Georgian-made bulletproof vests and helmets available

Defense Minister said he wants the armored products to be sold outside Georgian markets as well.
Agenda.ge, 11 Feb 2014 - 00:19, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgian soldiers will have more protection on the battlefield thanks to new Georgian-made military protection gear.

The new equipment including armour helmets and bulletproof vests was unveiled at a special presentation led by the Ministry of Defence yesterday.

A major positive feature of the gear is that it is lighter than previous protection equipment.

Following the presentation, the new gear was put through its paces and guests were able to test the equipment.

Practice targets were dressed in the new armoured protection gear and guests shot at the targets with various types of guns, including TT, LUGER, GLOK 21 pistols, AKM automatic rifle and a SVD sniper gun.

The gear was made by Delta – a legal entity under authorisation of the Ministry of Defence – at the request of the Ministry.

Defence Minister Irakli Alasania said it was the Government’s priority to ensure Georgian soldiers wore the best protection possible while in combat.

"Our main priority was to provide our soldiers who are going to fight in the hot points with the best security items,” Alasania said.

The new equipment weight less than other products on the market. Head of Delta, Ucha Dzodzuashvili said, the armoured helmets weighted between 1.2 to 1.5kg and they were easy to apply or regulate on the head.

The bulletproof vests weighed slightly more than 3kg and featured a special defence area of 43cm-squared. If users added two additional bulletproof layers, the weight would change from 5.5kg to 10kg.

Dzodzuashvili said the helmet and vest were produced in accordance with NATO standards.

The presentation was attended members of the Georgian Government, the Foreign Military and other guests.

Alasania said he was very pleased there was a "Made in Georgia” tag on the items.

He said researches had studied the market before the release of the new security gear, saw there was a need for these products and decided to develop the new gear. He hoped the protective equipment would enter other countries’ markets as well.

"We have got an ambition for this product to be sold in other markets too, since the bulletproof vests and armoured helmets produced by other countries is relatively heavier. Producing these products means [we are] one step closer to NATO and strengthening our national defence system,” Alsanaia said.