Over the years, aviator equipment and clothing were developed as separate entities and fitted to aircrews and aircraft as space dictated. The lack of effective integration, and excessive layering of multiple items (e.g. life raft, survival vest, flak vest, etc.), reuslted in aircrews being furnished with a volume of personal gear that becomes a physical burden, especially when protecting against worst-case threat scenarios such as Nuclear Biological Chemical (NBC), over-water combat. The physical burden imposed by the cumbersome personal gear degrades aircrew effectiveness by increasing fatigue, reducing mobility, limiting visibility, and reducing the ability to safely fly the aircraft and perform mission function.s
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