Domestic army body armor. How and what body armor is made of Full body armor
Body armor is a means of individual protection of the torso and the most important human organs when exposed to bladed weapons and firearms, as well as ammunition fragments. A bulletproof vest not only protects from enemy fire, but also allows you to use your own weapons more boldly and effectively.
Protective body armor in Russia is subject to a special set of requirements, which are determined by GOST R 50744-95. The total protection area of the body armor must provide protection for at least 90% of the area of vital organs in the dorsal and frontal projections. The area of bulletproof reinforcement armor panels must be at least 22 dm2.
The design of the body armor consists of the following elements:
Outer cover with fastening and fitting system,
Main armor elements,
Shock absorbing pad,
Armor material as part of a shock-absorbing pad and cover.
Outer cover forms the appearance of a bulletproof vest (like a poncho) and consists of a chest and dorsal parts, which are connected to each other by shoulder and waist belts, allowing the body armor to be adjusted to the user’s figure. This design of the body armor makes it easier to access the human body when injured and reduces the required number of standard sizes, although it reduces the comfort of wearing, as well as side protection. Recently, instead of adjusting straps, vests are increasingly using zippers, buttons or Velcro. The material of the cover has a heat-resistant and waterproof fabric base that serves to accommodate ballistic panels. The cover can be equipped with pockets similar to a vest, and items placed in its pockets can, in some cases, serve as additional protection.
Inside, the body armor is equipped with a shock-absorbing pad (damper) with special channels to improve ventilation and provide additional comfort to the user. In addition, this damper structure reduces the armor impact of bullets and shrapnel on the human body.
* Protection of Clients’ property, as well as the life and health of citizens from illegal attacks in Moscow and the Moscow region (private security in Moscow), using weapons, special equipment and armor protection, is one of the main activities of the TAGGERD group of security companies (private security company Moscow) .
Body armor protection classes
Body armor varies in terms of application capabilities, as well as protection classes. The domestic classification according to Russian GOST R 50744-95 includes 10 classes: special, 1, 2, 2a, 3, 4, 5, 5a, 6, 6a. Moreover, the higher the class, the better and higher the level of protection. Classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6a represent the level of protection against pistol and rifle bullets from rifled weapons. At the same time, protection of a certain class implies protection from means defined by smaller classes, that is, protection from any lesser threat relative to the one for which the body armor is designed. Private security companies mainly use protection classes 3 and 4.
0th class(or “special”) - determines protection against edged weapons.
1st class s - protects against soft unsheathed bullets of 5.6 mm, from pistol bullets of 6.35 mm "Browning", PM - at point-blank range, from buckshot and small fragments weighing up to 2-3 g, from edged weapons such as a bayonet-knife , dagger, sharpening. The protected area is 30-40 dm2, weight - 1.5-2.5 kg.
2nd class- protects against shell bullets from pistol and revolver cartridges such as PSM, PM, TT, Nagan - at point-blank range, from shot from a hunting rifle and from edged weapons. These body armor are made of 7-10 layers of fabric with a density of 6-10 kg/m2 of protected area. Weight - 3-5 kg.
3rd grade- protects against bullets from AKM and AK-74 assault rifles at point-blank range, from ordinary bullets from a TT cartridge with a steel core, bullets from reinforced pistol and revolver cartridges of the Magnum type, bullets from smooth-bore hunting rifles, as well as from all types of bladed weapons. The protected area is 40-60 sq.dm, the density of the protective material is 12-15 kg/m2. There are pockets for additional plates. Weight - 6-9 kg,
4th grade- protects against conventional AK-74 assault rifle bullets (heat-strengthened steel) at point-blank range, against bullets of 5.45 and 7.62 mm caliber with a soft core at a distance of 10 m. The average density of the material is up to 30 kg/sq.m. Typically, class 4 body armor is obtained from class 3 by replacing armor elements. Weight - about 10 kg,
5th grade- protects against AKM with a PS bullet (heat-strengthened steel core, hardened steel), SVD with an LPS bullet (heat-strengthened steel core, hardened steel) at point-blank range, AK-74 with BS (armor-piercing carbide), non-armor-piercing bullets 5.45- and 7, 62 mm cartridges at a distance of 5 m, armor-piercing - 10 m, pistol - at point-blank range. Such models are popularly called “Anti-Kalashnikov”. The density of the material is up to 35 kg/m2, the protected area is 40-60 dm2, but can be increased by fastening the neck and groin sections. Weight - 11-20 kg.
6th grade- SVD with TUS (heat-strengthened steel), SVD with BS or B-32 (armor-piercing carbide). This class of body armor is intended mainly for special forces and law enforcement agencies.
Body armor of classes 1 and 2 are of the “flexible” (“soft”) type and are usually designed for concealed wear under clothing. The same classes include civilian samples of armored clothing, designed as fur jackets, vests, sweaters, and fur coats. Class 3-4 body armor has plug-in “hard” armor elements and a shock-absorbing lining (damper) that absorbs dynamic shock. There are also NIBs with differentiated levels of protection.
The damaging properties of weapons and ammunition when they hit a person wearing body armor, according to the nature of the impact, are divided into penetrating and dynamic. Penetrating lesions occur when a bullet penetrates the body. Dynamic - from a blow to the body due to the sudden stopping of a bullet by the vest’s shield.
The reliability of body armor is mainly determined by two criteria: the ability to prevent or reduce to a safe penetrating and dynamic lesions, as they can be traumatic and fatal.
There are 3 levels of damage to body armor:
- Maximum permissible (MA) - the vest is not pierced by a bullet, but the fabric of the vest, together with the bullet, is embedded in the body, or is pierced by the bullet at the end, i.e. with loss of destructive power.
- Medium (C) - the vest is not pierced by a bullet, its fabric does not penetrate the body.
- Minimal (M) - the vest is not pierced by a bullet, its fabric does not penetrate the body.
The dynamic impact of a bullet on a person using a bulletproof vest is in all cases reduced to a safe level due to an increase in the area of its perception and/or the time the bullet stops.
For body armor there are 4 main standard sizes (chest circumference / height):
- 1st - 96-104 cm / up to 176 cm,
- 2nd - 104-112 cm / 176-182 cm,
- 3rd -112-120 cm / over 182 cm,
- 4th - 120-130 cm / St. 182 cm.
The whole variety of protective materials used in body armor can be divided into 5 types:
- textile (woven) armor;
- metal armor;
- ceramic armor;
- composite armor;
- combined armor.
In accordance with the materials used, the design of the body armor can be “hard” (hard), “soft” or combined. Most often, NIB uses a combined type of armor, consisting of hard parts of the structure - metal plates and soft armor, which is fabric bags (body armor).
Soft body armor vests consist of protective bags based on 15-30 layers of ballistic fabric made of super-strong and lightweight aramid fibers (such as Nomex, Kevlar, Terlon, SVM). Such body armor provides satisfactory protection only against low-energy destructive elements (ordinary bullets from low-power pistol cartridges) and bladed weapons. The threads in aramid fabrics are stretched under the influence of a bullet and due to their high burst energy, dampening its speed and holding it in the mass of the body armor. In this case, there is always no ricochet and no fragments are formed. However, many experts are not very happy with the protection effectiveness of vests made from aramid fibers, and for good reason.
Body armor of rigid (solid) design are used for protection against more powerful destructive elements - fragments and bullets with greater kinetic energy. The design of such NIB has, in addition to the “soft” component, hard armor - special armor plates consisting of alloys of steel, titanium, aluminum, manganese, ceramics, ultra-high modulus polyethylene (UHMWPE), and nanomaterials. The armor elements are placed overlapping in special anti-fragmentation anti-ricochet pockets, from which they can be easily removed and others can be inserted, thereby changing the protection class of the body armor. The most massive protective (ballistic) packages are capable of withstanding ordinary bullets from modern machine guns (assault rifles) chambered for 5.45 x 39, 5.56 x 45, 7.62 x 39 cartridges when fired at close ranges (tens of meters).
Metal armor elements are usually made from steel “44” thick:
for 1st class - 1mm, for 2nd class - 2.4mm, for 3rd class - 4.3mm, for 4th class - 5.8mm, for 5th class - 6.5mm, for 6th 1st class - 15mm.
The twofold difference between classes 2 and 3 in thickness is determined by the fact that class 2 protects against a TT pistol with an energy of 508 J, and class 3 protects against AKM, the muzzle energy of which for the same caliber is almost 4 times greater. The difference of more than 2 times in thickness between classes 5 and 6 is due to the fact that a regular SVD bullet breaks when it hits a steel plate, but an armor-piercing one pierces it. Therefore, for protection against small arms TUS and BS, steel as a front layer of protection is not effective and instead ceramics are used, when a bullet hits it, it first flattens and then tries to push through the steel plate.
Depending on the degree of protection and the armor materials used, body armor has both different weight. By weight, body armor is divided into light (up to 5 kg), medium (5-10 kg) and heavy (over 11 kg).
The main disadvantages of body armor
Certified NIBs must ensure that injuries caused by bullets of their class will not be fatal. Russian GOST requires that injuries do not exceed the 2nd degree of severity, i.e. the person received nothing more than a serious bruise. However, no body armor provides 100% protection against more serious injuries and damage. For example, when hit by a bullet that exceeds the NIB protection class, a situation is possible where the body armor will stop the bullet, but the person will receive fatal injuries. The strong impact of a bullet on a bulletproof vest can cause a person to lose consciousness, receive serious concussion injuries, and even lead to death. The dynamic impact of a medium caliber bullet can knock a person down. And if a bullet hits the chest, solar plexus or heart, the force of the impact can cause not only contusions and bruises, but also fractures of one or more ribs and even death.
Also dangerous are parts of deformed bullets, fragments of a ballistic package, as well as any parts torn off when a bullet or fragment hits a bulletproof vest, which can ricochet and hit a person in any open part of the body.
In addition to these shortcomings, most body armor has problems with armor or behind-the-barrier displacement of the bullet. The armor displacement appears when a bullet hits the body armor. According to Russian standards, this displacement should not exceed 20 millimeters. According to experts, in many cases of death, if there were no armor protection and if the bullet had not hit vital organs, the person would have remained alive. It is not uncommon for an AK-74 or M16 rifle bullet to pierce a bulletproof vest, change direction and pass through the entire body. Even if the vest does not break through, but the armor bends inward, this can cause serious concussion injuries, even death.
By the way, the latest bullets with a core of increased hardness, as well as Teflon-coated bullets, can penetrate any of the known types of body armor that are not equipped with special additional protection. And practically no modern body armor can protect against armor-piercing bullets from rifle-machine-gun cartridges when shooting at close range. This is the limit for body armor, because... In addition to the increased mass of the special equipment, the impulse from the absorbed energy becomes unbearable for a person.
The materials used in the NIB also cause serious criticism from specialists. Main disadvantage aramid fabrics is that their protective ability drops sharply with increasing speed of the piercing element. They practically do not protect against bullets and fragments flying at speeds over 500 m/s, although they are extremely effective against secondary fragments and slowly flying elements. A serious disadvantage of aramid fabrics is that they pass sharp thin elements between the fibers, such as a stiletto, sharpening, awl, etc., which easily pierce almost any number of layers of aramid fabric. Also, the disadvantages of armid fiber include the fact that the material loses its properties when wet. Aramid fibers, by themselves, absorb moisture, losing up to 40% of their strength, which weakens protection. Only very recently did fabrics begin to be impregnated with various resins (epoxy, polyester).
Today, when the development of weapons is proceeding by leaps and bounds, the issue of protecting a soldier in battle has become acute. In general, if we talk about such protection in general, the task has always been there. With the advent, the issue of protection also appeared. For thousands of years, warriors have protected the body from the effects of enemy weapons.
The materials that were used to solve this problem were very different. From leather to metal. Remember the first “body armor” of the ancients. Leather armor covering the most frequently hit areas. At the same time, in other countries, armor was made from several layers of fabric. By the way, the effectiveness of this armor at that time in both cases was quite high.
Then, with the advent of iron weapons, metal armor also appeared. There were also many modifications. And many hundreds and thousands of lives were saved. The culmination of the development of metal protection can be considered the armor of medieval knights. Tank Man. And he moves quickly on horseback! He was truly a serious force.
However, such protection had one significant drawback. Metal is heavy. Knight's armor weighed from 30 to 40 kilograms or more. Therefore, if a knight was thrown from his horse, he turned into an excellent target for infantrymen. Only a few could fight on earth in such armor.
The advent of firearms practically negated all the advantages of knightly protection. And for some time they forgot about protection. For a long time it was believed that the bullet would overcome any defense. Remember the paintings of the 19th century. Some parts of the knight's armor were preserved only in full dress uniform officers and generals. In battle, they were practically unprotected.
Paradoxically, interest in personal protection arose again thanks to artillery. After analyzing the defeats of soldiers in the battles of the First World War, it turned out that more than half of the injuries were caused by fragments from artillery shells. Moreover, the most fatal wounds were in the head and torso. More than half of the deaths were from wounds to the chest and abdomen.
During the Great Patriotic War The cuirasses of the Red Army became widely known. Readers remember the Soviet "iron divisions". The soldiers wore steel breastplates (CH-38 and CH-42). These breastplates really protected against shrapnel (up to 1 gram at a speed of 1000 m/s) and bullets from the MP-40 assault rifle. But they also returned old problem"sluggishness" of the soldier.
It was the cuirasses that became the “grandfathers” of modern body armor. But “fathers” and “mothers” were already different. In several countries, the design and production of body armor was organized independently. And this has led to the emergence of different standards of protection. Moreover, these standards differ significantly.
In this article I will try to compare the protection different countries. Naturally, based on the test results of those countries that produce them. That is why the comparison will be quite conditional.
Russian body armor. There are two standards at play here. GOST R 50744-95/1999 and GOST R 50744-95/2014. Both standards were developed by the All-Russian Research Institute of Standardization of the State Standard of Russia. Therefore, I will write in two versions at once.
1 protection class
PM pistol, 9-mm bullet with a steel core, speed 325 m/s. Revolver "Nagan", 7.62 mm bullet with a lead core, speed 295 m/s.
Br1 (GOST 2014)
APS pistol, 9-mm bullet with a steel core, speed 335 m/s.
Protection class 2
PSM pistol, 5.45 mm bullet, 2.5 grams, with a steel core, speed 335 m/s.
SR-1 pistol, 9 mm bullet, 7.93 grams with a steel core, speed 390 m/s.
This class also has a subclass in both standards.
Hunting rifle, 12 gauge (18.5 mm). Bullet 34 grams with a lead core, speed 410 m/s.
Hunting rifle, 12 gauge, 34 gram bullet with lead core, speed 410 m/s.
Protection class 3
AKM assault rifle, 7.62 mm bullet, 7.9 grams, with a steel core, speed 895 m/s.
Yarygin pistol, 9 mm, cartridge 9 x 19 mm. 5.2 gram bullet with a heat-strengthened steel core, speed 455 m/s.
Protection class 4
AK-74 mm assault rifle, 3.5 gram bullet, with a heat-strengthened steel core, speed 895 m/s.
Protection class 5
SVD rifle, 7.62 mm bullet, 9.4 grams, with a steel core, speed 830 m/s. AKM assault rifle, 7.62 mm bullet, 7.9 grams, with a heat-strengthened steel core. speed 720 m/s.
AKM assault rifle, 7.62 mm bullet, 7.4 grams, with a special heat-strengthened core, speed 750 m/s.
Ak-74 assault rifle, 5.45 mm bullet, 3.5 grams, with a heat-strengthened steel core, speed 750 m/s.
Protection class 6
SVD rifle, 7.62 mm bullet, 9.4 grams, with a heat-strengthened steel core, speed 830 m/s.
SVD rifle, 7.62 mm bullet, 10.4 grams, with a special core, speed 810 m/s.
SVD rifle, 7.62 mm bullet, 9.4 grams with a heat-treated steel core, speed 830 m/s. SVD rifle, 7, 62 mm bullet, 10.4 grams, with a heat-strengthened steel core, speed 810 m/s.
Br6
Rifle OSV-96 or V-94, 12.7 mm bullet, 48.2 grams, with a steel heat-strengthened core, speed 830 m/s, distance 50 meters
I specifically described Russian body armor in such detail. As you can see, it is almost impossible for a non-specialist to understand this diversity. And, to be honest, I have little idea new class vests Br6. Such a caliber cannot penetrate personal protection from such a distance... But if manufacturers are positioning just such resistance, then all that remains is to take off our hats to them. Yes, and the obstructive displacement...
Europe has its own standard, the pan-European one - CEN. To understand the difference in standards, let’s consider it.
Rifle, 0.32 bullet, 2.6 grams with a rounded tip, speed 360 m/s.
BR2, BR3
Pistol, 9 mm Parabellum bullet, 8 grams, with a rounded tip and a soft lead core, speed 400 m/s.
Revolver 9.07 mm, Magnum 357 cartridge, 10.2 gram conical bullet, with a solid metal jacket and a soft lead core, speed 430 m/s.
SG1, SG2
Short-barreled shotgun 12/70, 31.0 gram Brenneke bullet, lead, speed 420 m/s.
Revolver, 10.9 mm, 0.44 Magnum cartridge, 15.6 gram blunt bullet, with a solid metal jacket and a soft lead core, speed 440 m/s.
5.56 mm rifle, 5.56x45 mm NATO cartridge. Bullet 4 grams, with a continuous metal shell, with a soft lead core and a pointed steel armor-piercing tip, speed 950 m/s.
7.62 mm rifle, 7.62x51 NATO cartridge, 9.5 gram bullet, with a solid metal jacket, with a pointed tip and a soft lead core, speed 830 m/s.
7.62 mm rifle, cartridge 7.62x51 NATO, bullet 9.8 grams, pointed, with a solid metal shell and a particularly hard steel core weighing 3.8 grams, speed 820 m/s.
If you carefully analyze the requirements of the standards, an interesting pattern emerges. We have only 6 protection classes, in Europe there are 7. But if you take a closer look, you understand: the European classification is much lower than the stated figures.
Thus, the Russian second class according to both GOSTs corresponds to two European classes at once - BR2 and BR3. And there everything is already one unit more cool everywhere. But the Russian Br6 I mentioned above is not even close.
But the peculiarity of European and American security forces is that these structures also have their own standards. Simply put, national ministries have the right to independently set the standard of protection for their employees. So, to complete the picture, such standards should also be considered.
The first will be the standard of the German Police Department - DIN. The second is the standard of the US National Institute of Justice - NIJ. In addition, in order not to return, I will immediately establish approximate compliance with Russian standards.
1st class (Russia)/L (Germany)
9 mm pistol, 9 mm Parabellum bullet, bullet weight 8 grams, with a solid metal shell and a soft lead core, speed 365 m/s.
I (USA):
9 mm pistol, cartridge 380 ACP, lead bullet, 6.2 grams, with a rounded tip in a tombac shell, speed 270 m/s.
Rifle 5.6 mm, cartridge 22, bullet 2.6 grams, lead, speed 329 m/s
2nd class (RF)/I (Germany)
9 mm pistol, 9x19 mm Parabellum cartridge, 8.0 gram bullet, with a solid metal jacket and a soft core, speed 410 m/s.
9 mm pistol, 9x19 Parabellum cartridge, 8.0 gram bullet with a rounded tip, in a full metal jacket, speed 398 m/s. 10 mm pistol, 40 S&W cartridge, 11.7 gram bullet in a full metal jacket, speed 352 m/s. 11.43 mm pistol, 45 ACP cartridge, 14.9 gram bullet in a jacket with a rounded tip, speed 275 m/s. Revolver 9.07 mm, Magnum .357 cartridge, 10.2 gram bullet in a soft core jacket, speed 436 m/s.
4th grade (RF)/III (Germany)
5.56 mm rifle, 0.223 Remington cartridge (5.56x45 mm NATO), 4 gram bullet with a soft core and steel armor-piercing tip, speed 920 m/s. 7.62 mm rifle. Cartridge.308 Winchester (7.62x51 mm NATO). Bullet 9.6 grams, pointed with a solid metal shell and a soft core, speed 830 m/s.
III (USA)
7.62 mm rifle, 7.62 mm NATO cartridge, full metal jacket, speed 830 m/s.
6th grade (RF)/ IV (USA)
7.62 mm rifle. Cartridge 0.308 "Winchester" (7.62x51 mm NATO). The bullet is pointed, with a solid metal shell and a particularly hard steel core, speed 820 m/s.
IV (Germany)
Rifle 7.62 mm, cartridge 0.30-06 “Springfield M” (7.62x63 mm), armor-piercing bullet, 10.8 grams, speed 878 m/s.
And I would like to finish with a few tips for those who, due to the nature of their service or work, use body armor. Simply because I think there are too many myths and completely stupid rumors about these remedies.
The first piece of advice is purely practical. Choose not a brand or a beautiful label, but a means of protection. I don’t know where this myth came from, but I have heard many times about the advantages of Western armored vehicles over Russian ones. I won’t dissuade you. Just one significant fact for those who understand.
According to Russian GOST, the over-barrier displacement (displacement of layers of body armor in the direction of the projectile action) should not exceed 20 mm! For foreign samples, the tolerance is 30-40 mm.
Many people happily show off their Kevlar vests. Very good stuff! A complete analogue of our TSVM-J fabric. You could even say - twin sisters, not fabrics.
Why did I remember the material? I just want to debunk another “duck” of those who like to talk about armor protection. Above you read about weapons that are used to test the protective properties of body armor. It was not for nothing that I cited the characteristics of the bullet and its speed.
If you remember movies about valiant police officers and intelligence agents, then you will also remember the episode of the defeat of the main character by a criminal. But the criminal is defeated by another hero, and ours gets up, unbuttons his shirt, and we see a bulletproof vest with bullets scattered all over his chest.
So, the PM pistol bullet in its own way kinetic energy equal to a blow from a sledgehammer weighing approximately 2 kg! So the bullet itself will remain in the tissues of the vest, but on the body, at best, there will be quite decent bruises. A weapon “stronger than PM” will break ribs, rupture large vessels and even internal organs. So a hit to a body armor sometimes causes even more severe injuries than to an unprotected body.
But this does not mean that a vest is not needed. You will not be shot at at a shooting range. There will be many contributing factors that will help you survive. And the distance, and the angle of fire, and the speed, and the mass of the bullet... Therefore, the likelihood of a fatal outcome is significantly reduced. Trauma - yes. Death is doubtful. And if you also have a CAP (climatic shock-absorbing support) in your armor, then it’s generally minuscule.
In general, the use of body armor in the armies of the world significantly reduces the loss of soldiers. According to Russian and Western experts, body armor reduces the likelihood of injury by 60%. So, despite all the problems and identified shortcomings, the use of such protection in law enforcement agencies and private structures will only grow. As long as there are the latest developments in weapons, there will be the latest developments in defense against them.
The purpose of a bulletproof vest is to protect the human body (namely the upper body - torso). Thanks to the high-strength materials from which it is made, it is able to keep intact the most vital organs located in the abdominal cavity and chest. Typically, a protective device consists of materials that have conservation qualities - protection from bullets and shrapnel, as well as dissipation of their energy.
The materials that are most often used to create body armor include: Kevlar, aramid, steel, titanium, ceramic plates. For Russian companies Those who sew body armor most commonly use ballistic fabric such as Kevlar.
Body armor is sewn from 30-50 layers of ballistic fabric and batting (for the damper cushion), and all details without exception are stitched with reinforced threads. The final stage of creating a suit consists of inserting armor elements (plates, steel or ceramics) into pre-prepared pockets.
The more layers a vest is made of, the more reliably it protects a person, however, in proportion to this, the ability to move quickly is lost due to the increasing weight of the product. Therefore, manufacturers are trying to find a middle ground.
It is worth distinguishing a bulletproof vest from an armored suit (used for special purposes by sappers, for example).
What types of body armor are there?
According to the established standard, body armor is divided into three types: A, B and C. Type “A” is a fabric-based body armor (the so-called soft or flexible). Semi-rigid body armor, based on armored metal plates, belongs to type “B”. And type “B” is a highly protective body armor (based on rigid plates made of special armored metal).
The classification in Russia includes 10 classes of body armor: 0, 1, 2, 2a, 3, 4, 5, 5a, 6, 6a. Each of the classes assumes a certain level of protection against firearms and bladed weapons and means operation at different levels of threat (for example, 0 is protection against bladed weapons). Thus, a flexible bulletproof vest of type “A” is unlikely to protect the liquid defense from gunshot bullets, which can penetrate even its base, but it will protect against the penetration of bladed weapons. Today there are a large number of models of body armor from various manufacturers.
Features of body armor
A bulletproof vest is a heavy load; wearing it for a long time is very difficult. The weight of a bulletproof vest can be from 2 to 20 kg. He complicates fast travel and puts strong pressure on the body, and as a result of impaired heat transfer can cause heat stroke and loss of consciousness. Constant use of body armor negatively affects health. Despite the high degree of protection, body armor does not protect against armor contusion injury as a result of armor displacement.
Since its inception interpersonal conflicts, humanity has used subterfuge to protect itself. In the beginning, people used primitive armor, such as a wooden shield. But man evolved, and after him, armor also improved.
At first they were leather, then iron, and today they have turned into body armor - decent protection against firearms. Below will be presented the top ten most reliable and popular body armor for today.
ZKS "Dublon" was created in Russia back in 2000. But at the moment it is the best sapper suit in the world, surpassing foreign analogues. The creator of the Research Institute of Steel annually modifies and improves the quality of the Doubloon. It consists of 50 titanium plates that completely protect the entire body from head to toe. “Dublon” is capable of withstanding shots from machine guns and sniper rifles, as well as an explosion of half a kilogram of TNT. It has one of the highest protection factors against fragments.
2. Body armor BKZ 6/3-6a
BKZ, without having its own name, is one of the best body armor. The domestic development will provide 100% protection against 7.62 caliber bullets and sniper shots. The suit will also withstand a 45 Joule bayonet strike. The BKZ fully protects the torso, while also having additional plates on the arms and hips. His weight is small - only 12 kilograms. This makes it one of the popular body armor in the world.
Interceptor body armor is an American development. The main feature of the body armor is its covering made of a special material, “tvaron” fabric. The tvaron cover helped reduce the weight of the Interceptor by 20%, so its weight is 11.5 kilograms. It can protect against 9.19 and 7.62 caliber bullets.
The latest Russian development. Divisions special purpose They describe the suit as reliable and ergonomic. The suit does not have any special additions - it is also capable of protecting against machine gun and sniper bullets. But it is his entire 6.5 kilograms that is main feature body armor.
5. IOTV - Improved Outer Tactical Vest (improved tactical body armor for external wear)
IOTV - Improved Outer Tactical Vest (improved tactical body armor for external wear) Development of the US Armed Forces. Since 2009, it began to be used by NATO military forces. It protects well from automatic bullets and has many additional plates. Body armor is valued for high speed removing the suit, which is necessary when a soldier is wounded. The IOTV design is distributed in such a way that the weight falls not on the shoulders, but on the whole body. But the heavy weight of 16 kilograms made the United States think about replacing the main armored suit for the armed forces.
Entered into service Russian army in 2010. It has protection classes A and B. It perfectly protects a soldier at long and short distances from conventional and armor-piercing bullets. Can withstand temperature regime from -50 to +50 degrees. Weight varies from 5 to 15 kilograms depending on additional elements.
7. MTV - Modular Tactical Vest (modular tactical vest)
MTV - Modular Tactical Vest (modular tactical vest) Early version of IOTV. It is still in service in some parts of the US Armed Forces. Has slightly lower characteristics than IOTV. Reliably protects against 9x19 caliber bullets and shrapnel. The weight of 14 kilograms is inconvenient because the load fell on top part torso.
Body armor that is used daily by police. It has different configurations, so the protection class is from class 2 to class 6. The composition of armor panels consists of ceramics and armor steel. Easily adjusts to any body. The weight of the bulletproof vest is 14 kilograms.
9. Dragon Skin - “Dragon Skin”
Dragon Skin - “Dragon Skin” The most unusual American development. The innovation of the suit is that it consists of round ceramic discs with a diameter of 5 centimeters and a thickness of 6 millimeters. Tests have shown that it holds up well to shots from the M16. But amateur videos showed that in half of the cases the body armor will not protect against a Kalashnikov assault rifle. The weight of the product is 7 kilograms.
The body armor consists of four systems for quick removal. The fabric part of the Corsair consists of durable material Russian development. The plates will withstand any bullet without a heart tip. The simple design weighs 8 kilograms.
On the outside of the fabric cover of the modification of the Corsair m3s body armor, there is a MOLLE system sewn in, which is designed for attaching mounted pouches or other elements of equipment
Body armor of classes 3, 4, 5, 5a, 6, 6a, protecting against army long-barreled rifled small arms according to GOST of the Russian Federation
(from machine guns, machine guns and rifles of caliber no more than 7.62 mm)
We have already talked about body armor of the 1st and 2nd protection classes, talked about body armor of special classes, such as a special class that protects against bladed weapons, and a special class 2a that protects against shots from smoothbore weapons up to 12 gauge inclusive. They also gave a general overview of body armor in general.
In this material we will combine body armor of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 5a, 6th and 6a protection classes. This decision was made for the reason that all body armor of the listed classes are designed to protect against bullets from small arms combat weapons, and more precisely from machine guns, rifles and machine guns, the most common in the post-Soviet space and with a caliber of no more than 7.62 mm. The fundamental differences between each of these classes are mainly determined by the ammunition used, not the weapon or even the calibers and types of cartridges, the determining factor is the type of bullet. The domestic GOST, which gives classification to body armor, gave this category as many as six classes, which is simply inappropriate, because often the differences between one class and another are so vague that it’s not worth talking about a specific class. The most adequate solution to the problem would be to divide this entire list into two, maximum three classes, and this would be correct. But specialists from the Steel Research Institute decided otherwise, assigning each general-arms cartridge used in the army its own protection class. They know better, they are professionals, and the state gave them the right to determine this GOST, and we will just try to understand this ikebana and consider it from the point of view of expediency. We will also draw parallels and note the weakest points in each of these protection classes, or rather, in body armor corresponding to these classes. This approach will help us more clearly understand the real capabilities of body armor and, perhaps, this work will help someone make the only right decision in a critical situation or prevent a fatal mistake.
Based on considerations of reasonable sufficiency, not a single country in the world is armed with personal armor protection (PIB) equipment capable of withstanding bullets. large caliber rifles and machine guns, such calibers as 12.7 mm (50 caliber according to the American classification), which are used by almost all troops in the world. There was information (I don’t know how true it is) that attempts were made to create such a body armor, or rather an armored complex, but they ended in complete failure. The developers managed to make fragmentary pieces of armor that could not be penetrated by a 12.7 mm rifle; they managed to install this armor on a kind of exoskeleton, consisting only of “legs” and a “backbone”, because the mass of the armor was excessive and a person could be protected by such heavy armor only with the help of mechanical devices that take the load from the legs and spine (exactly what I called a kind of exoskeleton). In addition to armor, the design also included weapons, namely an automatic rifle complex consisting of a belt-fed machine gun mounted on an exoskeleton element (but not a large-caliber one, it was planned to use a new cartridge, and at the development stage, the base of the cartridge was 7.62x51 NATO) , an automatic rifle with variable magnification optics and a laser rangefinder and a semi-automatic grenade launcher. Also, of course, this development had a number of interesting solutions embodied in prototypes. But, firstly, such a design was approximately the average cost fighting machine(such as a domestic infantry fighting vehicle), incomparable with such a “soldier of the future” in terms of combat effectiveness, and secondly, the maneuverability of such a fighter was reduced to an unacceptable level, he could not quickly turn around, lie down, sit down, etc., but he could run quickly . But running could not prevent the fighter from simply becoming a target that could easily be hit with an anti-tank grenade launcher, which would leave no questions. And the price of a grenade launcher, even a dozen grenade launchers, is, of course, an order of magnitude lower than such an armored semi-robot warrior. The project was discontinued as economically and technically infeasible (for this money it was possible to build a robot controlled remotely).
Simply put, for decades, army body armor and other personal protective equipment for the military have been made to protect against bullets from small arms (automatic and semi-automatic rifles and carbines), and the most durable body armor is against bullets from 7.62 mm sniper rifles according to domestic and European system calculus or “three hundredth” or “thirtieth” caliber according to the caliber determination system adopted in the USA (in most cases). Also, body armor with high degrees of protection, designed to withstand hits from sniper rifles, also protects against hits from single machine guns of the same or similar calibers (up to 8 mm).
Let's get started detailed analysis body armor that protects against bullets from intermediate (automatic) and rifle cartridges.
So, let's start with body armor of the 3rd protection class.
GOST defines them so that they must withstand hits from the following bullets:
5.45x39 mm general purpose cartridge (GRAU index - 7N6), PS bullet with a non-heat-strengthened steel core weighing 3.5 g (on average), fired from an AK74 assault rifle and flying at a speed of 900 m/s (on average). The junction of the cartridge case and the bullet is covered with a red sealant varnish.
7.62x39 mm general purpose cartridge (GRAU index - 57-N-231), PS bullet with a non-heat-strengthened steel core weighing 7.9 g, fired from an AKM assault rifle and flying at a speed of 725 m/s (on average).
Such body armor is honestly reliable protection against any pistol bullets fired from pistols and submachine guns, with the exception of special pistol cartridges 9x21 SP-10 with an armor-piercing bullet, which, according to the manufacturer, penetrate body armor of class 3 protection at distances decent for a pistol (up to 50 meters). “Anti-machine gun” protection for class 3 seems to be quite shaky, at least because GOST specifies these very cartridges with these very bullets. But we will talk about these cartridges, their bullets and the effect of these bullets on class 3 body armor later, but now we will give a couple of examples of class 3 body armor and describe their characteristics.
The Steel Research Institute is considered one of the most advanced manufacturers of personal (and other) armor protection equipment. This company offers class 3 body armor "Bulat-3".
Body armor "Bulat-3" of the 3rd protection class with a fully equipped outer cover.
The weight of the body armor, depending on the size, ranges from 8.9 to 11.4 kg; the outside of the vest cover is equipped with special pockets, a universal holster for a pistol (capable of accepting pistols of different sizes and models), pouches for machine gun and pistol magazines, mounts for grenades and other necessary items of equipment. If you order a concealed body armor vest, it may be in a case without external pockets. Class 3 protection is provided over an area of 19.5 square meters. decimeters with steel armor plates 4.3 mm thick. The sides are protected according to class 2 over an area of 9 to 11 square meters. decimeters.
The weight of this body armor leaves some bewilderment, because body armor of higher protection classes are approximately the same weight, and some are lighter. But here, apparently, the whole point is in the armor plates used. Steel armor elements are cheaper than any other, but at the same time they are inferior in weight. Therefore, body armor with steel plates is almost always heavier than similar body armor with plates made of more expensive and lighter materials that are not inferior in bullet resistance to steel armor plates (for example, titanium alloys, high-strength aluminum alloys, multilayer polymer plates, etc.).
Separately, it is worth briefly dwelling on the side protection of this body armor and body armor in general. Another reason regarding heavy weight“Bulat-3” is class 2 side protection, which is done quite rarely. Typically, the sides are covered either with thirty-layer fabric armor packages made of aramid fiber TSVZh or its more advanced analogues, protecting class 1, or the sides are not protected in any way, there are simply elements of the fabric of the body armor cover that serve to clearly fix it on the body. Side protection in the 2nd class is done either by double fabric bags of 30 layers each, or from one fabric armored bag, reinforced with a thin rigid plate of class 1 made of steel, titanium alloy, aluminum alloy, high-modulus plastic, or a layer of damper on which is applied armor plate of the 2nd protection class, usually titanium or steel. In any case, when the sides are protected according to class 2, the fighter’s mobility is limited very significantly, so the most preferable option for the sides is a single fabric armored package. Not to mention the hard plates on the sides, even a double soft armor package that protects in the 2nd class is only called soft; such armor elements make body movements very difficult; it is problematic to bend double packages even with your hands. And if a fighter is wearing body armor of the 3rd protection class, this by default means a preference for maximum mobility due to the relative weakness of the armor protection. Pointed machine gun bullets easily penetrate double fabric bags of the 2nd class, so not everyone is ready to lose mobility for them. The double armored package of the 2nd class on the sides can only protect against shrapnel and pistol bullets.
Returning specifically to the Bulat-3, we can summarize the above by saying that this is a heavy body armor vest for its class, but it reliably protects the body in a peaceful city, where they do not often shoot from rifles and machine guns, and pistol bullets and fragments of Bulat grenades -3" will withstand. And the chest and back steel armor plates will save you from standard machine gun bullets with unhardened steel cores. Such body armor is suitable for cash collectors and police immediate response teams.
Another example of the 3rd class is the Sphere-3 body armor. It is lighter than Bulat-3, weight, depending on size, from 7.5 to 9.5 kg, the main protection consists of two steel armor plates with a thickness of 5 mm and an area of 7.1 square meters. decimeters each, protecting class 3 chest and back. Below the main armor element, overlapping steel plates with a thickness of 2.5 mm and an area of 2.1 square meters are placed. decimeters, protecting class 2.
Body armor "Sphere-3" 3rd class of protection.
Class 3 body armor may be lighter and heavier, with different designs, but the fact remains that they are much heavier than class 2 body armor and are comparable in weight to some class 4 and even class 5 body armor.
Class 3 body armor, as such, is not in particular demand; as a rule, class 3 is one of the stages of modular body armor, that is, by changing the plates, the owner can enhance the protection according to the situation. Exclusively class 3 is ineffective, because when fired from the same weapon with another ammunition, not even special, it can be pierced, not to mention a shot from a Vintorez rifle, a Val machine gun or other weapons designed for the SP-6 cartridge with armor-piercing bullet of 9 mm caliber.
It is worth noting here that in the second half of the eighties of the last century, the bullet cores of the 7N6 cartridge became heat-strengthened (the modernized 7N6 cartridge), so it is difficult to talk about how class 3 body armor can withstand hits from bullets of the 7N6 cartridge, because tests according to GOST imply a bullet with a non-heat-strengthened core . But both cartridges have no external differences, the appearance is the same, the sealant varnish at the junction of the bullet and the cartridge case is red. The fact is that by loading a zinc magazine of an assault rifle with the first version of the 7N6 cartridge, and loading another magazine from zinc of a later release of the same cartridges, it may happen that the bullets from the first magazine will leave only subtle dents on the main plate of a class 3 body armor vest, and bullets from the second magazine will pierce the front wall of the body armor (both the plate and the fabric bag). Moreover, the marking of the cartridges will be distinguishable only by the secondary digital and letter index, and the main data will be the same: 5.45x39 mm, PS bullet, GRAU index - 7N6.
Body armor of the 4th protection class.
Let's look at body armor of the 4th protection class to clarify the picture.
GOST requires that a 4th class bulletproof vest withstand hits from a bullet weighing 3.4-3.6 g of “increased penetration” (PP) of a 5.45x39 cartridge (GRAU index 7N10) with a heat-strengthened steel core, fired from an AK74 from ten meters and flying at a speed of approximately 900 m/s. External difference 5.45 mm cartridges with a PP bullet - at the junction of the bullet and the cartridge case purple sealant varnish.
Accordingly, the body armor must withstand both PS bullets of the 5.45x39 7N6 cartridge with a non-heat-strengthened core, and PS bullets of the 7.62x39 general-purpose cartridge with a non-heat-strengthened core, specified in the class above, in class 3 of protection. Also, logically, such a body armor can withstand hits from modernized PS bullets of the 5.45x39 (7N6) cartridge of later series, where bullets with heat-strengthened cores (which we talked about in the topic about class 3 body armor, assuming that such bullets will be their punch).
Let's consider the main separating stage of the 4th class - the 7N10 cartridge with a PP bullet. That is, if you load other cartridges into the machine, and not special ones, (load 7N10 instead of 7N6), then class 3 body armor will already be completely pierced, and for these cartridges there is a separate class 4. There is an opinion that it would be more reasonable to combine these two classes, but on the other hand, if we consider class 3 body armor as guaranteed protection against pistols and submachine guns, then the meaning of the existence of class 3 is there, only the official interpretation is somewhat off topic.
The differences between the 7N6 and 7N10 cartridges mainly concern the design of the bullets.
In the photo in the section on the left is a bullet of increased penetration (PP) of the 7N10 cartridge, on the right is a bullet of the 7N6 cartridge.
As we can see, on the 7N10 cartridge bullet the cavity in the front part is reduced due to the lengthening of the core. Also, the core is sharper and was originally heat-strengthened, and the bullets of the 7N6 cartridges became heat-strengthened only in the late 80s, after modernization.
There is one more nuance. In the early 90s, the 7N10 cartridge bullet also underwent modernization. Until this moment, the bullets had a small cavity in the tip, and when they hit a solid barrier, the bullet casing stopped, and the core, continuing to move, crashed into the barrier along with the casing, dragging it along with it. As a result, a fragment of the shell passed through the barrier for some distance along with the core, clinging to its tip, which increased the working surface area of the core, increasing the friction force, and worsened its penetration ability.
And when the cavity in the modernized bullet was filled with lead, the picture changed dramatically. When it hit an obstacle, the shell also stopped, the core continued to move and put pressure on the lead, which was located between it and the shell. As a result, the pressure in the soft lead environment increased, and the lead, in turn, put pressure on the shell of the bullet tip from the inside, trying to flatten it, because the steel core presses from behind. Under this pressure of the lead, on which the core presses from behind, the shell of the bullet tip flattens against the barrier, and the core, passing through the lead, pierces this fragment of the shell like an ordinary sheet of thin metal, that is, pressing of the tip of the core with a fragment of the shell does not occur, and the core works according to barrier in itself, so to speak, in pure form, from which penetration increases significantly compared to the option when a core with a fragment of the shell at the tip was working on the target.
Schematically it looks like this (top is the first version of the PP bullet, modernized below):
That is, we see that the armor penetration of the 7N10 cartridge bullet varies markedly, depending on the year of manufacture. If a class 4 body armor vest is tested with 7N10 cartridges released before modernization, and then this body armor is hit by a bullet from the same 7N10 cartridge, but already modernized, then in the second case class 4 may be pierced. Externally, the cartridges are the same, the color of the sealant varnish, which lies like a rim at the point where the cartridge case transitions into the bullet, is purple. The only differences are in the branding, indicating the year of manufacture of the cartridge.
As an example of a body armor of the 4th protection class, we will give the army 6BZTM model of 1984, adopted for service Soviet Army in 1985. The protection of this body armor consisted of small titanium plates 6.5 mm thick and fabric armor packages made of aramid fiber, which together protected the chest and back in class 4. The mass of the bulletproof vest was quite large and amounted to 12 kg, and therefore it was decided to lighten the weight by replacing the titanium plates that protect the back with thinner and lighter ones, 1.25 mm thick, but already protecting class 2. This lightweight body armor was called 6B3TM-01, now it protected the chest in class 4, and the back in class 2, as a result the weight was significantly reduced and amounted to about 8 kg. But this is, let’s say, “the last century.” Such body armor had a lot of shortcomings, and these shortcomings, developing into legends and myths, are still attributed today to modern means of personal armor protection, and completely unreasonably.
Let me give you a couple of examples. “When a bullet hits the chest, the body armor remains intact, but the fighter dies slowly and painfully.” Yes, when a bullet from a powerful cartridge hits bulletproof vests of the first and, sometimes, second generation, the bullet did not transfer impulse to the titanium plate large area Accordingly, the force of the impact on the body, distributed over a small area of the plate, was often fatal. It is also worth considering the almost complete absence of a damper layer, which practically did not change the situation. A ruptured lung, deep fractures of the ribs, tearing the lungs with the edges of chips, ruptures of other internal organs - this happened. Penetration of a bulletproof vest either when hit tangentially between the plates, or when hit at a right angle into an insufficiently thick plate (for example, a bullet from an AKM into the back of a 6B3TM-01 bulletproof vest or a bullet from an SVD into the chest section) had dire consequences, such as internal ricochets, when the bullet, having pierced the body, ricocheted off the inside of the body armor and, changing its trajectory, deformed, pierced the body in the opposite direction again, causing more serious damage than when piercing an unprotected body.
Body armor 6B3TM-01
Modern general-arms body armor has become much more effective and convenient, and they also allow you to change the degree of protection by replacing armor elements. Instead of small plates that cause strong blows to bulletproof vests when a bullet hits, large-area plates are installed.
In 2003, the 6B23 body armor was created, which could be equipped with armor panels of protection classes 2, 3 and 4. The minimum protection was fabric armored packages protecting the chest and back in class 2. The neck and chin are protected from fragments and secondary damaging elements (from fragments of a bullet destroyed on the plate) by a special collar, the sides are protected by fabric armor elements. To reduce the impact of a bullet and to ventilate the body, there is a shock-absorbing climatic layer. To enhance protection, steel armor plates of protection class 3 could be inserted into the chest and back sections, and in the chest section, steel plates could be replaced with ceramic ones, which increased the chest protection to class 4. As a result, the body armor came in four versions:
1. Fabric body armor, the chest and back are protected in class 2 from shrapnel and pistol bullets, weighing only 3.6 kg.
2. Chest protection is enhanced by a steel armor element up to protection class 3, the back is protected by a fabric bag of class 2, weight increases to 7.4 kg.
3. The chest steel plate is replaced with a ceramic one, as a result of which the chest becomes protected in class 4, the back is also protected by a fabric armor panel of class 2. The weight, compared to the previous version, is reduced by almost 1 kg and the weight of the body armor is 6.5 kg. The reduction in weight simultaneously with an increase in the protection class is due to the fact that steel is replaced by ceramics. This ceramic armor element is lighter than steel, despite more high class protection, but at the same time it is more fragile; when hit by a bullet, the ceramic armor plate can be completely destroyed, steel is much more durable.
4. The chest is protected by class 4 ceramics, and the back protection is enhanced by a steel plate up to class 3. The weight of the body armor becomes 10.2 kg.
Body armor 6B23.
Body armor of the 5th protection class.
The most optimal class of body armor that protects against machine gun bullets is protection class 5. He is sometimes called "Antikalashnikov". GOST requires that class 5 personal armor must not be penetrated by the following ammunition:
Cartridge 7.62x39 mm (GRAU index 57-N-231), PS bullet with a heat-strengthened steel core weighing 7.9 g, fired from an AKM assault rifle and flying at a speed of 725 m/s (on average).
7.62 mm rifle cartridge 57-N-323S with an ordinary LPS bullet weighing 9.6 g with a non-heat-strengthened steel core, flying from the SVD barrel at a speed of about 830 m/s.
But here a lot of questions immediately arise. Here are just a few of them.
The 7.62x39 cartridge shown here is exactly the same as in class 3 (see GRAU index, see other sources), but in the case of class 5 we see a bullet with a heat-strengthened steel core (TUS). And this fact gives rise to questions, because to distinguish by appearance It is quite difficult to differentiate between a bullet with a heat-strengthened core and a bullet with a non-heat-strengthened core; here, as in the case of the 7N6 cartridge, the only differences are in the branding, indicating the year of manufacture. That is, it turns out that if the 57-N-231 cartridge is old, then a class 3 body armor vest is intended for it, and if the same cartridge is from a later year, then neither the third nor the fourth class will protect from its bullet. The logic of the compilers of this GOST is not entirely clear, what happens is that if the enemy has cartridges from such and such a year of manufacture, then you can wear class 3 body armor, but if it is from such and such a year, then even class 4 will not save you, you need class 5. Intelligence more work is being added, and the kind of work the reasons for which commanders will swear at. If such a task is set at all. And in most cases, wear whatever they give you, and also say thank you that you didn’t get shot naked. Inappropriate. Why is class 3 needed when it can be fired from the same weapon, with the same cartridges, only when those cartridges are from a different year of manufacture? This remark is true for both the 5.45x39 7N6 cartridge and the 7.62x39 cartridge with the PS bullet.
But, nevertheless, the fifth class seems to be the most adequate in terms of protection against Kalashnikov assault rifles, which are the most common automatic small arms in the post-Soviet space.
Protection against SVD looks completely different. The fifth class implies protection against an LPS bullet with a non-heat-strengthened core fired from an SVD. But the SVD is a sniper rifle, and if it is fired with sniper cartridges, then this is a completely different picture. The 7N1 sniper cartridge bullet should theoretically have significantly greater armor penetration than the LPS bullet.
Judge for yourself, here is a picture (1 - LPS bullet, 2 - 7N1 sniper cartridge bullet):
We see that the bullet core of the 7N1 cartridge has a contact area with the target that is much smaller than the core of the LPS bullet. This means that the penetration of such a bullet will be higher, taking into account the fact that the LPS bullet in question has a non-heat-strengthened core.
An example of a class 5 body armor is the version of the “Cirass universal SN”, model 5-5-1, which implies concealed wearing. The base here is a fabric body armor of class 1 protection, reinforced with additional armor elements that protect class 5. For the sake of stealth, the class 5 protection area is small and amounts to 13-15 square decimeters, and class 1 protection is provided over an area of 37-45 square meters. decimeters, the spread of numbers is dictated by differences in product sizes. The weight of a body armor reinforced to protection class 5, depending on the size, is 9 - 10.5 kg. Also, this body armor can be equipped with plates that protect in classes 2 and 3; the weight, accordingly, will be reduced compared to class 5 protection.
Body armor "Cirass universal SN" 5-5-1
There are also a lot of both military and civilian body armor of class 5 protection, about which it is easy to find information on the Internet. We will only say that such body armor is capable of withstanding hits from any bullets fired from Kalashnikov assault rifles, with the exception of special ones (armor-piercing or armor-piercing incendiary).
Body armor, protection class 5a.
GOST allocates the deterrence of armor-piercing incendiary bullets of 7.62x39 caliber fired from an AKM from ten meters into a separate class 5a. In more detail it looks like this:
Class 5a body armor must withstand hits from armor-piercing incendiary bullets of the 7.62x39 cartridge (GRAU index 57-BZ-231) weighing 7.4 g, fired from an AKM assault rifle from a distance of 10 meters and flying at a speed of approximately 740 m/s. The bullet core is sharp, made by turning; behind the core there is an incendiary composition, which is activated when the bullet hits the target.
Such cartridges are quite rare in real life, the AKM is fired mainly with ordinary cartridges with a PS bullet.
As an example of such a body armor, one can cite the Modul-5M 5a in configuration 5a8k-2-b-125-130. The body armor is based on fabric armor panels made of aramid fiber, which are reinforced with ceramic armor elements of protection class 5a. Additionally, the body armor can be equipped with protective screens for the groin and neck, as well as a fabric anti-ricochet screen on top of the main armor package with rigid plates. The protection area for class 5a is 15 square meters. decimeters, the total area of the body armor (55 sq. decimeters, including the area protected by the plates) is protected by class 1 soft panels.
Body armor "Module-5M" 5a protection class.
I don’t see any point in dwelling on class 5a body armor in more detail, because this is far from a common level of protection, and the 7.62x39 cartridge itself with the BZ bullet is rare.
It is also worth noting that this class of protection always manifests itself in the replacement of plates, often with ceramic ones, so that they can stop the sharp armor-piercing core of the BZ bullet. In comparison with class 5, the only difference is that class 5 will be pierced by an armor-piercing incendiary bullet from an AKM, and class 5a will hold back such a bullet. There is a suspicion that here, on a level with the BZ bullet, you can simply put the armor-piercing bullet BP of the 7.62x39 cartridge, about which there is not a word in GOST, despite its fairly wide distribution. After all, if class 5 can withstand hits not from armor-piercing bullets, but from PS bullets with a steel heat-strengthened core, and the next class 5a is allocated specifically for armor-piercing incendiary bullets of the same cartridge, it turns out that the armor-piercing bullet of the BP cartridge 7.62x39 (7N23) passed by GOST. Let us derive the following result from this: class 5 body armor holds 7.62x39 with a PS bullet and a heat-strengthened core, but an armor-piercing bullet BP cartridge 7.62x39 (GRAU index 7N23) with a sharp steel heat-strengthened core made of high-carbon tool steel will certainly pierce such a class 5 body armor. Just like the same cartridge with an armor-piercing incendiary bullet. That is, the last two ammunition are designed to deter class 5a body armor, although GOST does not mention the 7N23 cartridge with the BP armor-piercing bullet. But we can safely add this ammunition to the list of cartridges for which class 5a body armor is designed. Which will be reflected in a more adequate classification of domestic body armor, compared to what we see now.
Body armor of the 6th protection class.
Let's move on to protection class 6 according to GOST. This class is more popular, which is not surprising, because in any special operations in the North Caucasus, such protection is more than relevant. Such body armor can withstand hits from any machine gun, and can also save the owner’s life from shots from SVD sniper rifles and from hits from PK/PKM machine guns, without which a serious clash is rarely possible. So, according to GOST requirements, a 6th class body armor must withstand hits from the following bullets:
Cartridge 7.62x54, ST-M2 bullet of increased penetration with a steel heat-strengthened core of a pointed shape with a flat tip, weighing 9.6 g, flying out of the barrel SVD rifles at a speed of 830 m/s.
This refers to the 7.62x54 PP (extended penetration) cartridge (GRAU index - 7N13). This line of cartridges, like most 7.62x54 cartridges in those years, was decided to be made exclusively with cores of at least increased penetration. What did this mean? It’s just that bullet cores began to be subjected to thermal hardening, and armor-piercing bullets with a sharp ground core made of tool steels began to be created, which gave excellent results in terms of armor-piercing power. But protection class 6 is currently considered the most enhanced, because according to the domestic GOST, only stars and class 6a are higher, which we will talk about later. The wide distribution of ammunition with increased penetration for the 7.62x54 caliber formed the basis for the creation of body armor capable of protecting against such a scourge. Indeed, in such bullets, unlike the old LPS, they began to use heat strengthening of the cores, changing their shape and the design of the bullets themselves, using more hard steels, which led to 100% penetration of body armor of lower classes. But even in the case of class 6, we cannot guarantee that this is a panacea for any machine guns and rifles. The maximum capability of such a bulletproof vest, according to GOST, is to resist machine guns, and as for rifles (including sniper ones), the grandmother said it in two. After all, there are also sniper armor-piercing cartridges, such as, for example, 7N14, the bullet of which has a sharp armor-piercing core and can be used as a sniper (the bullet is balanced and in ballistics is approximately equal to the bullet of the 7N1 sniper cartridge). And this is already a level higher than the 7N13 increased penetration cartridge, whose core is not sharp, but flat at the tip. It turns out that body armor of the 6th protection class is adapted for bullets of the 7.62x54 mm cartridge, the bullet of which is called PP (increased penetration). This is closer to the point. In any case, these body armor vests, as a rule, are not tested for sharp armor-piercing bullets of 7.62x54 mm 7N14 cartridges, as well as for armor-piercing bullets of 5.45 mm 7N24 and 7N22 caliber, and the armor penetration of the latter is unclear how it will work against the protection intended for bullets with the core of a “truncated cone”, which are the bullets of the 7.62x54 7N13 cartridge. Let’s say that a bullet from a 7N24 cartridge of 5.45x39 caliber, fired from an AK assault rifle, from a ten-meter distance, which is set for testing body armor with rifle and intermediate cartridges, will certainly penetrate a class 6 body armor vest. These cartridges are still rare, but those people who have had the opportunity to test them in a quiet environment give this ammunition very flattering reviews. I have heard several times that bullets from 7N24 5.45 mm cartridges at 100 meters will penetrate any armor plates used in the production of body armor. This bullet has a sharp (not pointed, but sharp) and thin tungsten alloy core; the design of the bullet allows the full penetration potential of the core to be realized.
It is worth noting that the 6th class of protection is very often simply the strengthening of any modular body armor by replacing the plates with more durable ones that provide body protection in class 6. Very often, for protection against high-velocity, high-impulse bullets with hard, sharp or pointed cores, body armor is provided with ceramic armor plates, because they are able to take the lion's share of the impact and negate the degree of armor penetration due to the destruction of harder ceramics. But, as is known, such protection quickly fails, which is justified by the unlikelihood of a bullet re-entering the same place where the plate has already been destroyed. By the way, when destroyed, ceramic armor elements do not leave dangerous sharp corners, they crumble like sand, like the side glass on cars. But in fairness, it should be noted that currently modern manufacturers of personal protective equipment make ceramic-based armor plates that can withstand several hits from rifles and machine guns, remaining undestroyed, retaining their shape and most of their armor-protective properties.
As an example, let's take the fairly well-known 6B13 army body armor, which initially provides maximum all-round protection of the 4th class. When installing special armor plates produced by NPF TEKHINKOM, chest protection is provided according to class 6 on an area of 8.6 square decimeters, and the back is protected by 8.5 square decimeters, respectively. The weight of such a body armor of class 6 protection is about 10.5 kg, which is quite acceptable for this level of protection. Chest panels "Granit-4" for body armor of this series, made on the basis of organic ceramics, have no analogues in the world.
Body armor 6B13 with chest panel "Granit-4".
And this is what a separate composite ceramic armor element of protection class 6, produced by NPF TEKHINKOM, used in this body armor looks like.
Body armor of protection class 6a.
The last class of body armor according to domestic GOST is class 6a, the very last in the Russian GOST table of classification of personal protective equipment. GOST requirements for class 6a are as follows:
The body armor should not be pierced by an armor-piercing incendiary bullet B-32 cartridge 7.62x54 (GRAU index 7-BZ-3) weighing 10.4 g with a sharp hardened steel core made of high-carbon steel, flying out of the barrel of an SVD rifle at a speed of about 830 m/ s and hitting the body armor from a distance of 10 meters.
As a rule, such body armor, classes 6 and 6a, are very heavy. Sometimes, on top of an “anti-machine gun” protective kit (for example, a class 5 body armor with large-area armor plates), an apron with a hefty ceramic plate is hung, designed to stop sharp heat-strengthened cores made of high-carbon tool steel (for example, such as U10A) armor-piercing and armor-piercing incendiary bullets of special cartridges.
Such body armor is used for short-term assault operations, where a unit needs to travel a certain distance under fire from army small arms (machine guns), machine guns and snipers. Constantly wearing such personal protective equipment is impossible, both due to excessive weight, and due to significant difficulties in the body’s thermoregulation and the inability to sit down, lie down, stand up and bend over normally.
In any case, these are heavy body armor for short-term wear and they are intended for special operations (snatch) or for leisurely presence in deep defense (which is less projected onto today’s reality). Also, in such protection you can move while sitting on the armor of an armored personnel carrier or infantry fighting vehicle.
Let us give an example of one of the best Russian achievements modern technologies in terms of personal armor protection.
We present to your attention a new generation of body armor - 6B43 in an expanded set:
Body armor 6B43 extended configuration in disassembled form:
The body armor can be equipped with pouches for machine gun magazines, cases for walkie-talkies, for grenades and similar necessary devices. It is possible to use a lightweight version of this body armor, where the all-round protection is a light and soft fabric material “Rusar” based on aramid fiber, which allows you to protect the body from fragments, pistol bullets and bullets of intermediate cartridges (5.45x39, 7.62x39) at the end. This thing weighs 4.5 kg.
The manufacturer offers two options for completing the product - basic and advanced.
The basic version weighs up to 9 kg and provides all-round torso protection over an area of 42-47 square meters. decimeters, and also protects the neck. Reinforced panels protect your back over an area of 8.2 square meters. decimeters, and enhanced chest protection is 7.2 square meters. decimeters. Also, to reduce behind-the-armor trauma and for ventilation, there are special chest and back dampers of a new generation, which make it almost safe for machine gun bullets to hit the plates; the behind-the-armor concussion effect does not injure. But direct hits from 7.62x54 caliber rifle bullets can cause injuries within the second degree of severity.
An extended modification of the body armor implies serious protection over a larger area and weighs up to 15 kg. In addition to enhanced protection of the back and chest, bulletproof side armor panels are installed here, bulletproof aprons protecting the groin and lower back (the groin is also protected by a splinterproof apron made of aramid fiber), the shoulders are protected by anti-fragmentation screens of soft armor panels. Also, the extended modification is equipped with side thermostatic damper screens.
Body armor 6B43 in basic configuration with special suspension system for pouches, holsters and any other devices.
Armor elements designed to protect against class 6a bullets are made of composite ceramics, the elements of which can withstand several hits while maintaining the properties necessary for protection.
Composite ceramic armor panels providing protection for the 6B43 body armor according to class 6a.
Any of these models does not deteriorate its protective properties after prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures (from -50 to +50 degrees Celsius), and also retains its properties after prolonged soaking in both fresh and salt water. Another plus is that the body armor can be pulled off in a few seconds, a special quick-release protection system is provided, which can be very useful, for example, if you are wounded or if you need to quickly retreat or change position, and ten and a half kilograms do not contribute to the speed of movement.
By the way, the manufacturer of this miracle claims that if you remove the shock-absorbing pads in the winter (in order to lighten the weight, because in any case a peacoat is put on the body, which to some extent can replace the damper), then even without them, there will be quite a serious injury from any machine gun. tolerable, but according to class 6a (if hit from a rifle or machine gun with a B-32 or PP bullet), the injury will be severe, if you refuse to wear a shock-absorbing support in winter in order to increase comfort. You shouldn’t expect that a sheepskin coat/peacoat will soften the blow so much; SVD and PKM have not yet been canceled, which does not please either fighters or surgeons.
But such devices are still not for constant wear; they require use for several hours, after which fatigue sets in, which is very clearly felt. These body armor are for short-term assault operations or for short-term defensive combat.
But, again, we should not forget that no one canceled changing the plates, or abandoning them altogether, getting the same body armor weighing 4.5 kg and protecting against fragments.
But class 6a is class 6a, and even the basic 6B43 body armor vest, which protects the chest and back in class 6a, does not differ in its extraordinary weight - a maximum of 9 kg. And as we remember, body armor of lower classes had much more mass, especially considering the difference in the degree of protection, so modern developments of personal protective equipment do not stand still. And an apron with ceramics, which increases the weight to 15 kg, is rarely used, only during an assault under rifle and machine gun fire.
In most cases, protection classes 6 and 6a are additional reinforced armor elements that complement the base, which usually consists of class 1 or 2 armor panels. Today, it is not possible to make class 6a protection for a bulletproof vest over its entire area; there are only developments; there are no real samples that have passed the entire test cycle. And the main reason here is the mass and dimensions, which nullify the fighter’s mobility.
Summing up all of the above, one cannot help but notice some absurdities. Perhaps I am too picky about the manufacturers of body armor and the developers of GOST standards (applies to the Scientific Research Institute of Steel), but why are our GOST standards so extensive? Let's start in order:
We will not consider classes 1 and 2 here, because the article deals with personal protective equipment that is designed to withstand bullets from military small arms and short-barreled weapons have very little relevance to this topic and all of the given classes of body armor can stop any pistol and revolver bullets, with the exception of special ones (as discussed above).
But starting from 3rd grade, where we actually started this material, a complete bacchanalia begins. We have already examined all the available classes in detail, now we will briefly outline the very essence of what the author of the article wants to convey to the reader.
3rd grade. Needed for protection against Kalashnikov assault rifles of caliber 5.45x39 mm (AK74) and 7.62x39 (AKM), where PS bullets have non-heat-strengthened cores. Fine. But if you load the same machine guns with the same cartridges of just a different year of manufacture (7N6 with a bullet with a heat-strengthened core (TUS) or 7.62, also with a heat-strengthened core (TUS), which often cannot always be detected visually right away ( and they won’t really look into it, the differences are only in the stamps of the years of manufacture of the ammunition, they opened the zinc, filled the magazines...), then in the case of both cartridges (with TUS cores) the body armor will probably be pierced. Yes, and the PP bullet of the 5.45x39 cartridge too, it is necessary. think it will break through such protection if the class holding it back is located lower in the table. As already mentioned, class 3 is an honest pistol and submachine gun armor.
4th grade. Designed for a PP bullet with a heat-strengthened core (TUS) of the 5.45x39 cartridge. Again, it’s unclear which one. By testing a bulletproof vest with a bullet released before the mid-90s, we will get a normal product, but if the same bulletproof vest from the same barrel is loaded with the same 5.45 PP bullets, but already modernized, and where the cavity is filled with lead, then the result will be the same can be deplorable - the body armor can easily be pierced, and the differences in cartridges are only on the stamps of the year of manufacture.
5th grade. Designed for 7.62x39 with a bullet with a heat-strengthened core (TUS). Well, here, if you shoot from a machine gun and penetrate, then you must at least load an armor-piercing bullet, and to be sure, an armor-piercing incendiary bullet (this may seem strange, but armor-piercing incendiary bullets often penetrate better than just armor-piercing bullets). But GOST is silent about armor-piercing bullets of other calibers: 5.45x39 mm, such as 7N22 and 7N24, which in terms of armor penetration show results higher than 7.62x39 with the TUS bullet.
We will not consider the LPS bullet of the 7.62x54 cartridge here for now, so as not to get confused. Everything is clear with her.
5a grade. Designed exclusively for the armor-piercing incendiary bullet BZ of the 7.62x39 cartridge. They even allocated a class like this. It turns out that this is the very best class of protection against Kalashnikov assault rifles. But if so, why did they again forget about the armor-piercing 5.45x39 mm, which I cited above, and they forgot to mention the armor-piercing 7.62x39 in the classification, despite the fact that it is no less common than the armor-piercing incendiary “sister” ”, but in fact, it occurs more often.
What can we say about “anti-machine gun” body armor? You can throw plates out of them that interfere with movement, but catching a bullet in the place where the plate was thrown a minute ago can mean a fatal wound. You can carry around a heavy body armor for years, which again does not provide any guarantees, but at times when the risk of attack with a firearm is highest, it is better to wear armor, depending on the situation. The 6a plates can be replaced with steel “three rubles” or “fives”; there can be many options; you can wear a lightweight anti-fragmentation vest made of fabric panels, reinforced with several thin hard plates of the 2nd class “just in case”.
But with the 7.62x54 mm cartridge, everything looks even more complicated. Protection class 5 implies non-penetration by an LPS bullet with a non-heat-strengthened core fired from an SVD, although such bullets are most often fired from machine guns (PK, PKM, PKT). But at the same time, class 5 allows bullets with a heat-strengthened pointed core of increased penetration (PP) to penetrate the 7N13 cartridge, and even more so the 7N26. And with the sniper cartridge, not everything is clear - will the 5th class withstand the bullet of the 7N1 cartridge? Question…
Class 6 body armor stops 7.62x54 bullets with increased penetration (ST-M3 or 7N13 cartridge), but again there is no word on the effect of armor-piercing bullets of this caliber, although they are very common.
But class 6a guarantees non-penetration by B-32 bullets (one must think that class 6a will also hold back ordinary armor-piercing bullets of this cartridge). Having reached the last class of protection according to the domestic GOST, we, in the process of monitoring the topic, often saw mention of SVD, and never saw requirements for body armor not to be pierced by a bullet from a 7N1 cartridge or a bullet from a 7N14 cartridge, and these are the ones that are sniper (7N14 is considered a sniper -armor-piercing, sharp core made of tool steel, although many people do not consider it a sniper, there is an opinion that the bullet of this cartridge is worse balanced than on the 7N1). But they are usually fired from SVDs, other cartridges begin to be used when 7N1 or 7N14 come to an end, because the SVD was specially “sharpened” for the 7N1 sniper cartridge, and 7N14 is its armor-piercing analogue. Although in many units, unfortunately, the SVD fires machine-gun cartridges with an LPS bullet, which makes the accuracy of hits from this rifle beyond the scope of sniper shooting.
But both in the case of machine guns, and in the case of rifles and machine guns (by the way, not a word is said about the latter in GOST, although there is a difference in the parameters of a shot from a cold PKM barrel and from a cold SVD barrel), we see in classification, the main differences between the classes are that they rely on certain ammunition, despite the fact that this difference is often insignificant when compared with more significant parameters such as the barrel, the weapon itself, conditions, etc.
Equating existing classification GOST as a whole to reality we will consider in next material. Here we have only outlined for you the most significant points in the domestic classification of personal protective equipment /machine gun/rifle/machine gun/ and drawn some parallels.
As we can see, more than half of these classes only cause confusion. Well, what is only class 3 worth? Let's plunge into life (non-peaceful).
What should be the thoughts of a fighter putting on such a bulletproof vest if he thinks deeply (although fighters are not supposed to think)? Probably something like this: “The main thing is that the enemy’s machine gun cartridges should be 7N6, and no later than a certain year of manufacture, after which the cores in those cartridges began to be thermally strengthened, otherwise, after piercing the armor, the deformed bullet can do a lot of damage. Well, it’s not worth talking about 5.45x39 PP and 7.62x39 TUS.” Of course, I’m exaggerating, a fighter is unlikely to think in such a way, but there is a grain of humor in every joke.
Another option. “They gave us 4th class armor. It’s heavy, it’s an infection... I wish I could throw all these pieces of iron or ceramics out of it, otherwise it’s impossible to move for a long time, it’s hard. But for now it’s worth being patient; the protection is still quite serious. Even though the armored vehicle is designed for 5.45 PP, the main thing is that the busurmans do not have upgraded 5.45 PP, otherwise they will break through on the campaign, and you won’t be able to distinguish it from the outside. And any 7.62x39 mm can be fatal if the bullet is TUS.”
Third option. “Well, I put on this fifth class, machine guns are not scary (if they hit the plates), but, God willing, no one will use armor-piercing ones. Although the weight is considerable, it can handle it (although it is not designed). Plus there is a chance from a machine gunner if they plant LPS. What if not with LPS?”
Fourth option. “I put on a heavy class 5a. Now no machine guns will penetrate, probably, and the LPS will leave a chance. But besides LPS, PKMs and SVDs also use other ammunition. And the plates do not cover the entire body; there is a lot of quivering flesh under the fabric waiting for a bullet.”
It is not clear why there are so many classes of personal armor protection? The 3rd, 4th and 5th grades are especially unclear. And especially 5a. Wouldn't it be better to combine them into one? On the same fifth? Especially when technology allows it. Otherwise, it’s some kind of lottery, where the stake is the year of manufacture of the cartridge on the stamp on the bottom of the cartridge case, which is waiting in the chamber for its time, or rather the second, when the trigger is pulled. The same statement holds true in the case of classes 6 and 6a, which are not very different in weight. But there are nuances here. Most manufacturers add high-strength ceramics to their 6a protection class body armor, which can protect against the sharp cores of B-32 bullets. But class 6 body armor very often uses ceramic plates.
The analysis of the feasibility of classification should be continued...
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