The traditional Swedish aircrew survival equipment has been mainly geared towards survival in an inhospitable natural environment in or near Sweden, with the worst cases being open sea and the arctic.
Now, when the air force has one squadron ready for international missions, it's become necessary to be prepared for survival behind enemy lines and to adapt to a NATO standard. The work with developing a suitable kit started in 1999.
This vest is intended for Viggen and with small differences for transport pilots. The arm fixing jacket in the suit for Gripen pilots requires a somewhat different solution.
The separate floatation vest has been replaced with a floatation aid affixed to the vest as a collar. The survival vest is about 5 kg heavier than the previous life vest.
The exact contents can be varied depending on the environment, as in more or less water. The type of food isn't a particular one, but the one giving the most energy for the least volume being available at the time.
The seat pack has also been updated. Now everything soft is vacuum packed and all of it except the dingy is stored in a backpack. (Previously you were mostly supposed to wait for rescue, but one thing left out which was included before is improvised snow shoes.)
Document created 2002 July 11, last modified 2002 Oct 14 by Urban
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