Body Armour

[persona_non_grata]

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Body armor has been used by armies since times immemorial .......
We see the romans, Greeks and other medieval and middle age armies sporting body Armour of various sorts......

I have rarely heard of body Armour used since the arrival if the musket. I mean soldiers in the 18th / 19th century, both world wars ... Korea ... Vietnam ....... 65 / 71 ... Kargil wars ....... I have not seen any type of body armour used by soldiers in these conflicts.

My first encounter with modern kevlar vests was during the American raid in Somalia ..... Now you see almost every western soldier an police officer equiped with one.

My question is were muskets/ rifles deemed too powerful to make any type of body amour effective OR were trenches, foxholes thought of as sufficient protection against all types of projectiles.

Regards
Varigeo

[su-47]

Body armor has been used by armies since times immemorial .......
We see the romans, Greeks and other medieval and middle age armies sporting body Armour of various sorts......

I have rarely heard of body Armour used since the arrival if the musket. I mean soldiers in the 18th / 19th century, both world wars ... Korea ... Vietnam ....... 65 / 71 ... Kargil wars ....... I have not seen any type of body armour used by soldiers in these conflicts.

My first encounter with modern kevlar vests was during the American raid in Somalia ..... Now you see almost every western soldier an police officer equiped with one.

My question is were muskets/ rifles deemed too powerful to make any type of body amour effective OR were trenches, foxholes thought of as sufficient protection against all types of projectiles.

Regards
Varigeo

when muskets/ rifles were introduced, the existing body armour ie steel armour worn by knights was insufficient to stop a bullet. till the invention of kevlar, there was no materila light enough to be worn by an infantryman that could stop a rifle bullet.

so troops didnt wear body armour till the modern day simply because there was nothing that could be worn to stop a bullet. it was not due to a lack of desire for protection.

[RescueRanger]

Correction:

Gremans used ceramic plates in WWII, will try to find the link so really it was a work in progress that was perfected post vietnam...

[su-47]

Correction:

Gremans used ceramic plates in WWII, will try to find the link so really it was a work in progress that was perfected post vietnam...

sorry i didnt make my post more clear. what i meant was troops didn't use body armour on a large scale.

the ceramic plates you mentioned were probably too cumbersome, too expensive or simply not effective enough. whatever the reason, it wasn't mass produced.

[RescueRanger]

sorry i didnt make my post more clear. what i meant was troops didn't use body armour on a large scale.

the ceramic plates you mentioned were probably too cumbersome, too expensive or simply not effective enough. whatever the reason, it wasn't mass produced.

Oh yeah totally aggree, infact even the old Flak vests issued in Vietnam were too cumbersom and heavy to wear during operations, until they finally came up with the m69 flak vest.

[Imran Khan]

old days



new days

[Keysersoze]

Bear in mind that the picture of the suit of armour shown would have in actuality quite thin steel (or equivalent) curved and shaped to enhance its strength against sword and arrow blows.

[RescueRanger]

I am such a big fan of medevil armour, especially full tin plate Knight Armour.

Here is the future of modern combat armour:



It's called the Trojan Body Suit and provides Level IIIA protection to the user, an integrated thermal imaging camera, head lamp, Air Fed Supply, and ceramic plating around the critical points.

If you google it you should be able to get additional info.

[Super Falcon]

what tye of body armour that indian and pakistan army is using

[tamir]

Don't know exactly what the specs are for the Indian Army. Pakistan Army is using Level IIIA soft armor with Level III inserts. The Pakistan Army has preferred woven ballistic fabric over non woven HPPE like Spectra and Dyneema.
In the mid 90's a large order was placed for body armor. The order was split between Lightweight Body Armour (LBA) UK and Ballistic Body Armour, South Africa. Both companies supplied Level III ceramic plates weighing 2.7 kgs each.
I got into the body armor business in 1999. Bad timing because of the nuclear tests and sanctions that followed. The vests being supplied now have Dyneema Level III stand alone plates weighing only 1.3 kgs.
The Chinese have been pushing their HPPE ballistic material which is half the cost of Aramid but the quality is not consistent. The Chinese copied Dyneema and invited DSM corporate heads to China for a tour and wanted DSM to license their product. DSM wasn't very happy with this and filed a lawsuit and recently won the case.
A few local companies tried manufacturing PASGT Level IIIA helmets. Not to name any names, one company was blacklisted and the other main competitor gave up on the project. Air Weapons Complex has been manufacturing helmets.

I know for a fact that the Punjab Police and the Rangers have heavier vests because they are Level IIIA+ soft armor. Most common handgun is the Russian/Chinese variant of the Tokarev 7.62x25mm (TT). This ammo (steel core) easily penetrates Level IIIA armor. Just to give you an idea.... Level IIIA NIJ certified vest with 32 plies of Kevlar defeats 44 magnum and 9mm SMG rounds with 34-40mm back face trauma. We needed 54 plies of Kevlar to defeat the Tokarev round.

Hope this information helps.

[m15t3r7]

have any body heard of dragon skin it a good body Armour


i think Pakistan should look in to it
go on youtube check it out

[Mark Sien]

Widespread use with the Army will take some time, there are other things to work on such as individual communication devices, night-vision & thermal imaging to relevent units, etc. Fact that armor designs keep changing and keep improving, the PA cannot procure a huge amount in one go, it has to do it in phases.

[tamir]

Dragon Skin is a good product. Two major draw backs when considering Dragon Skin for the Pakistan Army. 1... heavier than traditional vest because it is providing more Level III coverage. 2. Expensive compared to traditional vests. Last order I remember Pakistan Army got Level III vests with Dyneema inserts for approx. $600.

Thermal imaging and communications hardware have been on the Pak Army's shopping list.

[ALi Rizwan]

Air Weapons Complex has been manufacturing helmets.

& Bullet-Proof Jacket

BULLET PROOF HELMET & JACKET

Description
The Advanced Composites Research Center at Air Weapons Complex has carried out extensive research on bullet-proof materials. Using indigenous technology, AWC has developed lightweight composite Bullet-proof Jackets and Helmets that provide exceptional battlefield protection. At the same time, the unique design features facilitate body and head movement while aiming, crawling and running.
The Bullet-proof Jackets and Helmets developed by AWC provide protection against ammunition according to NIG Standard 0101.03.

Bullet-Proof Helmet (Level III A)

Specific layers of biaxial woven kevlar fabric have been integrated in polymeric resin. The fabric/resin has been cured in a specific mould under high temperature and pressure for specific time duration. After de-molding, trimming and painting, webbing is attached to the Helmet.

Bullet-Proof Jacket (Level III A & Level III)

Specific layers of biaxial woven kevlar fabric have been stitched in diamond pattern. The trauma pack is an integral part of the ballistic insert. The assembly is stitched in water/moisture-resistant black plastic to maintain its ballistic properties. This effectively stops the 9mm bullet. The Jacket can stop the 7.62mm bullet after insertion of front and back laminated ceramic plate. The outer cover is made of washable 100% cotton camouflage twill.

advantages of kevlar fabric

High tensile strength/modules
High toughness
Light weight
Excellent retention of strength at elevated temperatures
High thermal stability
Self extinguishing
Cut resistant
Good chemical resistance


test firing

Bullet-Proof Helmet

The Helmet was fired at from a distance of 5m by 9mm caliber sub-machine gun ammunition at ballistic test facilities of Air Weapons Complex and Inspectorate of Armaments, Rawalpindi, in accordance with NIJ standard 0101.01. The Helmet stopped the bullet effectively. The average trauma effect was found to be within limits. The Helmet was also tested under wet conditions. The wet tests did not deteriorate the results.

Bullet-Proof Jacket

The Jacket was fired at from a distance of 5m by 9mm and 7.62mm caliber ammunition at ballistic test facilities of Air Weapons Complex and Inspectorate of Armaments, Rawalpindi, in accordance with NIJ standard 0101.01. The Jacket stopped both types of bullets effectively with nominal trauma effect.

salient features

Bullet-Proof Helmet

Protection Level III A (against 9mm ammunition)
Material Kevlar
Resin Material Polymeric
Color Optional
Webbing Cotton
Ballistic Visor Optional
Weight 1.4 Kg


Bullet-Proof Jacket

Protection Level
Without Ceramic plate III A (against 9mm ammunition)
With Ceramic plate III(against7.62mm ammunition)
Material Kevlar
Trauma Pack Polymeric
Ballistic Insert Laminated Ceramic
Outer Cover Camouflage Khaki Twill
Collars Integrated
Pelvic Flaps Optional
Weight 2.8 Kg

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© Copyright Air Weapons Complex 2001

[tamir]

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These are old Army specs from the mid 90's. The vests are much lighter now. Inserts have much better multi hit performance. Vest standard has upgraded to NIJ Standard 0101.04.