According to Daily Mail on June 26, British troops in Afghanistan may soon be using a new item of protective gear – blast-resistant underpants. With more powerful roadside bombs causing a rise in the number of groin injuries and other lower body damage, protective pants could soon be an essential part of the soldier's kit。
The report said that a military accessories provider based in Britain, will soon be selling 'blast boxers' to the public for less than 60 pounds a pair in knitted Kevlar. The MoD is looking at a version of the pants which has a panel made of tightly-woven silk to protect the most vulnerable areas. Used in this way, silk is very strong yet more flexible than Kevlar。
The Kevlar underpants could stop small fragments of a blast, and they have been tested to match the ballistic standards, according to the supplier. Soldiers welcomed the development. "You go out on patrol and you've got a helmet for your head and body armour for your torso but you've got nothing for your groin", said Corporal Simon Mercer, who recently returned from Afghanistan with the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment。
"It's hot and you don't want to wear anything that's going to impede your movement," said one soldier. But it is concluded that although groin injuries amounted to only two to three per cent of all US casualties in Vietnam, they had a long-lasting psychological impact。