The great Hollywood film industry has spawned dozens of myths, not only about firearms, but also about the means of protection against them. First of all, of course, we are talking about body armor. There is no point in believing in myths. And so it's time to learn how body armor actually works and what it can do in most real-world combat situations.
Features of body armor
Most people have heard that body armor is divided into classes based on the degree of protection. This is indeed the case. However, the vast majority of citizens do not have the slightest idea what a bulletproof vest has inside. Many people mistakenly believe that modern bulletproof vests - this is a kind of Kevlar shirt. Such a belief is erroneous, though not entirely.
What does a bulletproof vest consist of?
Any modern bulletproof vest consists of three main elements, two of which are mandatory. The first element is the cover. It has no protective function. It is only necessary for the person to be able to put the protective equipment on himself. The second element is a bag. The first level of protection. The third element - the plate, which is the second level of protection. Design features and protection class of body armor are determined by the combat tasks for which it is produced.
The cover of the bulletproof vest is usually made of a strong, hard-wearing fabric, which at its best has protective properties against sunlight and water. Only the bag and the plate protect the person directly against bullets and shrapnel. And the area of both protective elements most often does not correspond to the area of the cover. The body armor package is made of aramid fabric (kevlar) or high-molecular polyethylene.
Synthetic fibers can protect the human body from buckshot, pistol rounds, rifle rounds and small fragments. The problem of Kevlar and materials similar to it is that it does not very well muffle the kinetic energy that is transmitted along with the bullet. This means exactly one thing: a high degree of human injury, even without an open gunshot wound. In addition, the hit of a bullet in a Kevlar vest is a horrendous pain. More importantly, however, Kevlar vests do not provide a high degree of protection against rifle and machine gun calibers, even at the highest grades.
It is for this reason that the plate plays the most important function in military body armor. The plate is a rigid element that is mounted on the chest (sometimes also on the back) of the vest over a synthetic fabric package. The plates are made of steel, ceramics or the already mentioned high-molecular polyethylene. The armor plate greatly increases the bullet protection of the vest and also improves the absorption of the kinetic energy of the bullet, reducing the injury rate when hit. Click to buy esapi plates for sale.
