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STANAG 2997
STANAG 2997 life jackets and personal flotation devices
Makers of military life jackets and personal flotation devices, and the buyers who specify them for ground forces operating near water.
STANAG 2997 is the NATO agreement setting safety and performance requirements for military life jackets and personal flotation devices. NATO has not released it publicly; this page describes it from the Czech defence standard that implements it.
- Edition
- 2
- Published
- 2004-10-08
NATO has not released this STANAG publicly. It is NATO UNCLASSIFIED, and organisations that need it obtain it through their national standardization authority.
What it is
STANAG 2997 is the NATO Standardization Agreement on life jackets and personal flotation devices. Edition 2 was promulgated on 8 October 2004 under NATO's CNAD, AC/225 NAAG, LCGDSS committee structure.
NATO has not released STANAG 2997 publicly. This page describes it from a public national implementation, the Czech defence standard ČOS 422001 (3rd edition, amendment 1, 2020), which states that it introduces STANAG 2997 edition 2 into Czech use and sets basic requirements for life jackets and other personal flotation devices, aiming to ensure their safety and, where needed, their functional interchangeability within NATO. A national implementation can add national requirements and reservations, so treat what follows as the Czech implementation's content, not as NATO's own text.
What the Czech implementation covers
ČOS 422001 covers personal flotation devices that a person wears and that provide sufficient protection against drowning. It excludes buoys, life rings, floating cushions, floating coats, diving suits and other swimming aids. Ground forces operating near waterways need these devices for combat and non-combat river and lake crossings, movement through marshy terrain, and assaults near water; devices for special tasks such as underwater demolition fall outside its scope.
The standard sets out three types: an inherently buoyant device (foam or granular material, low-cost and low-maintenance, but needing more volume to store), an inflatable device (compact until inflated, but less durable and needing regular maintenance by trained persons), and a hybrid combining both. It groups devices into four performance levels, from level 275 for extreme open-sea conditions, which must keep an unconscious wearer floating face-up with mouth and nose clear of the water, down to level 50 for a competent swimmer near shore who takes an active part in staying afloat.
What the Czech implementation requires
A device must be simple to don over field equipment including body armour, adjustable with straps and buckles, and easy to release and remove in all weather. A jump into water from a height of 3,000 mm (plus or minus 100 mm), or 4,500 mm (plus 500 mm) for naval life jackets, must not displace or damage it or injure the wearer, and after 24 hours soaked in water its buoyancy loss must not exceed 5%. Materials must resist flame, oil, abrasion, corrosion and mould, be sized to fit 98% of the military population, and be coloured for camouflage in combat or international yellow or orange in peacetime. Mandatory accessories for a level-275 life jacket include a whistle, a lifting loop and retroreflective material; the Czech implementation separately adds an emergency light as mandatory for armed-forces use. Each device carries a durable, saltwater-resistant label with its identification, full material composition and the crossed-swords military insignia the implementation cites to a Czech national decree. Testing follows ČSN EN ISO 12402 for magnetic and mechanical properties and trials with test persons, and separate Czech standards for any pressure vessel the device contains.
How we help
A supplier bound by STANAG 2997 through a contract holds the obtained text through its national authority. In ComplyTrain you record the requirements that apply to you as your own requirements, give each an owner, and keep the evidence that shows you meet them against each one.
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