Body Armour Standards
Our Products
Defence Composites Ltd manufacture all their protective armour products in accordance to the international standards as shown below.
We use independent accredited test facilities to regularly test our products to maintain the very latest standards and protection required by our customers.
All our products are manufactured in the UK to the ISO9001:2015 and ISO14001:2015 Quality Management Standard.
National Institute of Justice (NIJ) 0101.06
NIJ Standard 0101.06 is the American Body Armor Standard and covers ballistic threats only. This standard establishes minimum performance requirements for personal body armour intended to protect against gun fire only.
The protection levels available are separated into different types of ballistic threat ranging from low velocity hand guns, high velocity hand guns and rifles.
This standard is widely used around the world.
| Small handgun protection | |||||
| Level II (2) | 9mm FMJ RN  | 44.0 | 8.0 g (124 gr) | 398 ± 9 | 1305 ± 30 |
.357 Mag JSP  | 44.0 | 10.2 g (158 gr) | 436 ± 9 | 1430 ± 30 | |
| High velocity handguns | |||||
| Level IIIA (3a) | .357 SIG FMJ FN  | 44.0 | 8.1 g (125 gr) | 448 ± 9 | 1470 ± 30 |
.44 Mag SJHP  | 44.0 | 15.6 g (240 gr) | 436 ± 9 | 1430 ± 30 | |
| Rifles | |||||
| Level III (3) | 7.62 mm NATO FMJ  | 44.0 | 9.6 g (147 gr) | 847 ± 9 | 2780 ± 30 |
| Armour piercing rifles | |||||
| Level IV (4) | 30.06 M2 AP FMJ  | 44.0 | 10.8 g (166 gr) | 878 ± 9 | 2880 ± 30 |
UK Home Office Body Armour Standard (2017)
The Home Office Body Armour Standard (2017) outlines the minimum performance requirements for body armour intended for use by UK law enforcement agencies.
This UK standard covers both ballistic threats (HO) from firearms and also knife (KR) and spike threats (SP).
Stab and Spike Standard
| Protection level | Energy level E1 | Energy level E2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy (J) | Maximum penetration at E1 (mm) | SPL at E1 (mm) | Energy (J) | Maximum penetration at E2 (mm) | SPL at E2 (mm) | |
| KR1 | 24.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 36.0 | 20.0 | 30.0 |
| KR1 + SP1 | 24.0 | KR1 = 8.0 SP1 = 0 | KR1 = 9.0 SP1 = 0 | 36.0 | KR1 = 20.0 SP1 = N/A | KR1 = 20.0 SP1 = N/A |
| KR2 | 33.0 | 8.0 | 9.0 | 50.0 | 20.0 | 30.0 |
| KR2 + SP2 | 33.0 | KR2 = 8.0 SP2 = 0 | KR1 = 9.0
SP2 = 0 | 50.0 | KR2 = 20.0
SP2 = N/A | KR2 = 30.0 SP2 = N/A |
Ballistic Standard
| Protection level | Classification and calibre | Test round designation | Bullet mass | Range (min) (m) | Max. mean BFS (mm) | Single shot BFS limit (mm) | Velocity (m.s-1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HO1 | 9 mm FMJ | MEN 9 mm FMJ DM11A1B2 | 8.0 g (124 grain) | 5 | - | 44.0 | 365 ± 10 |
| 9 mm JHP | Federal Premium 9mm JHP P9HST1 | 8.0 g (124 grain) | 5 | - | 44.0 | 365 ± 10 | |
| HO2 | 9mm FMJ | MEN 9 mm FMJ DM11A1B2 | 8.0 g (124 grain) | 5 | - | 44.0 | 430 ± 10 |
| 9 mm JHP | Federal Premium 9 mm JHP P9HST1 | 8.0 g (124 grain) | 5 | - | 44.0 | 430 ± 10 | |
| HO3 | Rifle 7.62 calibre | Radway Green 7.62 mm NATO Ball L44A1 or L2A2 | 9.3 g (144 grain) | 10 | 25.0 | 30.0 | 830 ± 15 |
| Rifle 7.62 calibre | 7.62 × 39 mm surrogate | 7.9 g (122 grain) | 10 | 25.0 | 30.0 | 705 ± 15 | |
| HO4 | Rifle 7.62 calibre | SAKO .308 Win 480A Powerhead or Barnes .308 TSX BT | 10.7 g (165 grain) | 10 | 25.0 | 30.0 | 820 ± 15 |
| SG1 | Shotgun 12 gauge True Cylinder | Winchester 1 oz. Rifled 12RSE | 28.4 g | 10 | 25.0 | 30.0 | 435 ± 25 |