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How Do You Test Body Armor?

Guns. Lots of guns.

By Christopher Beam
Slate

The shooting part of an armor test takes place in two phases. In the "penetration and backface signature" phase, testers set the vest against a clay tablet and fire six rounds at specified locations, including spots over the heart and on the sides. After each round, they examine the dented clay to measure how deeply the bullet impacted the armor. The test for lighter armor requires shooting at four vests—six bullets to the front of each, six to the back—which makes 48 bullets in all. If any of them penetrate the vest or dent the clay more than 44 millimeters, the armor will be deemed unsafe. (According to the Army's report on Dragon Skin, 13 of the 48 rounds shattered or ripped clear through the armor plates.) Military testers shoot more than just bullets; they also use "fragmentation simulators" to launch pieces of metal at a vest. The second phase of testing measures the armor's ballistic limit, also known as "V50"—the velocity at which a bullet will penetrate the armor 50 percent of the time. The tester shoots the vest 12 times, adjusting the bullet's velocity each time depending on whether the last one penetrated.

Testers also simulate different environmental conditions. For example, they might shoot the vest after spraying it with water. For the Dragon Skin tests, the Army looked at a temperature range of  minus 20 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, plus a high-heat 160-degree condition. They also gauged the armor's strength at high altitude, and after soaking it in oil or salt water.

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