(ASK) PLA body armour

Body armor is not expensive. The Interceptor armor and helmet system used by the US army and marines only have an unit cost of $1500. A comparable Chinese model would most likely cost only around 30-60% as much. I don't know why they go halfway and supply their troops with Kevlar helmets, but not ballistic vests.

Obcession said:

What they handle? I think it's more because of counter-battery fire.

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Oh, something about lots of high explosives all around them...

I think artillerymen are most exposed to the threat of shrapnel, wherever it's coming from, and that's what most common body armor protect best against now days.

Also, I don't see how the cost-saving method of limiting body armor usage is an "excuse" or baloney. Just because China doesn't want to lavishly spend its GDP on expensive body armor on troops that are serving as border garrisons against countries whose military capabilities are a fraction of theirs, or reserve troops who would most likely never seen action on short notice given the size of the active forces, doesn't make the procedure an "excuse".

If the PLA is willing to spend the bookkeeping costs to save money so the country can spend that money elsewhere in civilian investments, I don't see why anyone would blame them for doing that. It's not that they "lack" the money; they are just using it more efficiently with simple accounting practice.

The analogy to "why does China need rifles or tanks in peace" does not make any sense. Those equipment require much training to be effective and constant practice to master. Wearing body armor doesn't take training, except for getting used to the weight, which is easy to find a cheap alternative for. You can't make a cheap alternative for a rifle that you can train with the same effect on.

The same goes for tank armor. ERA is expensive to maintain, so in place of ERA they use modular armor during peacetime. There's no point to putting ERA on every tank or body armor on every soldier during peace time. It's a waste of money.

China has its limited budget and its priorities, they are simply doing what is best for the country.
The US simply has a bigger budget so it can afford more gear for its troops, but it still has its limits.
IIRC, one of my professors once talked about his research applications for new generation body armor, it completely surpasses the current body armor in use in the US army. However the US army turned down the proposal in no time because they didn't think their soldiers were worth 600k each.

PeoplesPoster said:

This line of reasoning is ridiculous. The PLA either cannot afford body armor for the majority of it's troops right now or just don't believe in protecting it's soldiers is a current top issue. All this talk about body armor shelf life and using sandbags to familiarize to body armor is just silly.

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Or maybe they have them but we don't see them much in photo. Armour shelf life seems silly, well then you haven't done any material engineering then buddy, if you did you wouldn't of said that. Materials get weak over time, and body armour aint cheap for you to wear them just for a training run. China isn't in war status. By your thinking China should be closing all ties and just keep producing military hardware like the Soviet Union did in the Cold War then, despite China having no current threat.

HKSDU said:

Or maybe they have them but we don't see them much in photo. Armour shelf life seems silly, well then you haven't done any material engineering then buddy, if you did you wouldn't of said that. Materials get weak over time, and body armour aint cheap for you to wear them just for a training run. China isn't in war status. By your thinking China should be closing all ties and just keep producing military hardware like the Soviet Union did in the Cold War then, despite China having no current threat.

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I'm well aware of material shelf life, it just shouldn't be a factor when training your soldiers. By your argument China shouldn't be producing any sort of equipment because everything has a shelf life and since China has no current threat it'd be just a waste. Once again it's not a matter of cost, if you want to train your soldiers for war you have to train them under conditions as close to reality as possible. As mentioned before I'm starting to think that the PLA traditionally just doesn't place high importance on the individual soldier.

PeoplesPoster said:

I'm well aware of material shelf life, it just shouldn't be a factor when training your soldiers. By your argument China shouldn't be producing any sort of equipment because everything has a shelf life and since China has no current threat it'd be just a waste. Once again it's not a matter of cost, if you want to train your soldiers for war you have to train them under conditions as close to reality as possible. As mentioned before I'm starting to think that the PLA traditionally just doesn't place high importance on the individual soldier.

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You obviously hasn't read my post, but I clearly stated how many materials required for training cannot be replaced by a cheaper alternative, but body armor is something that is easily imitated in training with extra weights or just a heavy vest.

The USAAF doesn't let beginner pilots fly in F-22s, because trainer jets can offer much of the same training to beginners. Does that mean the US does not place high importance on the individual pilot? The US Army doesn't give raw recruits all the gear in basic training and has them run with heavy packs that aren't necessarily loaded with actual useful material. Does that mean the US Army doesn't care about its soldiers.

Add in the fact that China's not at war while the US is rotating much personelle into the war on terror, your argument and conclusion that the PLA just doesn't care about its soldiers is completely invalid.

PeoplesPoster said:

I'm well aware of material shelf life, it just shouldn't be a factor when training your soldiers. By your argument China shouldn't be producing any sort of equipment because everything has a shelf life and since China has no current threat it'd be just a waste. Once again it's not a matter of cost, if you want to train your soldiers for war you have to train them under conditions as close to reality as possible. As mentioned before I'm starting to think that the PLA traditionally just doesn't place high importance on the individual soldier.

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Your still not grasping the concept. China needs tanks, fighters, destroyers, frigates, helicopters to train they take more time to train up and familirize. Body armour China has, but we dont see them that widespread. It is a matter of cost, you don't have infinite money to burn, if its not matter of cost then why shouldn't China have equal budget to America. They do indeed care about their soldiers they're still a man power comes first oriented. No commander if given the choice will want to send soldiers to their deaths.

Shelf life on other equipment yes everything has shelf life but you need those vehciles to train with, body armour is quicker to get familirized, its basically weights. As once said again China can produce military equipment at accelerated paces then most nations. Also some troops emphasises on speed and manuverability. Once again China isn't in any threat, if you buildup your military despite having no threat then you will soon cause concerns to your neighbouring nations. Why not go back to Cold War era, use all of society money just for military let the nation starve. China is trying to balance out their nation yet effectively detering any possible threats, but in a way of not making their neighbours too concerned.

Is it possible that the higher ups have priortized the issuing of body armour. Since the PAP,police and PLA units deployed overseas are more likely to be shoot at than the regular PLA force.

I'm not saying that the PLA don't need body armour it shoud be issued to them when there're deployed. For all we know there could be a supply problem, the producers of body armour just can't meet the demand to supply all these groups in a timely fashion.

The US the richest country in the world ran in to this sort of problem with supplying up-armoured kits for their hmmvees and MRAPs. They prioritized getting these supplies and equipment to Iraq when the fighting there was worse than Afganastan.

My question to you guys is how many peices of body armour would be needed to fully outfit the entire PLA, PAP and the police? Because that is alot of armour your going to need a minmum of what 5 million peices of armour which is going to take some time to get done.

Hey does anyone know if the PLA is having a debate to adopt plate body armour vs dragon skin?