Industry Adapts Outdoor Gear Technology to Flight Clothing

Sea Power, Sep 2004 by Burgess, Richard R

Military adaptation of civilian technology is nothing new. Most well known is the adoption of private-sector computers and related information technology. Less well known is the military interest in outdoor sports attire and gear.

The Navy now is fielding new multilayered flight garments with its aviation personnel thanks to a joint effort by several companies in working with the Naval Air Warfare Center. The new flight gear reflects technology developed for and already in use by mountain-climbing enthusiasts.

The Multi-Climate Protection System (MCPS) is a set of four lightweight water-repellent multilayered garments that can be worn with flight suits and aviation gear and protect against fire, wind, rain and snow. The inner and outer layers can be worn as desired according to the environment. A g-suit - an inflatable garment that prevents blackout during extreme maneuvers - can be worn over all four layers of the MCPS.

The MCPS was developed by a consortium of companies working together in a noncontractual agreement. The consortium includes DuPont's Advanced Fibers Systems plant in Richmond, Va.; Maiden Mills Industries of Lawrence, Mass.; and W.L. Gore & Associates, Newark, Del.

All of the garments include Nomex, developed by Dupont and used in flight suits and gloves for more than three decades. According to David Martin, head of Dupont's Nomex military applications and development unit, the fiber's "inherent flame resistance ... cannot be washed out or worn out."

Martin said that, in laboratory testing, Nomex withstood a 12,000-degree fireball for 60 seconds without causing severe burn injuries.

Monty Nagy, head of Dupont's military marketing segment, told Sea Power that the MCPS is a way of "taking mountain-climbing gear to the warrior of today, right on the cutting edge." He said the garments are designed to take into account free movement in the joints and avoid encumbrance caused by thick fabric, to keep a flier from "looking like the Michelin man."

Tara Capecci, the Naval Air Systems Command's project manager for MCPS, said that the MCPS was tested in laboratory conditions in fiscal year 2003 and was tested during the winter of 2003-04 in the fleet by aircrews at five Navy and Marine Corps air stations.

Capecci said the MCPS is maximized for comfort because it is made from knit instead of woven fabric. Also, for the first time, flight gear would be available in a full range of sizes for women.

The Navy will be fielding the MCPS in large quantities beginning in fall 2004, the fruit of $3.1 million in procurement funds allocated in fiscal year 2004. The Navy has requested $3.5 million for fiscal year 2005 procurement. Capecci estimated that the program value might total about $30 million.

Helicopter rescue units are the first scheduled to receive the MCPS, Martin said.

Capecci said various MCPS garments also would be entering service with the Marine Corps, Air Force, Army, Coast Guard and U.S. Forest Service. Prototypes of the MCPS have been used by special operations forces and have been so popular, Martin said, "they refused to turn it back in."

By RICHARD R. BURGESS

Managing Editor