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As the U.S. Army continues to develop its interceptor body armor, the service’s goal is to add more protection without increasing the soldier’s load.
With soldier loads topping 100 pounds, the Army is looking to cut down on the weight of soldier equipment across the board, said Col. John Norwood, Army project manager for soldier equipment. Body armor in the field now typically weighs 16.4 pounds and is a major focus of the service’s weight reduction efforts.
“Size, weight, power” are the Army’s three driving factors in upgrading body armor and other soldier equipment, Norwood said July 28 at the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement’s conference on lightweight materials in Washington.
In the last two years, the Army has used new materials to decrease the weight of soft armor — the vest — by 12 percent to 7.4 pounds, Norwood said. Meanwhile, the hard armor, or small arms protective inserts (SAPI), also have lightened up 15 percent, to 3.4 pounds.
However, the lighter-weight SAPI plates currently are available from only one vendor and are being manufactured in small quantities.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” Norwood said.
To further decrease body-armor weight, Army scientists and industry are evaluating different fibers or combinations of fibers to use in the vests, as well as new manufacturing processes and designs.
With soldier loads topping 100 pounds, the Army is looking to cut down on the weight of soldier equipment across the board, said Col. John Norwood, Army project manager for soldier equipment. Body armor in the field now typically weighs 16.4 pounds and is a major focus of the service’s weight reduction efforts.
“Size, weight, power” are the Army’s three driving factors in upgrading body armor and other soldier equipment, Norwood said July 28 at the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement’s conference on lightweight materials in Washington.
In the last two years, the Army has used new materials to decrease the weight of soft armor — the vest — by 12 percent to 7.4 pounds, Norwood said. Meanwhile, the hard armor, or small arms protective inserts (SAPI), also have lightened up 15 percent, to 3.4 pounds.
However, the lighter-weight SAPI plates currently are available from only one vendor and are being manufactured in small quantities.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” Norwood said.
To further decrease body-armor weight, Army scientists and industry are evaluating different fibers or combinations of fibers to use in the vests, as well as new manufacturing processes and designs.