The investigative arm of Congress released an updated report Friday on the status of the U.S. militarys body armor acquisition efforts and the effectiveness of the armor the services are fielding.
The reports were conducted at the behest of the U.S. Comptroller General — the head of the Government Accountability Office after news reports brought to light shortfalls in armor fielding and flaws in testing that resulted in tens of thousands of vest sent to the war zone that had not passed spec during quality assurance testing.
The latest GAO report found the Army and Marine Corps had effectively revamped their testing regimen and raised their specifications to meet emerging threats in the combat zone. It also marked one of the first times that a government entity has stated formally that the new Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert plates, or ESAPI, were developed to address the threat of armor piercing 7.62 rounds.
During my reporting on this issue, the services threatened me with everything short of a shank in a dark alley if I revealed the reasons behind the ESPAI buy. Specifically, the Marine Corps had a plate in its hands (that I knew about) with a hole in it from an armor-piercing round around the first of the year in 2005. They shared the plate with Army ballistics experts, who were concerned by the penetration as well.
The plate was examined at ballistics labs, including HP White in Street, Md., where the Army prefers to do its ballistic tests. Tungsten-carbide residue was found in the impact zone, leading experts to conclude the armor-piercing round penetration.
Thus the rush for ESAPI began
The services seem to have gotten their act together when it comes to specifications and testing, the GAO report shows. Congressional auditors did mention, however, an initiative by the Pentagons office for operational test and evaluation to standardize the Army/Marine Corps testing regime — which is slightly different and conducted at separate NIJ-certified testing sites that will be put into place in 2007.
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
Now if only they’d give Pinnacle a fair trial.
Christian,
Just like you’ve opened a ball of wax with the M4 issue, thank God for that too, perhaps it’s time a little sunshine should be brought to the body armor issue and the fiasco behind the rejection of Dragon Skin body armor. Here’s yet another piece of equipment that has shown is better that what the troops currently have yet it’s not being fielded for who knows what reason.
All the signs are that Pinnacle’s Dragonskin was rejected for all the wrong reasons – ‘not invented here’ – and really deserves a better look.
Does it have any champions here?
Guys,
I’ve got a lot to say (and some pretty in-depth reporting done) on the Dragon Skin. Lemme make some more calls and I’ll post something on the latest on Dragon Skin development and the rumbling controversy…
I’m on it!
Christian
Just a thought on the dragonskin http://op-for.com/2007/04/marine_corps_publishes_new_pol.html – more over the link to the professional soldiers website.
There are only 2 things with Dragon Skin. Little protection from extreme angles, and price. Other than that, The Army and USMC need to get their s*** together and get Dragon Skin. I mean, we’re not discussin sunglasses or holsters here, here dealin with essential life-saving equiptment. And whats the point of usin armour that wont stop a 7.62, especially when thats what the bad guys are usin.
Billy Big Spuds,
Interceptor with ESAPIs will defeat 7.62X54R API ammunition. Even before the days of ESAPI it would defeat 7.62X54R, which is used in enemy sniper rifles and medium machineguns. The average insurgent is armed with an AK47, firing 7.62X39mm. The Interceptor and SAPI plate combo has been successfully defeating that threat since 2003.
Christian, I look forward to your piece on Dragon Skin. I think there is a lot of misinformation and conjecture out there regarding body armor, which leads to incorrect statements like the ones made by Billy.
Seeing that The Amazing and Revolutionary Dragon Skin armor can’t pass NIJ Level IV testing I decline to drink the kool-aid. Videotaped “demos”, gushing endorsements and “secret” test results are what late night rip-off artists use to seperate suckers from their money. Why should we believe them in this case?
And don’t forget the lamination failing in tempratures above 120 degrees, DragonSkin is one shiny peice of marketing that’s for sure, but proven reliable tech should certainly win out over slick advertising shouldn’t it?
Well, the DragonSkin nay-sayers are certainly out, but why not have proper testing in the open (without any vested interests being involved this time) and get the facts?
As I recall DargonSkin’s robustness – it doesn’t break when you drop it – was another big plus. As for cost, are we comparing like with like? Order 10,000 DrangonSkins and I suspect you’d start getting some economies of scale kicking in.
Looking forward to Christian’s posting…
Watched Gunny Ermey unload a full AK mag at the Dragon Skin (didn’t say what type of ammo) at damn near point blank with zero penetrations on Mail Call. Not scientific to be sure but damn, looked good. I realize that these manufacturers are all trying to make a buck, but isn’t there some point where the military steps up and says, we like this other system, but gosh darn can we license the Dragon Skin scale system to replace the current plate system (may be a bad example, but would like to see some sharing/blending of the technologies for max benefit for our dudes).
I agree with grandjester we should do a blending of armor or something so we can get this debate over with and just get the guys some decent armor that offers better coverage, is lighter weight, brethable, and can save some lives!
Yeah Ben, but what about the weight?
One great Technolagy about the dragon skin is the fact that just about the intire vest is “bullet proof.” This can be incoperated with other vest to make the sholders and sides armored against bullets, not just shrapnel.
Having seen, in person, Dragonskin fail test after test after test at HP White, color me a bit skeptical about the Dragonskin boosters here and elsewhere in the community…
I’d like to see a movement to boycott recruiting more troops until we can get them the protective gear they need, and some descent weapons like the FN P90 bullpup assault rifles. There’s a lot of good technology out there.
We should leave Iraq so they can have a good descent civil war and earn their freedom the old fashioned way so they might actually appreciate what we’ve handed them on a silver platter already.
Willie, we have protective gear, and the FN P90 is a personal defense weapon, not an assault rifle. It fires a pistol-caliber cartridge, with a max effective range of 200m, which is far from equivalent to the current M16/M4 family of weapon systems.
I just don’t see a controversy, the price tag from a budgetary standpoint combined with the “shove it down your throat” sales tactics by Pinnacle Armor is a sure fire formula to inspire the the Army to just invest in better interceptor models, and thats what they did. In fact they have a newer Boron Carbide coming down the pike that has better fracture toughness, we intend on using it thats for sure.
The newest interceptor vest is a nice unit.
As a soldier currently serving in Iraq, I want the best. According to tests from H.P. White, U.S. Test Labs, and Aberdeen test center, Dragon Skin beats Interceptor in Several categories. These include: Ballistic Performance, Weight, Flexibility, Multi-hit Capability, Durability, Back-face Deformation, Ergonomics, and Edge Hit Capability. This testing was done with level 4 ESAPI in the interceptor and the latest Dragon Skin(SOV-3000) That being the case, I want Dragon Skin.
Dragon Skin makes all kind of claims, but nobody wants to wear a 47+ lbs vest. Pinnacle avoids this issue like the plague. Go look at their latest entertainment video showing off their Level V vest. It is hideous and looks like the thickness of a New York City phonebook. You be the judge.
I think Dragon scale is good but is quite heavy and does not take incerible amout of hits maybe 10 at best. A newer amour from Defend-X is much better it is like hard plates in shape and size but thats were the similaries end. I saw a video on you tube of it taking 63 5.56 nato green tip rounds before even dinting on the back. The armour has two plates with some for of rino lining on them and sandwiched in beteween them is a balsitic foam. any way it looks like the best amour out there right now.
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Yeah pinnacle does deserve a fair trial. With all of the testing and certification problems i believe people are a little hesitant about purchasing body armor until this gets straightened up.