The Marine Corps has started fielding next-generation body armor to grunts
Jared Keller
18 hours ago
After years in the making, the Marine Corps has finally started fielding next-generation body armor to lighten the load for grunts in the field.
The new lightweight protective vest, known as the Plate Carrier Generation III, is designed to provide additional protection from shrapnel and other fragmentation for Marines, according to a statement from Marine Corps Systems Command.
More importantly, the new system is 25 percent lighter than the Corps' existing plate carrier, providing a smaller footprint in terms of the load a grunt has to haul and in turn reducing fatigue and improving operational capability while maintaining a similar level of protection.
The Corps has been looking for lighter body armor for years, but the hunt took on new urgency after a 2017 Government Accountability Office report underscored the standard Marine grunt's average load weight of 117 to 119 pounds "could impede mobility and hinder combat effectiveness."
https://taskandpurpose.com/military-tech/marine-corps-body-armor-plate-carrier-generation-iii-fielding
