Infantry Combat Equipment (non-firearm): Vests, Body Armor, NVGs, etc.

ahho said:

Kind of odd to have use a SMG in a border patrol exercise, unless they will travel into tight/urban areas.

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The SMG is the squad’s ‘silenced’ weapon, having it is far less odd than the shotgun, which would only be useful at close range.

We need to remember that these guys are responsible for stopping the likes of IS and Al-Q infiltrating into Chinese territory, so it makes perfect sense for them to be equipped for serious combat ops against organised opponents.

Having a silenced weapons option to quietly take out enemy sentries to allow the squad to get the drop on them is a very useful capability to have.

As I said, the shotgun is the really odd choose. Maybe they carry it to fire shotgun taser rounds as a non-lethal ranged option against unarmed trespassers who resist without having to shoot them with live ammo?

A shotgun and an SMG offer about the same effective range.
Also very very few weapons offer the "movie" level of silence. Also the weapon in question lacks a suppressor. More likely it's due to the individual soldiers specialty. Medics and specialists often are issued a weapon more suited to Personal defence then ranged combat as there combat capacity is secondary to there specialty.

TerraN_EmpirE said:

A shotgun and an SMG offer about the same effective range.

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That depends on ammo. Buckshot is only good to 40-50 yards. You can get 100m+ range with slugs, but the bullet drop and high recoil is going to make accurate shooting harder with a shotgun at 100m than an SMG. Especially in combat situations with rapid second shot follow ups as opposed to competition shooting.

Also very very few weapons offer the "movie" level of silence.

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That’s why I said ‘silenced’ . No gun is Hollywood silent, but the reduced noise level of a suppressed SMG can still offer significant tactical advantages to a squad.

Also the weapon in question lacks a suppressor.

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Are we looking at the same picture? That group shot with the guys showing their weapons clear has the suppressor attached.

More likely it's due to the individual soldiers specialty. Medics and specialists often are issued a weapon more suited to Personal defence then ranged combat as there combat capacity is secondary to there specialty.

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That may be the general trend with many militaries, especially those with conventional full length standard rifles, but such practices have not been consistently observed within the PLA as far as I am aware.

The 95 bullpump is short and light enough that an SMG really doesn’t offer much in the way of size or weight savings. SMGs that are issued are almost always suppressed, with the SMG acting as point man in most exercises I have seen, so it looks to me like the SMG is taken for its silencer rather than as a personal protection piece for squad specialists within the PLA.

According to the poster, these are soft side armor plates, to be installed inside the vest and therefore doesn't take up extra space on the outside.

Cumberbun protection US Army terminology "Enhanced Side Ballistic Inserts" (ESBI). Useful for protection against fragmentation.
Low ballistic protection but when you consider that fragmentation and ricochet effects are more common than direct rifle hits.

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specifically designed for high-altitude and cold weather use have been issued to border patrols under the Xinjiang Military Command. Apparently, the patrols were previously using standard-issue canteens and camping gears.

Google Translate is pretty good for translating the linked article.

Unfortunately, I only have photos for the new canteens.



Here the canteens are being tested for insulation.


Translation starts with the top-left panel, going clock-wise, 1) Thickened 304 stainless steel inner flask. 2) Multifunctional cap. 3) Inner insulation cap (for food). 4) Thickened non-slip bottom.

New combat uniforms, vests, radios, ballistic helmets, visors, boots, etc... I think these are the real deal; they come from the Weibo account of a real soldier (or so I was led to believe).

A few observations and questions...
1) In the 1st photo, what is that retractable visor worn by the guy the left? It obviously has a built-in camera, and I wonder if it has a built-in HUD as well. In the 2nd, you can see the back end of the visor, with protected wire guide, etc. Also, in the 1st photo, the soldier on the right, is that an earpiece or mic dangling off the left side of his face?
2) Rank insignias are now re-located to the chest area and name tag moved to the left side. Breast pockets now open from the side (with zippers). Redesigned chin straps, with a strap adjuster on the right side of the chin (interesting). Removable pouch for tablet devices (1st photo).
3) Judging from the 2nd photo, the uniform provides a greater degree of movement for arms.
4) In the 3rd photo, note the new knee guards (worn by center four), along with the previous model (worn by the outside two). I guess no FDE boots? Neck scarfs would be nice.

Looks like an AR visor of some sort. I hope it gets integrated in a helmet mounted NVG/Thermal system.

Some of those helmets fit quite well compared to the helmets we usually see that look 14 sizes too big. However, some helmets seem to sit really far up, exposing some of the forehead. Also, this vest system seems to a lot lower coverage (at least in the configuration in the pictures) than the Type 15 and Type 06 (issued to the Sudan peacekeepers with throat, groin and deltoid protection). I would personally feel safer in this (although cumbersome):

Sunbud said:

Some of those helmets fit quite well compared to the helmets we usually see that look 14 sizes too big. However, some helmets seem to sit really far up, exposing some of the forehead. Also, this vest system seems to a lot lower coverage (at least in the configuration in the pictures) than the Type 15 and Type 06 (issued to the Sudan peacekeepers with throat, groin and deltoid protection). I would personally feel safer in this (although cumbersome):
View attachment 48975

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Also note the last photo of my post shows two types of ballistic helmets: one provides greater coverage, the other exposes the ears. The ones with the exposed ears seem to sit particularly high, but part of that probably has to do with these helmets being physically 'tall'. Anyway, I hope the sitting height is adjustable.

As for the vests, they don't appear to be able to accomodate ballistic inserts. If that's the case, then the exposed chest area makes no practical difference. If they do accomodate inserts, then I wonder if the vests are supposed to be worn in tandem with the wrap-around neck armor shown in your photo. If that's the case, the low coverage is also ok. But for all we know, it could just be a simple but improved tactical vest, issued to the troops for training purposes and low-intensity scenarios, because after all, China hasn't traditionally issued armor on a large scale.

If you go back to the very first page of this thread, you'll see my posts showing various Chinese tactical vests, many of which have high chest coverage and accomodate inserts. So I think the latest vests you see are probably just a simple tactical vests that don't accomodate inserts.