Dragon Skin Body Armor

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X-ray image of a dragon skin protective vest

Dragon Skin Body Armor is a hard ballistic, bullet resistant vest . It is characterized by the fact that it is made from round discs that overlap like scales. It was developed by the now insolvent American company Pinnacle Armor .

Models

There are currently two versions: the SOV2000 (SK3) and the SOV3000 (SK4). They are manufactured in different models that cover surfaces of different sizes. The protection class of the SOV2000 was confirmed by the NIJ in December 2006 and revoked in August 2007.

function

The Dragon Skin has the same functional principle as normal hard ballistic plates in a bullet-resistant vest of protection class 3 or protection class 4. Hard ballistic inserts are used to protect against fire from long weapons that would penetrate body armor with a lower protection class. An extremely hard material should stop the projectile, or at least slow it down and deform it so that the soft ballistic insert underneath (e.g. made of Kevlar or Dyneema) is not penetrated. In the Dragon Skin vest, the principle of scale armor is used, which was previously z. B. was used by Franconian riders in the early Middle Ages or the Red Army in the 1980s. The insert in the vest does not consist of a massive plate, but of numerous small, round "scales" about 5 cm in diameter, which overlap each other and are attached to a textile substrate. This principle enables improved flexibility in contrast to a classic plate. Therefore, a larger area on the torso can be covered with a single insert, as the mobility is at least partially retained. In addition, this form of hard ballistics can stop more projectiles from a certain size, since if a hit does not affect the structure of the entire plate, but only the elements involved.

criticism

Since the individual elements overlap, the weight also increases by 30–60%. So weighs z. For example, a modern 10 ″ × 12 ″ SK3 plate weighs 1.35 kg, while a Dragon Skin insert of the same protection class weighs 2.22 kg. In addition, these vests are currently only sold by one company and are very expensive.

The usefulness of this method is controversial as other modern hard ballistic insoles are also able to withstand multiple hits. Flexibility is also of little importance when using inserts of the size 10 ″ × 12 ″, since personal equipment in the form of various carrying systems would limit the mobility in combination with a dragon skin vest, however, was Dragon Skin has already been worn by US soldiers in action and found it to be significantly more comfortable and flexible, despite its high weight. The flexibility of the SK3 and SK4 systems only become of significant importance if the entire torso is to be covered with as few gaps as possible. In standard versions, large parts of the upper body can be provided with hard ballistic protection. However, the high weight is a disadvantage here, since not only the weight of the additionally covered area has to be borne, but also the increased weight of the system itself. It must be mentioned, however, that greater protection of the upper body can also be achieved with other hard ballistic insoles by attaching further smaller protective plates in addition to the existing system, but these vests would then be much heavier than Dragon Skin.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Withdrawal of the protection class by the US Department of Justice ( Memento from September 30, 2017 in the Internet Archive )