Symposium on “Protection of The Soldier in Operation”
Koblenz, 06/28/2007.
In the context of the transformation of the Bundeswehr into an operational army, the protection of servicemen and women is of paramount importance. The symposium “Protection of the Soldier in Operation“ mainly focussed on the aspect of “Military Land Vehicles“.
On 27 and 28 June 2007 in Koblenz, the Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement (BWB) held a symposium dedicated to “The Protection of the Soldier in Operation – Part 1: Military Land Vehicles“. The symposium offered a forum for exchanges between specialists from the Bundeswehr, industry and research institutes and was attended by well over 100 participants. Further events around the issue of defense research are to follow.
Under the technical direction of Heinz Joachim Wolf, head of the Project Division “Land Combat” of the BWB, several military officers first gave an overview of the current threat situation in the theaters of operations and then explained the details of the resulting requirements of the forces.
The remainder of the first day of the event first focussed on basic studies concerning lethal mechanisms, evaluation methods and simulation, and subsequently, on innovative and future-oriented protection concepts such as reactive protection systems, like the electrical protection, and defense aid suite systems. The two presentations that followed addressed the issue of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), which represent one of the biggest threats of NATO forces in the theatres.
The second day of the symposium concentrated on human aspects of the protection inside vehicles and on current and future vehicle concepts. At this stage the briefing officers of the BWB took the opportunity to make a detailed analysis of the situation. The representatives of the defense industry were given the opportunity to present existing and novel concepts.
An evening event at the Scientific Collection of Defence Engineering Specimens in Koblenz rounded off the presentation program.
