Interceptor body armor is a bullet-resistant vest that was used by the United States Armed
Forces from the late 1990s to the late 2000s, still seeing use as of the early 2010s. The
Interceptor Body Armor design replaced the older standardized fragmentation protective
Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops body armor system, introduced in the early 1980s.
Overview Basic system
The Interceptor body armor system consists of an Outer Tactical Vest and two Small Arms
Protective Insert ballistic plates. The OTV features a carrier shell, and three main ballistic
panel inserts, which are made with a finely woven Kevlar KM2 fiber. These two parts of
the vest are both bullet and heat resistant. The soft ballistic panels are produced in
five different sizes, which are installed into their respective pocket on the OTV carrier
shell. The vest was tested to stop a 9 mm 124 grain
full metal jacket bullet at 1,400 ft/s with minimal deformation and has a V-50 of roughly
1,525 ft/s. This means that the bullet has to be traveling faster than 1,525 ft/s for
it to have more than a 50% chance of breaking through the soft armor panel.
The Interceptor armor also has a PALS webbing grid on the front of the vest which accommodate
the same type of pockets used in the Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment backpack/carry
vest system. This allows a soldier to tailor-fit his MOLLE and body armor system. While not
specifically designed for it, the loops can also easily attach All-purpose Lightweight
Individual Carrying Equipment-based equipment, as well as many pieces of civilian-made tactical
gear, and also features a large handle on the back just below the collar which can be
used to drag a wounded person to safety in an emergency.
Originally the Interceptor Body Armor System weighed 16.4 pounds, with the vest weighing
8.4 pounds, and two plate inserts weighing four pounds each. This is lighter than the
previous Ranger Body Armor fielded in Somalia which weighed 25.1 pounds.
Due to the increased dangers of improvised explosive devices, a newer version of the
vital plates and components have been developed. The Enhanced Small Arms Protective Inserts
and Enhanced Side Ballistic Inserts have become available, along with the Deltoid and Axillary
Protector System. These new systems are becoming the standard for forward deployed troops.
The E-SAPI plates offer increased protection from 7.62mm armor piercing ammunition. The
ESBIs is an attachable MOLLE ballistic panel with a pouch for a 8x6 side-SAPI, for protection
of the side of the torso/under the arm. DAPS consists of two ambidextrous modular components,
the Deltoid Protector and the Axillary Protector, and provide for additional protection from
fragmentary and projectiles to the upper arm and underarm areas. With the Interceptor body
armor, E-SAPI plates, ESBIs, DAPS and with the neck, throat and groin protectors installed
the armor is significantly heavier at 33.1 pounds.
Additional components
To increase overall protection, separate accessories can be added to the OTV:
Collar device that is divided in two parts, a neck and collar protector and a throat protector
Groin protector. With the need of additional accessories to
protect troops, some were produced for the ground:
Deltoid and axillary protection system. Side plate carriers
Back extender Upper Legs protector, a kind of kevlar short
Lower Extremity Body Armor Combat diapers
The Interceptor cannot, however, be called a Level III-A vest as military standard does
not require protection against heavy .44 Magnum ammunition. However, both Level III-A vests
and Interceptor do protect from much lighter 9mm threats in identical tests. The vest will
stop other, slower-moving fragments and has removable neck, throat, shoulder, extended
back and groin protection. Two small-arms protective inserts may also
be added to the front and back of the vest, with each plate designed to stop up to three
hits from 7.62x51mm NATO M80 ball ammunition, with a muzzle velocity of 2,750 feet per second.
The plates are the most technically advanced body armor fielded by the U.S. military, and
are constructed of boron carbide ceramic with a Spectra shield backing that breaks down
projectiles and halts their momentum.
History Development and production
Materials for the Interceptor vest were developed by DARPA in the 1990s, and a contract for
production was awarded to DHB Industries' Point Blank Body Armor, Inc., by the U.S.
Army Soldier Systems Center. Interceptor body armor was announced on April 13, 1998, and
the contract to manufacture the Interceptor body armor was awarded to an Oakland Park,
Florida-based company under a five-year contract in late July 1998, and the body armor went
into full production later that year.
The Interceptor vest comes in a number of fabric variants. Camouflage patterns include:
Woodland three-color desert
the Army Combat Uniform's Universal Camouflage Pattern.
Solid colors include: coyote brown
black, used by embedded journalists and law enforcement
orange, worn during training by some USMC instructors or for non-military use.
The original Interceptor Outer Tactical Vest variant first began to be issued to the U.S.
Armed Forces in the early 2000s, and the first OTV carriers were first produced in the Woodland
camouflage pattern. Quickly, a coyote-brown variant was made for the USMC. Marines used
OTV in both woodland and coyote-brown camouflages in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the U.S. Army,
the Woodland camouflage pattern was then superseded by the 3-color Desert Combat pattern, followed
by the Universal Camouflage Pattern. As part of U.S. President George W. Bush’s
$87 billion package for ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, $300 million was
earmarked for body armor. A complete Interceptor system costs $1,585. The Interceptor system's
component ceramic plates currently cost about $500 each.
Replacement U.S. Army
On May 10, 2006, the U.S. Army announced it was holding an open competition for companies
to design an entirely new generation of body armor "to improve on and replace" the Interceptor.
The Army said it wanted ideas from companies by May 31. Congressional investigators reportedly
reviewed the Pentagon's entire body armor program, including the Interceptor vest. Investigators
expressed concern that the vests might not be adequate to protect troops.
Aside from replacing the SAPI vital plates with the improved E-SAPI plates, the body
armor vests have also been redesigned, improved and enhanced with the introduction of the
Improved Outer Tactical Vest, or "IOTV", in the U.S. Army.
U.S. Marine Corps After initially using the OTV as their main
body armor system, the U.S. Marine Corps developed a completely new armor system, the Modular
Tactical Vest, which was their primary body armor system in Iraq. On September 25, 2006,
the Marine Corps announced that Protective Products International won a contract for
60,000 new Modular Tactical Vests to replace the Interceptor OTV vests. The MTV provides
greater coverage, superior weight distribution, and additional features such as a quick-release
system. Some U.S. Navy ground force personnel use the Modular Tactical Vest. Other Navy
personnel on Individual Augmentee assignments use the Army's body armor systems.
Not adapted for the mountainous environment of Afghanistan, the Modular Tactical Vest
was replaced by the Scalable Plate Carrier, a lighter alternative, which is their primary
body armor system for Afghanistan. Since January 2009, the U.S. Marine Corps
is seeking for replacements for both MTV and SPC that are commonly issued. The MTV has
received top ratings by many U.S. Marines; although a few Marines have complained about
minor elements of it and an updated version will soon be released which deals with these
elements. Improved Modular Tactical Vest and Improved Scalable Plate Carrier are the new
models. "The IMTV will be the main body armor system for Marines, the Corps plans to order
about 70,000 of the improved plate carriers, far more than the estimated 10,000 to 14,000
plate carriers in use today". Effectiveness
Discussion Body armor is always a compromise: mobility
and comfort are inevitably sacrificed to some degree when greater protection is achieved.
This is a point of contention in the U.S. armed forces, with some favoring less armor
in order to maintain mobility and others wanting as much protection as is practical. Troops
who primarily ride in vehicles generally want the highest practical level of protection
from IED's and ambushes, while dismounted infantry often make the case that impaired
mobility can prove just as fatal as inadequate armor.
The debate is especially valid in the Iraq war, when comparing lightly equipped insurgents
with U.S. troops routinely burdened with upwards of 100 lbs. of weapons, ammunition, armor,
food, water, and other assorted equipment. Many troops have complained that under such
conditions, they are simply unable to pursue their guerrilla opponents. Side armor has
been sent to Iraq in increasing amounts, but many troops do not want to wear it because
it adds 10 lb to the 16 lb vest and they say the added weight could decrease mobility
and get them killed in certain combat scenarios. Controversies
On 4 May 2005 the U.S. Marine Corps recalled 5,277 Interceptor combat vests made by DHB's
Point Blank unit after news reports about the vests' inability to stop 9mm bullets.
In November, 2005, the Marine Corps ordered 10,342 Interceptor Outer Tactical Vests pulled
from the operating forces after media reports indicated some samples tested by the manufacturer
and by the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland failed to fully comply with ballistics
standards. A U.S. Marine Corps forensic study obtained
by DefenseWatch slams the Interceptor OTV body armor system. "As many as 42% of the
Marine casualties who died from isolated torso injuries could have been prevented with improved
protection in the areas surrounding the plated areas of the vest. Nearly 23% might have benefited
from protection along the mid-axillary line of the lateral chest. Another 15% died from
impacts through the unprotected shoulder and upper arm," the report says.
Alternatives Private purchase of commercial body armor
is not authorized by the U.S. Army. A spokesman voiced concerns in 2004 about armor that had
not been "tested, certified or approved" by the Army. In 2005, the DoD under severe pressure
from Congress after the recalls, authorized a one-time $1,000 reimbursement to soldiers
who had purchased civilian body armor and other gear. In 2006 they gave orders not to
wear anything but military issued body armor because of fears that inadequate armor could
be purchased, mainly body armor that had inadequate blunt force trauma protection.
Users United States:
Ukraine: 2000 vests delivered from USA in 2014
See also Improved Outer Tactical Vest, also known as
the IOTV Modular Tactical Vest, also known as the MTV
Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops, also known as PASGT
Notes
References
External links Interceptor Body Armor Factsheet
Article on Interceptor Body Armor in Operation Iraqi Freedom
detailed analysis and history of interceptor body armor
How body armor works Detailed info on Kevlar fiber used in Interceptor
system