Saving Ryan's Privates: Company Reveals Bombproof Underwear
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Designed to protect against improvised explosive devices in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, Blast Boxers have been available in Europe for about six months by British manufacturer BCB International Ltd. They will soon be availiable in the U.S., company officials say. (BCB International)
The right pair of underpants will keep you comfortable -- and maybe even save your life.
A British manufacturer has unveiled bombproof boxer shorts that it claims can save the lives of soldiers in Afghanistan by protecting their vital organs from improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The lightweight shorts are worn under normal combat gear, reports the British tabloid The Sun, and protect soldiers where standard-issue body armor does not. Andrew Howell, head of BCB International, which developed the clothing, told the Sun he thinks the shorts can save lives.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We believe they will make a real difference," Howell said.
BCB's website claims that on a 10-mile run, the Blast Boxers did not cause undue discomfort, and that the shorts are currently being tested out with a number of European ministries of defense. Representatives of the company did not respond to FoxNews.com requests for comment.
A campaign in the U.K. by charity uk4u asks people to buy the briefs as a Christmas gift for troops. But don't look for them under the outfits of America's soldiers, Army spokeswoman Alayne Conway told FoxNews.com.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The U.S. Army is still in the process of defining requirements via TRADOC's Holistic Body Armor Review," she explained, referencing the Army's training and doctrine command's efforts to reanalyze how it outfits soldiers for combat.
Conway said she has already raised the question of "under armor" to the Army's Program Executive Officer group, the Army arm in charge of outfitting soldiers. "They told us that Army interest is not limited to this specific solution. The program manager is on top of novel approaches to personal protection," Conway said.
So if the bombproof boxers don't work out, might soldiers have bulletproof briefs or underwire underwear to look forward to? Only time -- and our soldier's loved ones -- will know for sure.