Ballistic vest
United States Army working dog, wearing a
bulletproof vest, clears a building in
Afghanistan
A ballistic vest, bulletproof vest or bullet-
resistant vest is an item of protective cloth-
ing that absorbs the impact from firearm-
fired projectiles and shrapnel fragments from
explosions. This protection is for the torso.
Soft vests are made from many layers of
woven or laminated fibers and protect wear-
ers from projectiles fired from certain hand-
guns, shotguns, and small fragments from ex-
plosives such as hand grenades.
When metal or ceramic plates are used
with a soft vest, it can also protect wearers
from shots fired from rifles. In combination
with metallic components or tightly-woven
fiber layers, soft armor can offer some pro-
tection to the wearer from stab and slash
from a knife. Soft vests are commonly worn
by police forces, private citizens and private
security guards or bodyguards, and hard-
plate reinforced vests are mainly worn by
combat soldiers in the armies of various na-
tions as well as police tactical units and host-
age rescue teams.
Modern body armor may combine a bal-
listic vest with other items of protective
clothing, such as a helmet. Vests intended for
police and military use may also include bal-
listic shoulder, and side protection armor
components. Bomb disposal officers wear
heavy armor and helmets with face visors
and spine protection.
Overview
Ballistic vests use layers of very strong fiber
to "catch" and deform a bullet and spread its
force over a larger portion of the vest fiber. A
deformable handgun bullet mushrooms into a
dished plate on impact with a well designed
textile vest. The vest absorbs the energy from
the deforming bullet, bringing it to a stop be-
fore it can penetrate the overall matrix. Some
layers may be penetrated but as the bullet
deforms, the energy is absorbed by a larger
and larger fiber area.
While a vest can prevent bullet penetra-
tion, the vest and wearer still absorb the bul-
let’s energy. Even without penetration, mod-
ern pistol bullets