Posted on 08/22/2007 9:16:47 PM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
August 14, 2007: The Dragon Skin armor was recently decertified by the National Institute of Justice, adding more controversy to the debate over the value of this armor design for protective vests. This loss of certification will cause many police agencies to reject this armor as a result. This is a serious blow to the manufacturer, which is trying to get the armor adopted by the Department of Defense.
Dragon Skin was intended to provide better all-around protection against incoming fire. One problem with most protective vests is that there are places where the protective ceramic plates only cover a small portion of the body. Dragon Skin solved that problem, but weighed 20 pounds more than the Interceptor.
So, the extra 20 pounds of a Dragon Skin vest versus an Interceptor vest is a big deal for the infantry. Plus, there are concerns about how well Dragon Skin performs. NBC ran tests in Germany that seemed to favor the armor, but Army tests found flaws. The Army also had concerns about how well Dragon Skin could hold up in very hot temperatures (the inside of a Bradley or a Stryker can get much hotter than outside temperature, particularly in a desert environment).
The Army did the tests last year at the insistence of Congress – who wanted the armor to be given a chance. Now that the armor has failed, the manufacturer is going to the court of public opinion to overturn the verdict of the Army tests. Now, the Army is caught in a battle to not only save the lives of its troops, but the reputation of those who test equipment for the troops. The Department of Justice and National Institute of Justice appears to be backing the Army. The company that makes Dragon Skin, though, has friends in Congress – and Congress can overturn a decision to not buy gear. And so, the controversy will continue. – Harold C. Hutchison
It was featured on MythBusters earlier this week too. They are looking to use it when they rebuild “Buster”.
Hopefully it protected them from exploding GM trucks.
Futureweapons is nothing more than an infomercial on whatever products they are playing with.
Pretty good discussion here on body armor.
http://www.socnetcentral.com/vb/showthread.php?t=68492
What did MythBusters find?
Congress needs to keep its mouth shut and let the Pentagon make the decision.
I know that the military has the ability to make mistakes, but most of those mistakes are caused by politicians sticking their noses where they don’t belong.
Thanks.
The Pentagon may not be quite as vulnerable to political sway as the Congress but they are not far behind.
The Pentagon has a bad reputation of generals retiring and taking jobs with contractors whose projects they governed and evaluated.
So would be careful of taking the Pentagons word on the value of any given piece of hardware.
That is a good point, the generals in the pentagon are pretty much politicians.
But they are further away from the politics and I think they are more likely to make the decision based on what the soldier needs than some chud in Congress who is trying to get re-elected.
“”Pretty good discussion here on body armor.””
http://www.socnetcentral.com/vb/showthread.php?t=68492
That is a good discussion on the subject, thanks.
The Army is full of RINO jackass political corrupt bastards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTrTrsJu3pk
Army ‘tested’ and banned Dragon Skin because of ‘failures’.
However, the ban was two months BEFORE the testing!
Bullshiite!
Until Dragon Skin is made for the face, this is a tempest in a teapot.
Current Army body armor is called ‘Interceptor’, designed by Jim McGee 10 years ago, a retired Marine colonel.
Jim McGee was asked recently “what is the best armor available today?”
Jim McGee says “Dragon Skin is the best out there. Hands down, it’s better than the Interceptor, it is state of the art”.
He adds “If I were sent to Iraq tomorrow, I would buy Dragon Skin and wear it.”
More proof of the superiority of Dragon Skin:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKnfHhRl7U0&mode=related&search=
And more proof:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RphBEyu4GoY&mode=related&search=
Corrupt political bastards.
Banned by the Pentagon?
The inventor of the current armor, Interceptor, says Dragon Skin is the best in the world.
The Pentagon is full of corrupt bastards.
I am currently lugging BA around Afghanistan and I have to say that 20 pounds might as well be 100 pounds.
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