Military Textiles A textile material developed to fulfill the technical requirement of defense such as Camouflage, flameproof, ballistic cloths etc can be termed as military textiles. These are also called as defence Textile.

1. Military Textiles
A textile material developed to fulfill the technical requirement of defense such as Camouflage,
flameproof, ballistic cloths etc can be termed as military textiles. These are also called as defence Textile.
Criteria of military textiles
Criteria to be considered while designing modern military textiles –
1. Physical requirement
2. Environmental requirement
3. Heat Protection requirement
4. Battlefield hazards specially ballistic protection
5. Camouflage, concealment and deception Requirement
6. Economic consideration.
Physical requirements
a. Lightweight and low bulk
The products should be lightweight to wear by individual personnel and to carry during transportation
using vehicle with minimum space availability.
b. High durability, dimensional stability & cleanability
c. Good handle and drape
It should be easy to body fit structures as well as better hand feel
d. Antistatic charge
It should have the property to avoid the incidence of explosive spark.
Environmental requirements
a. To protect from cold weather such as waterproof, windproof, snow shedding.
b. Thermal insulation property especially required in cold climatic conditions.
c. Water vapor permeability
d. Personal as well as other equipments for example tents of military.

2. e. Ultraviolet (UV) resistance is required to use in desert conditions where the defense material is
exposed to strong sunlight effect.
f. Air permeability
The property is very important when the uniform is worn in tropical conditions.
g. It should be biodegradable.
Thermal Insulation
We have to make clothing material light weight and bulky that gives high insulation property and thermal
comfort.
The cold or wet regions tend to cause the most severe problems, as it is necessary to provide and maintain
dry thermal insulation materials.
The cold or dry areas, including the arctic, Antarctic and mountainous regions require the carriage and use
of clothing, sleeping bags, and other personal equipment which posses high levels of thermal insulation.
Heat Protection Requirement
a) Flame resistance
The outer layer of textile material has always a chance that it will come in contact with a burning
substance so it should be flame resistant.
b) Heat resistance
The compact soldier is always exposed to hot climatic conditions so the inner garments worn by
the soldier should have heat resistance property to avoid heat shrinkage and degradation.
c) Melt resistance
As the soldier is exposed to extreme hot condition the textile material worn next to skin should
not melt otherwise it will cause serious injury to human being.
d) Low smoke emission
In case of fire it should emit minimum smoke otherwise casualty may cause due to suffocation.
e) Low toxicity
In case of fire or other accidental cases, it should not produce any toxic gases which ultimately
going to affect the life of soldier.

3. Battlefield Hazards (Ballistic Protection)
a. Ballistic fragments
The textile material worn by the soldier is exposed to shells generated by bombs, hand grenades, and
other warheads.
b. Low-velocity bullets
The textile material should be bulletproof from a bullet fired through a handgun or pistol.
c. High-velocity bullets
All fabric should be resistance to a high-velocity bullet fired from powerful gun such as 5.5mm up to
12.7g caliber.
d. Nuclear radiation
The body has to be protected from alpha, beta, gamma radiation in an event when the Nuclear atomic
bomb is used for vast destruction.
e. Flechettes
(Pins) Small sharp needle-shaped projectiles were thrown out from hand granite which may penetrate in
vital organs like the heart should be stopped by textile material.
f. Direct energy weapons
This includes laser rays or other heat generating equipment from which the human body is to be
protected.
g. Similarly chemical or biological textile war equipments are used in military application
Camouflage, Concealment & Deception Requirement
 This is the technique to hide any personnel or defence equipments
 Camouflage is used to overcome the contrast of an object and its surroundings.
 The patterns are designed to mimic woodland and desert backgrounds.
 Color change is activated by body heat or through resistive heating that employs a layering of
conductive and thermo-chromic inks (on battery testers), in which case the conductive/ resistive
ink heats up and changes the color of the ink.
 Radar spectrum- This is required to avoid or hide the detection of movement by Doppler radar.
Figure: Camouflage effect

4. Economical Consideration
Easy care: – The fabric should be smart enough, nonironing, easily cleanable.
Minimum maintenance: – Maintenance facility is not available on the battlefield.
Long storage life: – A textile material used in defence is not used frequently; Way stops need to be stored
for 10-20 years.
Repairable: – this equipment should be repairable by the individual or at headquarter workshop.
Decontamination/Disposal:-This property is essential especially against nuclear, biological, chemical
contamination.
Readily available: – This material should be easily available for raising a tender in the industry of
required specification.
Minimum cost: – This material is brought by taxpayers and other public funding.
The fibers usually used for making military dresses-
o Polyester
o Cotton
o High Tenacity Polyester
o Kevlar®
o Coolmax®
o Meta Aramid®
o Lycra
o Nomex®
o Gore-Tex ®
o Carbon
How to give Camouflage Effect
Chromic Materials
 Chromic materials are those which change their color reversibly according to external
environmental conditions. The fibers produced using these chromic materials are also termed as
chameleonic fibers.
 Chromic materials are the general term referring to materials which radiate the color, erase the
color or just change it because its induction caused by the external stimulus.

5. The following chromic materials can be used to change the color depending on various stimulus.
 Photochromic : External stimulus is light
 Thermochromic : External stimulus is heat
 Electrochromic : External stimulus is electricity
 Piezorochromic : external stimulus is pressure.
 Solventchromic : External stimulus is liquid or gas.
Other materials used for getting camouflage effect
 Thermo regulating materials
 Chromic materials
 Luminescent materials
 Conductive materials
 Voltaic materials
 Electronic textiles
Chameleonic Textile Materials
How it works
The top and bottom layers reflect light separately and the resulting beams interfere in a way that produces
bright color, which changes when the fiber is stretched and the angles at which the light waves are
reflected are altered.
This fabric is also used in sports clothes that changes colors in the areas of muscle tension or that sense
when an object is placed under strain as a result of heat.
Safety Military Textile
Security by smart Military Textile (Case 1)
 If a soldier wears the smart shirt during war and gets injured, information on the wound and the
soldier’s condition would be immediately transmitted to a medical triage unit near the battlefield.
 This shirt can help a physician to determine the extent of a soldier’s injury based on the strength
of his heartbeat and respiratory.
 This information lets physicians know the urgency of treatment.

6. Security by smart Military Textile (Case 2)
 In extreme environmental conditions and hazardous situations there is a need for real time
information technology to increase the protection and survivability of the people soldier working
in those conditions.
 The requirements for such situations are to monitor vital signs and ease injuries while also
monitoring environment hazards such as toxic gases.
 Wireless communication to a central unit allows medics to conduct a remote triage of casualties
to help them respond more rapidly and safely.
Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD clothing)
Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians render safe all types of ordnance, including improvised,
chemical, biological, and nuclear. They perform land and underwater location, identification, render-safe,
and recovery of foreign and domestic ordnance.