Infantry Combat Equipment (non-firearm): Vests, Body Armor, NVGs, etc.

[Jono]

1.4 million vests to be procured in 2 years.
there seems to be an air of urgency in this, as if these vests are expected to be put to use after 2 years or so.
Are Chinese companies capable of producing that many vests in 2 years? would the quality of the vests suffer in a rushed program like this? Is the PLA ready to accept suboptimal quality for the quantity? these are questions raised by a layman like me.
I mean, if the PLA's intention is just to equip their land forces in line with their western counterparts, why 2 years? Why not 5 years if there is no imminent conflict in mind ? And I am sure the quality of the vests will be better ensured if not produced in a " hurry ".
Coupled with the fact that the PLAN is producing surface combatants like dumplings, the case of 055 and 075 come into mind, points to something Big being planned. Some big island to be reclaimed ?

 

[jobjed]

What do they want with it I wonder. Body armor has a shelf life of 5 years, buying them in bulk at such a short time doesn't make sense unless the PLA foresee a lot of usage of them in the not so distant future (7 years max given that the order is to be fulfilled in 2 years).

Ceramic plates and UHMWPE are incredibly stable and can last indefinitely amounts of time if not abused. The expiry dates for ceramic plates are liability precautions and don't reflect the behaviour of actual plates, similar to expiry dates for salt. However, the PLA should have X-ray inspections for these plates to identify cracks from rough usage. If the PLA takes good care of these plates, they can last for a long time, much longer than the nominal 5 year service life.

 

[AndrewS]

1.4 million vests to be procured in 2 years.
there seems to be an air of urgency in this, as if these vests are expected to be put to use after 2 years or so.
Are Chinese companies capable of producing that many vests in 2 years? would the quality of the vests suffer in a rushed program like this? Is the PLA ready to accept suboptimal quality for the quantity? these are questions raised by a layman like me.
I mean, if the PLA's intention is just to equip their land forces in line with their western counterparts, why 2 years? Why not 5 years if there is no imminent conflict in mind ? And I am sure the quality of the vests will be better ensured if not produced in a " hurry ".
Coupled with the fact that the PLAN is producing surface combatants like dumplings, the case of 055 and 075 come into mind, points to something Big being planned. Some big island to be reclaimed ?

2 years shouldn't be a rush, as it is plenty of time to ramp up production.

And I don't think they will accept suboptimal quality. The tenders are for 2 different grades of protection vest.

If it takes an extra year to produce everything that is fine.
The actual chances of needing to use all these vests is still really low.

And they can always decide to reduce the order quantity once they get all the bids in.

 

[by78]

Now an official confirmation of the large order of body armor, albeit citing the same procurement website.

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[by78]

Are Chinese companies capable of producing that many vests in 2 years?

China has by far the largest production capacity for body armor in the world. The question is whether this large order will affect the availability of body armor for international resellers, especially those who profit handsomely by stamping a brandnames on China-made body armor.

 

[SpicySichuan]

One possibility is of course that they are planning something serious for the next 7 years.

Taiwan-2022 (window of opportunity after the Beijing Winter Olympics and before the 20th National Congress in the same year)?

 

[AndrewS]

Taiwan-2022 (window of opportunity after the Beijing Winter Olympics and before the 20th National Congress in the same year)?

Don't be silly. It's not worth the risk.

 

[by78]

Rucksack.

 

[MrCrazyBoyRavi]

Why is China selling its type 07 camo uniform to foreign nation / special forces ? selling gun is one thing but uniform too ?

 

[Sunbud]

Why is China selling its type 07 camo uniform to foreign nation / special forces ? selling gun is one thing but uniform too ?

If it's surplus now that the PLA is moving to their new uniforms, then it's quite normal. In the same way you can find Bundeswehr surplus flecktarn all over the world in the civilian market.