Flexible Body Armor

The drive towards lighter weight was brought on by the need to provide military personnel with protection that is less taxing on their bodies and at the same time allowing for better maneuverability and a greater degree of comfort. Rigidity of the armor remains a deterrent for mobility or for accessing positions necessary for survivability. The development of a lightweight flexible armor protection system is hence desirable and must be capable of offering enhanced protection and torso flexibility to the operator. During the Phase I effort, MMI ballistically tested ceramic materials that survived the NIJ level !V requirement using APM2 and M993 rounds. In addition, during the Phase I option effort, MMI built and tested a matrix of these ceramic structures and demonstrated survivability of the structure at 0 and 30 deg impact for one simple flexible configuration. The lessons learned from this system and architecture in the very short time span will be further expanded, modified and tested during the Phase II efforts. The designed system will not exceed 7.1 lbs/ft and will provide for flexibility in movement and retain multihit capability.