Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the full deployment timeline will be for the roll out of female body armour in the Armed Forces; and what feedback mechanisms will be established to help improve users’ experiences.

The current Tactical Ballistic Plate (TBP) project, which is currently in its assessment phase, will deliver hard armour plates in a range of different sizes, thus ensuring greater comfort and integration for all users across Defence. Multiple Human Factors Integration (HFI) trials have been completed with female representation. Further information regarding the timelines for the roll out of TBP will be available as the project progresses.

The Army will continue to investigate options to procure complex geometry plates, working alongside both industry and Dstl. However, the technology is new, and the market does not currently offer complex geometry plates which meet current requirements.

With regards to feedback mechanisms, there are opportunities for users to provide feedback however they will become more established with time.