The flecktarn Bristol vest was developed for the German army for use on operations from 1998 to 2003. The standard Flecktarn flak jacket was not designed to provide protection from typical small arms rounds encountered on operations in Somalia, and a bristol body armour vest with DPM camouflage material made its debut with the German forces in the UNOSOM 2 deployment in Somalia. From 1998, a German Army specification bristol armour was produced in the Flecktarn camouflage with a maximum protection level of 4. The vest was issued to special forces at first, and then more generally to any infantry troops on foreign deployment. The company Mehler was contracted to provide the vests, with a combined carrier vest, bristol plate and soft armour panel weight of around 18kg depending on the body size. The full bristol body armour vest comprises an armour carrying vest with three integrated double G36 magazine pouches, shoulder panels left and right for attachment of standard issue pouches, waist panels left and right for attachment of standard issue pouches or holster and expandable rear pocket on the upper back, integrated 12x14 inch class 4 hard armour plate on the front and rear, soft armour panels front and rear with separate, non-detachable high collar soft armor panels, removable crotch plate with six sided class 4 hard armour plate and same size soft armour panel. Extra straps with quick release buckles were proved at various points on the armour vest for quickly attaching the helmet or other items of kit. The vest's hard armour plates are located behind the pockets, and can be removed via separate openings on the front of the vest. The soft armour panels with the exception of the neck panels are located inside the vest, and can be removed from the inside. The vest is available in Medium/Large sizes only, to fit around a 40-42 inch chest. The vest protection level is not guaranteed. Add review Read customers reviews

View of rear of vest.

View of side of vest, showing the side opening, profile of the magazine pouches and the side LKS panels for attaching a standard German army pouches.

During exercise Joint Resolve 26, in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), soldiers from the German Battle Group's 2nd Reinforced Infantry Company, armed with Heckler and Koch automatic assault rifles, seek to capture French soldiers playing the role of paramilitary extremists, near a paramilitary training camp in the town of Pazaric. (Released to Public) Picture courtesy of Wikipedia.