If Troops Are Allowed To Use Dragon Skin Body Armor?
Posted on July 18, 2009 - Filed Under BPV, Body Armor |
Dragon Skin body armor is a good concept. It is flexible and provides good protection.
In 2006 or 2007, the military looked at it but failed miserably. It didn’t live up to the hype. It was far from performance of body armor that the troops were already using. A major problem was that the glue holding the ceramic disks would break apart when the temperature changed, especially in high heat. When that happened, all the disks would fall to the bottom of the vest and provide ZERO protection.
The manufacturer was able to get on Mail Call and some other military shows and provided demos in a controlled situation that made Dragon Skin look like the best solution in the world. They went straight to Congress claiming the Army was unfair. The Army got pissed and released all of the test data, test conditions, and even x-ray photos of the Dragon Skin.
The Army said to hold another test of the latest body armor, Dragon Skin is welcome to participate. Dragon Skin didn’t provide a product by the deadline for the test. The Army gave a couple extra weeks. Dragon Skin provided a product and the Army tested it. It was HEAVIER by about 5 lbs. more than any other product. It still had all the same problems with glue. When the Army put it at a cool temperature, then a high temperature, the glue had the same problems. The Army refused the product and asked to keep developing.
The Congressmen that had been pushing the “side by side” testing suddenly quieted down. Troops are NOT allowed to use it because it DOESN’T WORK. Even if it worked as advertised, it wouldn’t be used because it is TOO HEAVY. The military is working hard to reduce the weight of body armor without lessening the effectiveness.
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