In the trenchesImproved body armor saves money

Published 24 June 2015

The efforts of researchers have now culminated in the first deliveries of more than 148,000 Generation III Improved Outer Tactical Vest, or Gen III IOTV, body armor conversion kits, acquired at approximately half the cost of procuring new systems — $791 versus $413. Best practices from government and industry, soldier feedback, and creative thinking allowed the team to chart a path to upgrade older versions of the IOTV at half the cost of new Gen IIIs.

It is not every day you can get half off the latest and greatest product in any industry, but that is exactly what a team from the product manager for Soldier Protective Equipment, or PdM SPE, and Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, or DLA-TS, has done.

Their efforts are now culminating in the first deliveries of more than 148,000 Generation III Improved Outer Tactical Vest, or Gen III IOTV, body armor conversion kits, acquired at approximately half the cost of procuring new systems — $791 versus $413. Best practices from government and industry, soldier feedback, and creative thinking allowed the team to chart a path to upgrade older versions of the IOTV at half the cost of new Gen IIIs.

The Department of Defense (DOD) says that the team of product engineers, quality assurance representatives, logistics support experts, and contracting personnel developed a plan with the potential to save more than $150 million while providing soldiers with the best possible system. Current contracts have already saved U.S. taxpayers $56 million.

A decade ago, the Army acquired 1.7 million IOTVs. Many of those IOTVs are older models that lack soldier-driven improvements and may not be as effective in combat as the upgraded version.

Nearly 400,000 of the older IOTVs manufactured in the Universal Camouflage Pattern, or UCP, remain in inventory and need to be replaced with the Operational Camouflage Pattern, or OCP. With defense funding on a decline, this is a much different acquisition environment from two years ago, and that was the spur for this effort.

In 2014, the team took advantage of smart decisions made during IOTV improvements to formulate a strategy that would deal with tighter budgets, an aging IOTV inventory and concerns about the combat-effectiveness of older IOTVs.

Continuous soldier feedback spurred the creation of three different generations of the IOTV.

  • Gen I came in five sizes and included a threaded cable quick-release system. This allowed rapid removal of the IOTV if a soldier fell in water or required first aid.
  • Gen II came in eleven sizes in response to soldier feedback and included greater adjustability and other incremental improvements, such as in the quick-release system and soft-armor inserts.
  • Gen III eliminated hook-and-loop closures and added a faster, more intuitive quick-release system.