The Slow Race for Better Body Armor
MILITARY DEVELOPERS AND INDUSTRY RESEARCHERS CONTINUE TO SEARCH FOR TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM OF PROTECTING SOLDIERS IN BATTLE.
Through a variety of iterations, body armor has emerged as an important story from the fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. From success stories, failures and supply issues, personal protection is a hot button.
To protect against ballistic impact takes mass and weight, neither of which are comfortable in the best of circumstances let alone in the searing heat of southwest Asia in combat conditions. A major design concern has therefore been to find the balance of protection, flexibility and comfort. On top of these creature elements, there were also some issues relating to reliability of some vest/plate systems under fire that raised some serious concerns and caused some soldiers to look to private suppliers for their own vests.
Recognizing the clear limits of the Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) system, Army and Marine officials agree that it is the best body armor available today, both in terms of available vest designs and the ceramic plates that provide bullet stopping power.
Scott Adams, program manager for individual combat equipment at the Marine Corps Systems Command, told Special Operations Technology that despite its limits, the ceramic ballistic plate that is at the core of every system fielded for soldier use by the Army and Marines, including those used by special operations forces, is the best available for battlefield use. “What we are fielding is the state-of-the-art technology,” said Adams. “You [currently] can not get away from ceramic. Everything is a trade off. And if you want an increased area of coverage, that means more of your body will be covered up. That will be heavier and hotter.”
Although they use a different body armor and plate system than that fielded for regular Army and Marine use, Army Special Operation Command, seems to have recognized the limits of current ceramic plates that provide bullet protection in their own Body Armor Load Carriage System (BALCS) body armor system.
USSOCOM released a presolicitation in May for a five-year, indefinite quantity contract for a new family of ballistic plates that will, “improve the survivability and mobility of SOF using the latest viable technologies.” USSOCOM seems to be taking the lead in calling for improved ballistic protection over the removable smallarms spectra shield-backed boron carbide ceramic plates, known as a Small Arms Protective Insert (SAPI) in use since the late 1990s, and the thicker and more bullet-resistant enhanced, ceramic plate (ESAPI) that the Army and Marines began fielding in March 2005.
Adams’ comments about the plates were echoed by Sean Martin, senior vice president for sales and business development for Armor Holdings Aerospace and Defense Group’s Individual Equipment Systems Division, one producer of ceramic plates for the IBA system. “Currently, technology is allowing us to field the highest-performing plate, be it in a [Army Special Operations] BALCS configuration or in the more traditional SAPI [ceramic plate] configurations, in terms of defeating the threat out of the theater at the lowest possible weight available,” said Martin.
Industry and military designers told Special Operations Technology that they are working to provide the holy grail of ballistic protection of maximizing bullet stopping properties while minimizing the burdens of weight, bulk and heat/cold stress. However, they argue that next generation technologies are not yet ready for fielding and may not be for some time.
Martin said that the USSOCOM solicitation, while having an eye toward improving ballistic protection, recognizes the limits of viable technologies. “It [USSOCOM] is looking for a leap forward technology and capability,” he said. “However, the requirement was written in such a manner that they recognize the technologies are what they are.”
First put into use in 1998 and known officially as the Interceptor Multi-Threat Body Armor System, the Pompano Beach, Fla.-based Point Blank Body Armor product consists of two modular components, an outer tactical vest along with the removable small arms protective inserts (SAPI) and enhanced SAPI (ESAPI) plates.
The newer ESAPI plates were developed to fight some of munitions used by insurgents in Iraq that the original SAPI plates were found to not withstand. Overall, the IBA and design has been modified five times since the war in Iraq began as insurgents figured out how to exploit the gaps in the protection system.
The 16.4-pound Interceptor system includes 4-pound removable plates in the back and front of the 8.4-pound Kevlar vest as well as webbing that allows for the attachment of equipment. Along with that removable throat, groin and deltoid protectors have been fielded since the Iraq war began in an effort to combat some of the type of injuries being seen in battle.
The outer vest is rated to stop a 9 mm bullet while the ceramic plate inserts are rated to stop AK-47 rounds moving 2,750 feet a second, but this statistic is somewhat deceptive.
It is arguably the number of bullets the plate inserts can stop and just how much of the body is protected that is important, given the situations soldiers often find themselves in and the ability for Iraqi insurgents to exploit the limits of the system from not only a small arms perspective, but especially from the impact of improvised explosive devices (IED).
A United States Marine Corps forensic study made public in January after being leaked to the press found that nearly 42 percent of the Marine torso injuries that resulted in death could have been prevented with better protection in non-plated areas surrounding the ceramic inserts in the vest. In addition, the study reportedly found that nearly 23 percent might have benefited from protection from the mid-armpit along the lateral chest and an additional 15 percent had died from impacts in the unprotected shoulder and upper arm regions.
Armor has been available to since 2003 to address these concerns, but the Pentagon has been slow in fielding the added protection for the troops in the theater despite calls for its use.
A spokesperson for Point Blank indicated that the group would participate in the solicitation for the new USSOCOM BALCS armor plate.
Despite the changes made to the Interceptor system to address concerns about its performance, body armor distributors and manufacturer report that they continue to receive steady inquiries from soldiers in the theater and families about purchasing body armor, much of it they say is driven by concerns over the Interceptor systems and SAPI plate effectiveness.
At a Pentagon press conference on March 31, the Pentagon announced what had been mandated by the Army earlier that month that only standard issue body armor could be worn and that local commanders had been directed to ensure that no non-standard vests were being worn in the field. The message also singled out Dragon Skin made by Pinnacle Armor for particular scrutiny. While not necessarily indicating that Dragon Skin was not an acceptable product, the announcement instead pointed out that it simply had not gone through the evaluation process for Pentagon certification. The announcement flamed the debate on offering the best protection to the soldiers on the ground and at what cost.
Paul Chopra, a spokesman for Pinnacle Armor, said that his company receives daily calls from soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq who say they don’t care what the Army requires them to use, they want to purchase his firm’s better-performing Dragon Skin system.
The flexible body hugging system, which has been around as long as the Interceptor product, has been the center of much controversy. The design consists of silver dollar-sized advanced ceramic or titanium composite disks, depending upon its ballistic rating, that are linked together in fish scale pattern.
The company claims a much higher level of performance than the Interceptor system, including much greater level IV stopping power—with 9 to 12 rounds stopped—as well as a 140 percent more area of protection. But the U. S. Army has said repeatedly that Dragon Skin has not proven to be effective in testing, despite some published reports that the tests have shown it to be superior to the Army’s IBA system and its reportedly increasing use by local law enforcement.
“They have yet to show that it is ready for prime time,” said MARCORSYSCOM’s Adams. “But the technology is interesting.”
Bruce Burkholder, global technology manager for DuPont’s Advanced Fibers Systems division, said that if there was a viable option that performed better than the state-of-the-art Interceptor system, the Army would certainly field it for soldiers. DuPont manufactures the Kevlar-based ballistic fabric used in the Interceptor vest. “I understand some people make the claim (of better performance),” Said Burkholder. “However, this [the IBA] is the only package that has really demonstrated performance reliably. The Army is very quick to move to things that work once they satisfy themselves they can do that.”
“What we have told industry we are looking for is a more flexible armor solution, getting away from the hard ceramic plate,” said Adams. “We want something that fits the body better and weighs less. We are asking them for a 30 to 50 percent reduction in weight. We also want it to cover more of the torso area. We are asking for a lot, but you have to push industry where you want it to go.”
Nevertheless, he said that in the near-term major advances in body armor effectiveness are not likely to be seen, but that more incremental improvements will come over the next five years, including better vests with improved torso, shoulder and arm protection. This is something that has yet to be provided for soldiers in a way that allows for full directional movement.
In addition, there is clear movement industry-wide for integrated solutions in protective vests that better distribute heavy loads away from the shoulders to the torso.
DuPont’s Burkholder and others in the industry echoed Adam’s analysis. “What you are going to see (in the near term) is some sort of incremental improvement,” he said. “They want protection that that will allow them to work more effectively on the offense and on the defense. They want a lighter loads and more flexibility.”
In terms of long-term developments, he refused to provide specifics about new materials DuPont has in development, but said that breakthroughs are on the horizon, including polymer-based fibers that will provide better ballistic fragmentation protection as well as against chemical as well as thermal damage threats, something demanded by the experience of soldiers with IEDs in Iraq.
Even with such advances on the horizon, Cheryl Stewardsone, the ground soldier system lead in the Future Force Warrior (FFW) program office at the Natick Soldier Research Development Engineering office, said that she doesn’t think the Army is going to be fielding armor protections systems that are that dramatically different over the next five years. “Within the next 10 years we are still going to have what one would [today] consider a fairly standard platform for armor and load carriage,” she said. “There is not a magic suit out there that is going to defy the laws of physics anytime soon.”
Her team has been focusing over the past few years on improving the design of a new vest-based ballistic armor carriage and belt system that provides the same level of ballistic protection as the Army’s current Interceptor system, but that provides more flexibility and better performance in any operating environment.
She said not only does the holistically designed FFW systems offer more comfort with 18 percent greater ballistic coverage than the existing IBA system, it also provides improved breathability as well as flex points in the armor to allow for great operational flexibility. The system also was developed with various features intended to make it a very stable load carriage platform for equipment, such as radios and other electronics with an expected 2- to 5-pound reduction in weight.
Phil Cunniff, a mechanical engineer with the ballistics team working on the project said that they are also working on using materials that are substantially lighter weight with added ballistic protection properties that stem from the geometry of the material, including fabric made from the high-strength M5 polymer combined with carbon epoxy stiffeners.
In addition, he said the ballistics team is working on emerging threats, such as stopping carbide tungsten core bullets, as well as small arm protection plates with improved multi-shot stopping capabilities, by taking advantage of the latest ceramic technology and improvements in processing that they expect to field in the Future Force Warrior system.
Other leap-forward technologies being researched today by Armor Holdings and other firms include composite and nanotechnology- based plates.
Patriot Performance Materials, Inc. was founded specifically to meet the unique demands and needs of the Special Forces community. Founding members of PPM, Inc. have extensive experience in Naval Special Warfare and U.S. Army Special Operations.
With special operations missions in mind, PPM manufacturers several different vest systems including the direct action vest and a direct action cutaway both protect to the level IIIA+ soft ballistic inserts but the cutaway version is streamlined with assault and weapon handling movements considered in the design. They also make an integrated outer tactical vest, a tactical carrier vest and a spec ops covert vest.
The company’s Special Ops A.P.I. plate with its light weight and protection level is designed specifically for special operations forces close quarters battle. Its light weight and threat level make this plate an ideal candidate for such an environment. Designed to defeat three hits of 7.62x39 (AK-47) armor piercing incendiary at 2,400 feet per second (fps).
The SAPI Plus plate, when tested in conjunction with Interceptor soft armor (and all Patriot soft armor), defeats 5.56 x 45 M855 Green Tip at 3,250 fps), 7.62 x 54R LPS ball at 2,300 fps and 7.62 x 51 M80 ball at 2,750 fps.
Recent advances of front and rear ballistic protection have caused statistical increases of side injuries due to direct fire and fragmentation. Patriot, responded with the Side Plate A.P.I. is fully capable of withstanding three shots of 7.62 x 39 armor piercing incendiary at full velocity. The plate comes complete with a modular cover that allows placement of the plate anywhere on a fully modular tactical system.
Recently announced on the body armor market is First Choice Armor’s DAC Vest, the first in their new Vortex line of body armor. The DAC Vest has a unique patent-pending quick release system known as IQRIS (integrated quick release internal separation). Other comparable vests in the market have many more parts and expend valuable time in the field to reassemble. The IQRIS system allows for fast and easy access out of the vest and re-assembly in less than one minute.
The DAC also features a flame resistant inner liner and smart wire channels to allow for antenna wires to be concealed preventing snags. The DAC is equipped with internal channels that allow air to circulate away from the body, increasing cooling and reducing heat stress points.
First Choice Armor has a long history in developing and supplying soft tactical body armor for federal, state, local and agencies worldwide. First Choice is an ISO 9001:2000 company that manufactures tactical, concealable, correctional body armor, as well as shields, plates, vehicle armor and more.
Early achievements in the composite area are already available for use today in plates produced by Raleigh, N.C.- based Ballistic Protection Technologies LLC.
R. Lupton Pittman, president and CEO of the small ballistic protection system manufacturer, told SOTECH that his firm has just sold USSOCOM a patented 14.5-pound ballistic armor blanket for use inside Humvees or for defensive needs. Beyond the blanket, Pittman said that plates from his company have been tested by the Army, Marines and Navy, noting that their 3.3-pound level three plate has taken hits 12 times with a 7.62 bullet without failure, with their level-four plate also performing well.
“We are the lightest weight armor [on the market] and the fact that we are non-hydroscopic really opens up new applications in the military area,” he said.
Despite such performance claims with competing materials, Armor Holdings’ Martin noted that the industry remains in a state of flux over what comes next technologically after ceramic plate. Because of this he predicts it will remain the foundation for body armor systems for the foreseeable future. “I wish I could tell you there was going to be something in 12 months,” he said. “Over the next 12 to 24 months we will know as an industry whether or not there is a new technology that is out that will be appreciable, something that will give us that change in our current performance levels. Right now, I can’t point to any single technology that will get us there.” ♦