Dragon Skin
"Dragon Skin" is a kind of body armor made by Pinnacle Armor and worn by the U.S. Secret Service Presidential Protection detail, CIA, NSA, United States Department of Energy officials in Iraq, some journalists and contractors in Iraq, U.S. Air Force, some Special Ops forces, some police departments and SWAT teams, and nine U.S. Generals in the field (as of Jan 2006).[1] [2]
The Dragon Skin vests are known for their silver dollar sized circular discs linked together like fish scales or chain mail. This makes the vests flexible and allows for multiple hits. The discs are composed of advanced ceramic or titanium (depending on the vest rating) composite matrixes and laminates.
In a test for the History Channel's military show, "Mail Call", the vest repelled nine rounds of pointed steel ammunition from an AK-47 and 35 rounds of 9 mm, all fired into a 10-by-12-inch configuration on the vest.
Fresno, CA police officers ordered it after a vest stopped all the bullets fired during a test, including .308 rounds from a sniper rifle and 30 rounds from a fully automatic MP-5 fired from 5 feet away. Ninety-eight federal, state, and local law enforcement officers witnessed the SWAT test. The armor also stopped 40 rounds of PS-M1943 mild steel core bullets from an AK-47 along with 200 9 mm FMJ military ball bullets fired from a submachine gun.[3]
It was previously the subject of testing controversy with the U.S. Army[4] over testing it against its Interceptor body armor. The Army claimed Pinnacle's body armor was not proven to be effective and that some failed an Air Force test and were recalled. Pinnacle Armor put out a press release as approved in form by the Air Force that there were no failures, recalls or banning of the armor.[5] Defense Review said they saw the test results and that they exceeded that of the Army's Interceptor vest.[6] The Pentagon said the test results are classified and neither side could agree to terms on another, more comprehensive test. The Army wanted to hold and inspect the vests for 1-2 weeks before shooting at them, and Pinnacle wanted them shot at right away from out of the box because they said they feared the Army tampering with them in order to save their currently cheaper body armor program.
On May 19th it was announced that the dispute had been resolved and the vests were going to be retested again by the Army to clear the dispute.[7] On May 20th it was announced by the Washington Post[8] that the Dragon Skin vests had indeed failed the retest according to their anonymous and unconfirmed source- an assertion that Pinnacle Armor did not immediately deny or comment on. Official results of these tests are classified and will probably never be released by the Army.
On June 6th, 2006 in comments posted on an online discussion forum, Karl Masters, director of engineering for Program Manager - Soldier Equipment, said he recently supervised the retest and commented on it. "I was recently tasked by the army to conduct the test of the 30 Dragon Skin SOV 3000 level IV body armor purchased for T&E [tests and evaluation]," Masters wrote. "My day job is acting product manager for Interceptor Body Armor. I'm under a gag order until the test results make it up the chain. I will, however, offer an enlightened and informed recommendation to anyone considering purchasing an SOV 3000 Dragon Skin - don't. I do not recommend this design for use in an AOR with a 7.62x54R AP threat and an ambient temperature that could range to 120F. I do, however, highly recommend this system for use by insurgents..."[9]
Pinnacle Armor then released another press release saying the testing was unbaised, not conducted professionally, said the testing is still unfinished, and the vests did not fail.[10]
References
- ^ nctimes.com. "Pentagon bungles body armor purchases". Dragon Skin Body Armor. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
- ^ military.com. "Getting America's Best?". Dragon Skin Body Armor. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
- ^ fresnobee.com. "Army ban puts Dragon Skin in the line of fire". Dragon Skin Body Armor. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
- ^ thestate.com. "Dispute ties up body armor plan". Dragon Skin Body Armor. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
- ^ pinnaclearmor.com. "Response to US Army's allegations of failed Air Foce testing". Dragon Skin Body Armor. Retrieved 2006-06-22.
- ^ defensereview.com. "DefRev Sees Test Data: Dragon Skin Hands-Down Superior to Army's Interceptor". Dragon Skin Body Armor. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
- ^ military.com. "Army Tests Pinnacle Armor "Dragon Skin" Vests". Dragon Skin Body Armor. Retrieved 2006-05-23.
- ^ Washington Post. "Potential Advance in Body Armor Fails Tests". Dragon Skin Body Armor. Retrieved 2006-07-08.
- ^ New Twist in Dragon Armor Tale. "New Twist in Dragon Armor Tale". Dragon Skin Body Armor. Retrieved 2006-08-07.
- ^ Pinnacle Armor, 2nd Press Release. "Response to Karl Masters' (US Army) public statements regarding unfinished FAT testing". Dragon Skin Body Armor. Retrieved 2006-08-07.
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