Avon Protection will manufacture and supply tens of thousands of respirators for the British armed forces in a £16 million deal.

The General Service Respirators (GSRs) are personally fitted and issued to all UK service personnel across the British Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy.

The company say it is aiming to produce an initial batch of 15,380 GSRs over the next year and will also supply in-service support for the equipment. The £16 million contract has three and a half years left to run.

Defence Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said in a release:

“Last year the MOD spent over £5.2 billion with UK industry in the South West. This multi-million-pound contract will boost this contribution even further and support over 200 jobs in Melksham. These lightweight respirators protect our service personnel while ensuring they can communicate effectively on the battlefield.”

Dr Simon Dakin, Director ISTAR at DE&S, said:

“We are very pleased the production and supply of General Service Respirators to our servicemen and women will continue for years to come. The fact this is a product manufactured in the UK for the UK armed forces is one of many positives from this five-year partnership with Avon Protection.”

The Ministry of Defence say that the design is a twin-canister, single-visor mask and has been made with the safety and comfort of troops in mind, using high-performance filtration technology to ensure they are protected while still being able to communicate easily on the frontline.

 

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George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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farouk
farouk
4 years ago

Kind of misleading headline as the GSR has been in service since 2015.

LordSpam
LordSpam
4 years ago
Reply to  farouk

The original GSR’s were made by Scott in the USA

AlexO
AlexO
4 years ago

Nearly 20 years with the S6, bad memories of struggling for breath after an assault etc. Everyone hoarse the next day from screaming to be heard more than 30 feet away. Having to turn your rifle through at least 45o to be able to see the sights Anything has to be better.

Jason Holmes
Jason Holmes
4 years ago

Extremely clumsy when actually trying to fight with it on! S10 was much easier to shoot with

BV Buster
BV Buster
4 years ago
Reply to  Jason Holmes

I cant knock the new GSR, compared to the old face welly its so much easier to suck in gob-fulls of air. Can you shoot in it? I honestly cant answer that question as I cant shoot without one! (those that cant….teach)

BV

Jason Holmes
Jason Holmes
4 years ago
Reply to  BV Buster

GSR is clearly better protection but to get the rifle into a position to shoot with it is much more awkward due to the large canister on the right cheek.

Tinman
Tinman
4 years ago
Reply to  Jason Holmes

Better that then dead!

Lee1
Lee1
4 years ago
Reply to  Jason Holmes

Can one of the canisters be detached for this purpose?

DaveyB
DaveyB
4 years ago
Reply to  Lee1

Yes, but the amount of airflow is halved. This was the whole reason of having two filters, The original S10 with only one filter severely restrict airflow and therefore your ability to breathe. So if you’re running around like a hooligan, you very quickly get tired. If I remember correctly, the higher ups thought being able to breath properly was more important than be able to shoot effectively.
With the pop up red dot sight, close targets are not a problem with the GSR, anything longer gets tricky.

DaveyB
DaveyB
4 years ago
Reply to  BV Buster

Bring out the gimp….

Gunbuster
Gunbuster
4 years ago

You know you where in the mob to long when you where issued with 3 different types of ressy’s during your time…S6, S10 and GSR.