UKRTAC the first in Ukraine to produce and supply body armor with positive buoyancy element to army - Severion Dangadze

The manufacturer of personal protective equipment UKRTAC is the first in Ukraine to develop and supply body armor with a positive buoyancy element (PBE) to the army under state contracts. This was reported by Severion Dangadze, Director for Development of UKRTAC.

Modular body armor with PBE keeps a serviceman in full uniform with ammunition weighing up to 120 kg on the surface of the water for 24 hours. Such body armor is intended for marines, special forces, port workers and other specialists.

PBE in UKRTAC body armor is a chamber with two cylinders that operate in both automatic and mechanical modes. If one chamber is punctured, the second one will open automatically. If a serviceman is injured or unconscious and ends up in the water, the PBE will open, turn him onto his back, and support his head and body on the surface until evacuation.

When closed, the PBE cameras are protected by a ballistic package according to the 2920 V-50 standard - protection against debris at a speed of 600 m/s. "If a serviceman on land, on a ship or in a boat is hit by an FPV drone or debris, the element will protect both the soldier and the cameras - they will work if he ends up in the water, conscious or not," Severion Dangadze explained.

In early 2026, UKRTAC made the first deliveries of such body armor to the army. Following the results of the tenders, the company signed three contracts for a total of 9,000 units.

"The body armor has 11 elements of protection, plus the twelfth element – PBE. We have put it on the supply: now the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine can put this element on any body armor that is in service. It is universal, the military can adjust it to suit themselves - to any size," Dangadze said.

Recall that earlier the company was the first in Ukraine to carry out and continues to supply body armor for women to state structures under contracts with international institutions for the needs of the State Emergency Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the National Police and the National Guard. The company also manufactures and supplies protective suits for humanitarian demining.