New Delhi, Dec 28 (FN Bureau) Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) handed over technology to survive under -50° Celsius to five Indian companies in New Delhi on Tuesday. The three layered Extreme Cold Weather Clothing System is designed to suitably provide thermal insulation over a temperature range of +15 to -50° Celsius with different combinations of the layers and intensity of physical work. The clothing system is required by Indian Army for its sustained operations in glacier and Himalayan peaks. The Army, till recently has been importing extreme cold weather clothing and several Special Clothing and Mountaineering Equipment items for the troops deployed in high altitude regions.
The DRDO designed ECWCS is an ergonomically designed modular technical clothing with improved thermal insulation and physiological comfort useful in Himalayan regions during different levels of physical activity. Speaking on the occasion, DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy emphasised on the need for developing indigenous industrial base for Special Clothing and Mountaineering Equipment items, not only to cater to the existing requirements of the Army but also to tap its potential for export. The ECWCS embodies physiological concepts related to reduction in respiratory heat and water loss, unhindered range of motions and rapid absorption of sweat while providing water proof, wind proof features with adequate breathability and enhanced insulation as well as strength features required for high altitude operations, a defence ministry statement said.