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EOD suit question
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10135556
Member
The current suits used world wide with a good reputation is the Med-Eng range. The owner of the company used to test these suits himself by setting of 1kg of plastic explosives while squating 1 meter away.
A bomb suit must be treated like a priced garment for it is made of kevlar & other specialized ceramics.
The reality is that when it is a car bomb, anything bigger than a current 81 mm mortar you will have a problem.
In South Africa suits were manufactured but never updated or tested until 2003 when it was discovered that 95% of the suits were useless. We then started importing the Med Eng 7 & 9's but the price tag is hefty due to the exchange rate.
A bomb suit must be treated like a priced garment for it is made of kevlar & other specialized ceramics.
The reality is that when it is a car bomb, anything bigger than a current 81 mm mortar you will have a problem.
In South Africa suits were manufactured but never updated or tested until 2003 when it was discovered that 95% of the suits were useless. We then started importing the Med Eng 7 & 9's but the price tag is hefty due to the exchange rate.
Thats something when the manufacturer physically tests the suits himself...thanks for the explanation as well,,why didnt The south african manufacturer upgrade there own suits ,i can never understand why a country buys in stuff which can a be made at home ,,
10135556
Member
South Africa found that after 1994 that we had sold most of the technology to British & USA companies. We were also under the impression that explosives would not be a further threat, thus the need for these suits did not exist. In Operation Rachel, Mozambique the condition under which we work did not allow for bomb suits.
The problem only became clearly visible in 2002 with the WSSD conference in Jhb, then we had to buy fast & furious, but only 2 suits were bought from Med-Eng. In October 2002 the Boeremag happened & we shifted focus from rural to city bomb disposal. Thus 4 more were bought for 64 national bomb technicians.
The problem only became clearly visible in 2002 with the WSSD conference in Jhb, then we had to buy fast & furious, but only 2 suits were bought from Med-Eng. In October 2002 the Boeremag happened & we shifted focus from rural to city bomb disposal. Thus 4 more were bought for 64 national bomb technicians.
bomb suits
Basically the suit will protect the wearer from an explosion on the way to and from the device.
The physical properties of blast overpressure cannot be controlled so any sizable explosion will result in a bad day.
Remember the Russian operator who was caught in a blast he was next to his only injuries were comensurate with blast.
Remember 'It's all good fun till someone looses an eye'
Basically the suit will protect the wearer from an explosion on the way to and from the device.
The physical properties of blast overpressure cannot be controlled so any sizable explosion will result in a bad day.
Remember the Russian operator who was caught in a blast he was next to his only injuries were comensurate with blast.
Remember 'It's all good fun till someone looses an eye'
In the past few years I've done physical testing on a number of Med Eng suits on 2 different occasions for the manufacturer. While we tested them with a number of different size charges under a wide variety of scenarios I can assure you that in no way did I ever witness any human being used in the target suit. It would never happen on a government owned test facility. I call BS!!!
Sorry to disappoint but I have had that story confirmed by company reps both in Australia and Canada. However to put it into context, the individual did this quite some time ago. MED ENG are up to at least EOD 8/9. Australia adopted the EOD 7 in the mid 80's when it was as I understand it a new design. We are talking about this testing occuring on suit versions prior to that so late 1970's early 1980's.
Gov't owned no but I'll dig around and I can probably find the video with the owner of Med-Eng taking a hit in the suit from a 1lb charge at about 10 ft.
BruceV8
Active Member
The published figures for the (now out of service) British Mk 4 suit were to provide protection from half a pound of commercial explosives wrapped in a pound of nails at a distance of one metre. The breast plate was also to protect against a 7.62mm bullet fired at 11 metres. The current Mk 6 is said to offer substantially better protection but in the final analysis no suit will protect you from a large charge close up. It may allow you to be buried in more or less one piece though. In the UK forces, suits are only worn when dealing with IEDs. CMDs are done in clean rig.
I'm wearing a Mk 4 suit in my avatar pic!:bigsmile:
I'm wearing a Mk 4 suit in my avatar pic!:bigsmile:
BruceV8
Active Member
A South African game ranger and professional hunter asked if I could get him a decommissioned suit as he thought it would be just the thing to wear when going into dense bush after wounded leopard and lion. Bit tricky to bring a rifle to bear, though, even without the breast plate.