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Amid the standoff with China, the Army is planning to get insulated ‘pup tents’ for the thousands of troops deployed on the icy heights along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) — where temperatures are extreme and plunge as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius.
These ‘pup tents’ — relatively lighter, easier to set up and better insulated — will accommodate up to four soldiers each. They are meant to replace the existing ‘Tent Arctic Small Mk II’, which can accommodate two to three troops, and, as per an Army Request for Information (RFI), has limitations that affect troop productivity and safety in high-altitude areas.
In the recently floated RFI, the Army invited original equipment manufacturers and authorised dealers to participate in the upgradation process.
The pup tents are meant for soldiers deployed in extreme cold weather conditions, such as in eastern Ladakh (the site of the China standoff), Sikkim and the Siachen glacier. They will have exceptional insulation capabilities for winter but can also be adjusted for summer.
Other criteria listed by the Army include a robust structural design that can withstand strong winds and heavy snow, efficient ventilation, and cold-resistant components and materials such as zippers, fabric and insulation.
Since 2020, India has been heavily investing in building infrastructure and habitat in the border areas of eastern Ladakh and northeast for close to 55,000 troops deployed there. This includes modern habitats with water, electricity and heating. Troops in forward locations were accommodated in larger heated tents and solar-heated and insulated Ladakhi shelters. In 2020, India had also made an emergency purchase of high-altitude winter clothing for troops from the US under a logistics exchange pact.
The pup tents should also be easy to set up, with colour-coded or reflective components for easy assembly in low light or adverse weather. They should be compact and light enough for troops to carry with their personal load, but with adequate headroom and space for storing equipment.
As per officials, the small size of the tents will make it easy to be carried by soldiers during patrols, and, being self-contained, will be easy to set up. “They could be easily deployed on small posts where there is limited space. They can be established for sentries and observation posts operating in buddy pairs, farther from the main post,” an official said.
The Army has scheduled a vendor interaction later this week to discuss and fine-tune other criteria for the tents. All interested vendors will have to provide two sample tents on the broad criteria listed for user trials, which, tentatively, begin next month.
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