Protecting the Protector: CBRN Equipment Built for Real Operations

P​​​​​​​rotective equipment is judged twice: first on paper, then in the field. J. Blaschke Wehrtechnik GmbH builds for the second test. Personnel must be able to keep working for hours, equipment must be decontaminated and used again, and systems must be adapted to the actual mission.

The company is a family owned business in Vienna. It began in 1852 as a pump and machine factory, took up NBC defence systems in 1980 and has operated independently since 1996, focused on military products and protective equipment. Today it supplies the Austrian Armed Forces and armed forces in more than 28 countries.

Everything Blaschke sells is produced in Austria, on more than 5,600 square metres of production space. After years of textile production abroad, the company brought it back home in 2004. The operation is certified to ISO 9001 and ÖNORM and relies on patented technology and systems developed in house. Because development and production sit in the same country, the path between a customer's request and a working solution stays short. The team meets customers and partners in person at international shows, from Eurosatory in Paris to DSEI in London.

Every suit starts with the same foundation: a tear resistant fabric coated on both sides with butyl rubber. Its tear strength exceeds 900 N per 5 cm, and it resists chemical warfare agents such as mustard gas, Lewisite and VX for more than eight hours. It can be decontaminated with all standard systems at up to 105 °C. Seams are glued, stitched twice and protected on the outside with butyl rubber tape.

Protective suits are the heart of the range. The NBC One Part Suit is heavy, reusable and gas tight, classified as Hazmat Type 1b to EN 943 and available in five sizes. The NBC Two Part Suit offers the same protection as jacket and trousers joined gas tight. The NBC LAB replaces the mask with a panoramic visor for a wide field of view. Boots, gloves, mask connection, drinking system and pockets are configured to suit each mission.

Working in a gas tight suit is demanding, mostly because of heat. The SAB 87 ventilation unit brings up to 250 litres of filtered air per minute into the suit through three standard NATO filters and supports two shifts of four hours per day. Its battery compartment is separated gas tight from the air path, so batteries can be changed even in contaminated terrain.