The Ministry of Defense refused to accept 25,000 military jackets, which were made of low-quality fabric

The Ministry of Defense refused to accept 25,000 winter military jackets after an appeal by the Public Anti-Corruption Council at the department. There reported that the batch was sewn from fabric that does not meet the requirements.

Due to a shortage of raw materials from Germany, one of the contractors purchased a different material for the upper layer of the jackets. According to the certificates, some characteristics of this fabric even looked better than the standard, in particular its water resistance. However, additional research and fitting showed significant shortcomings: the fabric turned out to be stiffer, noticeably rustles, has lower air permeability and can crack in the cold.

Deputy head of GAR MO Tetyana Nikolayenko explained why anti-corruption officers raised the issue:

“The manufacturing company provided the conclusions of two laboratories, as if the fabric meets the established technical conditions. But visually and by feeling, the materials are really different.

It is this difference, the council emphasizes, that can become critical during combat missions. Representatives of the organization appealed to the Ministry of Defense to check the jackets more thoroughly. After that, the Central Administration for the Development of Material Support informed the suppliers that it would accept the batch only if the field tests were successful.

Now the fabric and finished jackets are awaiting additional tests and evaluation by the military, who will check them in real conditions. Only after the approval of representatives of the Armed Forces, 25,000 jackets will be placed on the balance sheet of the Ministry of Defense.

“It is better to spend a week on checking than to force the military of a warring country to wear things that do not meet the conditions of the front for half a year every day“, – summed up the head of GAR MO Gudymenko.