Army Defends Body Armor Quality
Army defends quality of its armor
Maker of Dragon Skin body armor says Army jiggered test results
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Wednesday, May 23, 2007
ARLINGTON, Va. — An Army official on Monday rebutted claims that the commercially made Dragon Skin body armor provides more protection than the Interceptor Body Armor that soldiers are issued.
Pinnacle Armor makes Dragon Skin and claims it is the first “flexible body armor that defeats rifle rounds,” that it is lightweight and provides at least 44 percent more protection than standard ballistic plates, the company’s Web site says.
On Sunday, NBC News reported that independent tests showed Dragon Skin was able to stop more rounds than the body armor issued to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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But Dragon Skin failed several ballistic tests last year, said Brig Gen. R. Mark Brown, of the Army’s center for advanced soldier equipment.
Dragon Skin vests are made so that there is a 50 percent chance that a bullet will hit only one of overlapping ceramic discs that provide ballistic protection, said Brown, of Program Executive Officer Soldier (PEO Soldier), based in Fort Belvoir, Va.
During the first tests on Dragon Skin, a bullet went through the vest after hitting just one of those discs, Brown said.
Furthermore, the system of overlapping discs fell apart when the vests were exposed to extreme cold and heat to simulate moving the vests by air to a hot climate, he said.
To pass Army testing, body armor must stop all rounds fired at it, Brown said.
“One failure is sudden death and you lose the game,” he said.
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Army spokesman Paul Boyce said Neal has made similar accusations against the Army in the past, but, “the test results speak for themselves.”
The Army initially did not release this information due to operational security concerns, but it felt compelled to do so after the NBC report to make sure soldiers’ families have confidence in the body armor soldiers are issued, Brown said.
The Army does not plan to release the actual tests themselves to avoid giving the enemy information it can use, he said.
Brown also said Monday that the Army is close to awarding a contract for newer, lighter body armor for U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan known as Improved Outer Tactical Vests.
Meanwhile, the Army also plans to start issuing the next generation of body armor in fiscal 2010 or 2012 as part of the Future Force Warrior System.
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