New cool vests for Indian soldiers to beat heat

India will soon provide its soldiers a jacket that will help them beat the summer heat in the Rajasthan desert.

The jacket or cool vest, designed and developed by a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) lab here, would help the soldiers to bear the desert temperatures that shoot up to over 50 degree Celsius, according to defence ministry spokesperson Colonel S.D. Goswami.

The summer heat in the desert "adversely affects" the performance of the soldiers deployed in Rajasthan along the border with Pakistan.

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Among the health problems faced by soldiers due to over exposure to summer heat includes exhaustion, cramps, rashes, stroke and at times even death.

"The cool vest or jacket absorbs body's excessive heat, thus cooling the soft tissue and blood, as it circulates throughout the cardiovascular system. The body remains calmer, metabolic activity may slow, and less body fluid is lost, maintaining suitable electrolyte balance needed for proper muscle function and optimum physical performance," Goswami said.

"The comfort duration of this vest is about two to two-and-half hours after which the jacket has to be recharged for two to three hours in deep freezer or normal refrigerator," he added.

The cost of the cool vest is Rs.2,000.

"The Border Security Force has already carried out a user-trial of the jacket and we have received a positive report from them," said a defence lab official. - IANS