Body Armor

 Body armor is critical business for folks that face fight. The right frame protection can decide the difference among death, grave risk, or protection. If that is so, why did the U.S. Army ban using Dragon Skin frame armor?

Dragon Skin is a kind of ballistic vest or frame armor designed by the now-defunct employer Pinnacle Armor. It turned into manufactured by way of the North American Development Group LLC, based in Missoula, Montana. It was made for regulation enforcement and military officials in addition to the public.

It turned into known as “Dragon Skin” armor due to the 2-inch-wide round discs that overlap like dragon scales. This creates a bendy vest that permits a extensive variety of motion. Its layout can soak up excessive numbers of hits compared to other armors used by the military.

Read directly to learn greater about the Dragon Skin body armor, its capabilities and abilities, and controversies main to its banning with the aid of the army.

The Controversial Dragon Skin Body Armor

The Controversial Dragon Skin Body Armor

Dragon Skin body armor has -inch overlapping discs made of silicon carbide ceramic matrices and laminates like different ballistic plates. Due to its failure to bypass navy testing in 2006, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) considers this armor as Level III body armor.

Its unique maker claimed that this defensive vest ought to prevent multiple rounds of bullets, is bendy, and may offer a degree of protection that hadn’t been viable up to that time. However, its safety level, others have stated, turned into uncertain then.

The Army officers banned this frame armor. [1] The motive being is that some soldiers or their households purchase untested or insufficient industrial body armor from private commercial corporations.

The fee of the access-stage Dragon Skin armor for torso protection is $2,000. But that’s now not enough in case you need overall safety in your frame. The entire getup can run to approximately $5,000 in keeping with individual.

It will consist of a protective collar, backpack plates, an non-obligatory weight-bearing rig, non-obligatory light-weight SAPI (Small Arms Protective Inserts) plates, and a defensive blanket that you could convey anywhere.

The Claims of Dragon Skin Body Armor

The frame armor produced by way of Pinnacle promised to be the very best form of frame armor in modern times. They claimed that their product has the degree of flexibility that might be not possible with other vests product of armor plates. Initially, it showed that it could without a doubt take greater hits from rifle rounds than a wellknown ceramic plate.

This vest regarded to be the triumphing method to navy units in combat. To men and women who have been on a excursion of responsibilities for 6 months on and 6 months off in Iraq, this frame armor had all of the arguments in its favor. The navy is continually seeking out armor that would take more beating and still offer good enough protection.

An observer who followed the Dragon Skin frame armor’s arguable tale stated that the vest got solid and heavy marketing and promoting from its makers. They stated that the media overhyped the product to make it appealing because the great bullet-proof vest to be had at that point.

Then all at once, the officials remove it from the NIJ list of bullet-resistant body armor models. It seems that it failed to fulfill NIJ’s requirements.

This identical observer stated that it became glaring that Pinnacle used an investigative journalist from NBC Nightly News to conduct a disinformation marketing campaign. This disinformation marketing campaign promoted the Dragon Skin vest and undermined the public’s self belief in the Army’s potential and honesty to conduct honest and open laboratory checks.

The stated promotional marketing campaign covered eliciting Dragon Skin’s favorable coverage on NBC and two other networks, particularly the History Channel and the Military Network. Pro-army audiences watch those suggests. Both indicates examined this body armor, and each hyped its abilties.

Dragon Skin Vest

dragon pores and skin armor

The Dragon Skin protective vest made by Pinnacle Armor is quite heavy. It weighs round 47.Five pounds just for the vest alone. A soldier tires easily at the same time as carrying this vest in fight. Soldiers typically carry different things that they want to maintain them warfare-equipped always. With a weapon and some equipment, asking a soldier to wear heavy body armor will lead them to useless in battle.

This vest is also a whole lot bulkier than the Interceptor armor that soldiers utilized in 2006. The Dragon Skin vest’s thickness ranges from 1.7 inches to one.Nine inches, whilst the Interceptor armor is most effective 1.3 inches thick.

While that’s no longer a whole lot of distinction, including extra bulk considerably reduces the arms’ mobility. Also, this may have an effect on your ability to shoulder the rifle. You can’t go lower to the floor in a susceptible position if you are carrying bulkier armor. And as a way to have an effect on your overall performance in combat.

The panel length of the Dragon Skin body armor is eleven.5 inches by using 13.Five inches. However, the place of safety that this vest can offer is only 10 inches by means of 12 inches, that's the middle of the panel. That method a soldier is wearing extra weight that doesn't offer safety.

So, the military is looking for body armor this is thinner and could not prevent movement. They need to have body armor with smaller plates and with none tender armor in order that their mobility will no longer be affected. Unfortunately, Pinnacle Armor goes within the different course.

Dragon Skin Body Armor Applications

A lot of people have already used the Dragon Skin protecting vest. They include the U.S. Secret Service workforce, bodyguards whose jobs are to shield generals, nine generals assigned in Afghanistan, special working forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, several SWAT teams, and plenty of others. The CIA has also sold Dragon Skin frame armor.

This defensive vest is available in 3 protection stages. They are the subsequent:

SOV-2000 – previously licensed to offer Level III protection.

SOV-3000 – rated as Level IV by means of its maker but isn't always yet formally certified as such.

‘Level V’ variation – no specific score but and is not available to the public.

Why Did the U.S. Army Ban the Use of Dragon Skin Body Armor?

The U.S. Army banned all privately bought industrial body armor on March 30, 2006. Meaning, frame armor is being worn by means of private individuals. This is because of squaddies or households buying untested or inadequate business frame armor from personal companies.

This ban mainly refers to the body armor made by using Pinnacle Armor which they call Dragon Skin. The order implies that the Pinnacle advertising and marketing claimed that their Dragon Skin armor has advanced overall performance than the Interceptor Body Armor, which is the vest this is being issued by means of the army to their infantrymen.

Meanwhile, the Marine Corps has no longer issued a comparable order. The marines are advocated to put on body armor that the Marine Corps difficulty since they have got gone through tests to fulfill fleet standards.

It was best nicely after the U.S. Army banned that NBC News regarding pick elite forces assigned as bodyguards of VIPs and generals in Afghanistan and Iraq who wore Dragon Skin body armors.

A announcement attributed to General Peter W. Chiarelli indicated that he didn’t wear Dragon Skin. Still, some of his team of workers individuals did wear the lighter version of this armor on certain unique events, no matter being banned with the aid of the Army.

Tests Done at the Dragon Skin Armor

There had been numerous tests finished at the Dragon Skin vest through different businesses and entities. And that is in which the confusion lies. Some checks gave high-quality consequences, whilst a few introduced poor remarks. I will enumerate some of those tests, and I will will let you judge the problem: What is Payment Revision Needed (Amazon)?

History Channel and Discovery Channel Tests

The army show of History Channel, Mail Call, achieved some tests on the Dragon Skin vest. In their assessments, the frame armor repelled nine rounds of metallic-center bullets from an AK-47 absolutely automated rifle. It also repelled 35 rounds of 9×19 mm bullets from a Heckler & Koch MP5A3. These weapons have been fired on the ten inches via 12 inches region of the vest.

Another check completed on History Channel, specifically on Test Lab, confirmed that the vest changed into capable of thwart 120 rounds of 7.Sixty two x 39 mm bullets fired from a Type 56 rifle and a Heckler & Koch MP5 with nine x 19 mm bullets.

On a separate demonstration of the Dragon Skin vest carried out at the Discovery Channel, specifically on the Future Weapon collection, it can withstand multiple rounds from an M4 carbine (5.Fifty six x 45 mm), Heckler & Koch MP5 SD, and AK-47, plus a factor-blank grenade detonation. Although the vest suffered heavy harm, there was no penetration at the frame armor. Usps business days.

U.S. Military Tests

The controversy started out when Dragon Skin claimed that it's far higher than the frame armor that the U.S.Army is issuing to its soldier, which is the Interceptor body armor. The Army claimed that the Dragon Skin vest did now not show to be effective.

In several assessments run for the Air Force, multiple screw ups had been seen that did now not satisfy Pinnacle’s declare of the Dragon Skin’s safety level. This is annoyed with the aid of the terrible quality manipulate done at the vests. Apparently, Pinnacle recalled 200 out of 380 vests because of improperly made armor disks.

There had been also a few accusations of fraudulent claims of NIJ official rating when Pinnacle had not definitely obtained on the time of the USAF OSI purchase. This caused the termination of that settlement.

Pinnacle attempted to attraction the U.S. Army’s decision. However, the courts ruled in favor of the USAF. Whereby on Apr. 26, 2006, Pinnacle Armor issued a press release that addressed the claims and the product don't forget initiated by way of the United States Navy.

Pinnacle additionally stated that at the same time as the Army lower back the vests because of production problems, the USAF OSI, in a take a look at performed at a U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center in Maryland in February 2006, concluded that the Dragon Skin body armor did no longer fail any written agreement specifications that the USAF set forth. Andysmarick

To make this assertion clearer, Pinnacle delivered that those specifications require the frame armors to have high ballistic overall performance due to the very opposed surroundings with the aid of which USAF OSI operates.