation
• membranes
• waterproof fabrics
• shell fabrics