What Is Ceramic Body Armor

The standard issue interceptor body armor was not tested to stop rounds at that velocity which is classified as level iii protection.

What is ceramic body armor.

From level iiia to level iv you can be confident that rma s nij certified and compliant hard armor will do the job. One drawback to ceramic armor is that it cannot handle precision rounds in the. While steel armor technically is a stronger material than ceramic there are certain types of bullets particularly ar 15 rounds that impact steel armor more than ceramic. Level iv multi hit rifle ceramic body armor plates use a monolithic piece of ceramic that can produce small cracks throughout the body armor plate when hit by an m2ap round.

This is the lowest level of protection currently available for body armor. This level is mostly outdated since higher protection levels are now just as concealable nij level iia is typically used by individuals that are undercover and cannot risk being identified. The interceptor armor does have pockets on the outside of the vests so ceramic plates can be inserted to upgrade the armor to level iiia. Certain grades of ammunition cause more damage to composite ceramic body armor than steel body armor plates but certain rounds such as ar 15 rounds can penetrate steel armor easier than ceramic body armor.

Like the ar500 steel plates you can find their ceramic plates in a variety of cuts and sizes. The ballistic protection applications of the ceramic armor include transport aircraft armor protection land vehicles armor protection ac 130u gunships armor protection helicopter armor protection and body armor xsapi esapi sapi for military and police protection. Level iv body armor plates are hard armor plates that are only made from composite and are the highest rated protection under nij standard 0101 06. Soft body armor nij threat levels nij level iia.

Ar500 level iv ceramic. A ceramic plate is usually slipped into the outer layer of a. Ceramic level 4 plates are usually made from a combination of polyethylene and aluminum oxide backed with a tough synthetic fiber. This armor b alances weight protection and concealability.

Ceramic plates are a form of composite armor insert plates may also be made of steel or ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. But ceramic body armor also offers impressive protection thanks to ultra durable attributes. If you re looking for a little bit more serious protection and don t mind the bulk ar500 s level iv ceramic pe armor might be what you re looking for. Ceramic plates are commonly used as inserts in soft ballistic vests most ceramic plates used in body armor provide national institute of justice type iii protection allowing them to stop rifle bullets.

Best ceramic level iv body armor. The following are some of the key applications of ceramic armor.