'Xena: Warrior Princess' Body Armor Being Developed by US Military
In an effort to help female soldiers on the front lines, the U.S. military is working on producing body armor that mimics armor worn by the famous television star Lucy Lawless on "Xena: Warrior Princess." Military officials hope the new armor will give them greater protection on the battlefield.
The idea to change body armor for female combatants was spurred after reports surfaced in 2009 that women operating with the famed 101st Airborne Division raised concerns about the combat gear that they were issued in terms of fit, protection and comfort.
The body armor didn't fit well, causing problems for female combatants and making a difficult and important job that much harder.
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"It rubbed on the hips, and the vests were too long in the front, so that when you had female soldiers climbing stairs or climbing up a hill or a tree, or sitting for a long time in a vehicle, that would create pressure points that in some instances could impact blood flow and cause some discomfort," Lt. Col. Frank Lozano, who develops female body armor, told Yahoo.
But officials stated that the most important aspect of the new body armor will be its ability to disperse or "spread out the energy" when a projectile hits the body armor, explained Douglas Graham, a spokesman for the Army's Office of Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment.
"Some people would like to eventually make plates so it's like 'Xena: Warrior Princess' and conforms to the shape" of female soldiers, he added.
But there are engineering challenges associated with creating body armor for curvy women understanding that the more curves body armor plates have, the heavier they get. They could also create potential weaknesses of the curves of a piece of armor, Lozano explained.
"There are some complex curvatures that come into play with female hard-armor plates," Lozano stated. "I could make female hard armor, but it would be twice as heavy."
