With ceramic plates, you have to weigh the benefits of increased protection with the cons that come with a heavy vest. That said, they’re still pretty heavy and bulky. They were a breakthrough in body armor technology and were much lighter than other types of armor at the time. They were first used on a large scale during Operation Desert Storm. This is because they shatter when hit to absorb the kinetic energy from the round.Ĭeramic Plates are a common type of plate you can find for sale. The major downside of SAPI and ceramic plates is they are only designed to stop one impact in the same spot. In the Marines, we had to wear these plates in the front, back, and sizes of our vest. The level of protection is great, but they’re quite a bit heavier than soft plates. There are actually different types, but they’re typically made of boron carbide or silicon carbide ceramic. SAPI plates are basically ceramic plates (described below) covered in a tough composite material (to trap fragments). SAPI plates were specifically designed to stop higher caliber rounds than standard Kevlar vests. Kevlar vests are great, but as mentioned above for rounds larger than 9mm they’re largely ineffective. SAPI Plates (Small Arms Protective Inserts) are used by all branches of the US military and are what we used in the Marines.
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