Guides & Briefs

N6133126SNQ31-Sources Sought Announcement For Improved Maritime Ballistic Plate (IMBP)

Amended 01 Hybrid Enhanced Ballistic Protection System BPA

Foreign Weapons, Body Armor and Ammo

95--ARMOR PLATE

95--ARMOR PLATE

FMS Chile Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) Improved Outer Tactical Vests (IOTVs) and Armor Plates

FMS Chile Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) Improved Outer Tactical Vests (IOTVs) and Armor Plates

TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY: Flash Sinter-Forging Equipment

Mitigating Obsolescence of MIL-PRF-19500

Lightweight Hard Armor Polyethylene Composite Plates for Air National Guard (ANG) Security Forces

30--PLATE,RETAINING,SHA

53--PLATE,MOUNTING

53--PLATE,MOUNTING

53--PLATE,MOUNTING

53--PLATE,RESILIENT MOU

30--PAWL

20--PLATE,STANCHION

20--PLATE,STANCHION

PLATE, SLIDE ASSY

84--BAG,FLYER'S HELMET

43--PLATE ASSEMBLY,LEFT

20--FRAME,PROTECTIVE FR

59--PLATE,RETAINING,ELE

DDSP Vest Carriers

16--PLATE ASSY,ORIFICE,

KEVLAR, KNIT SLEEVE

Domestic vs Imported Fiber Sourcing — Practical Procurement Strategy

LE body-armor procurement doesn't legally require domestic fiber (that's Berry Amendment, which is DoD-scope). But several practical drivers push some agencies toward domestic sourcing anyway. This guide covers when that matters and how to write it into an RFP.

Prepreg vs Dry-Fabric Lamination — How Body Armor Panels Are Built

Soft-armor panels are built from either pre-impregnated composite fabric or dry ballistic fabric plus a separate resin step. This guide covers the two methods, the suppliers (Barrday, JPS, Hexcel), and the tradeoffs that drive OEM construction choices.

How Ceramic Strike Faces Are Made — Pressing, Sintering, Tile Arrays

Ceramic strike-face manufacturing — pressing, sintering, tile array vs monolithic — is more expensive and finicky than the chemistry of the ceramic itself suggests. This guide covers the two dominant production paths, why boron carbide is still expensive, and what the ceramic suppliers (3M, Morgan, CoorsTek) actually do differently.

Zylon — The Body Armor Failure Case That Reshaped NIJ Standards

In 2005 the Second Chance body-armor recall exposed rapid degradation of PBO (Zylon) fiber under real-world UV and moisture conditions. This guide covers what went wrong, what NIJ did in response, and why the Zylon lesson still shapes modern body-armor engineering.

Ballistic Ceramics — Alumina vs Silicon Carbide vs Boron Carbide

Hard armor plates use ceramic strike faces to fracture bullets before they reach the fiber catch layer. Three ceramic families dominate — alumina, silicon carbide, and boron carbide. This guide covers weight, cost, and performance tradeoffs and the suppliers behind each.

Aramid Fibers — Kevlar vs Twaron vs Heracron

Para-aramid fibers founded modern body armor — DuPont's Kevlar (1971) and Teijin's Twaron led the market before UHMWPE emerged. This guide compares the four major para-aramid suppliers (DuPont, Teijin, Hyosung, Kolon) and where each is used today.

Body Armor Supply Chain — The Complete ArmorOS Guide

The body-armor industry rests on a thin, globally consolidated supply chain — a handful of fiber producers (DuPont Kevlar, Avient Dyneema, Honeywell Spectra), ceramic suppliers (Morgan, CoorsTek), and prepreg makers. This guide maps the upstream supply chain that determines what every OEM can actually build.

Berry Amendment + Body Armor — What DoD Actually Requires

The Berry Amendment requires DoD to buy clothing, fabric, and body armor from domestic sources. This guide covers what "domestic" means in practice for body armor fiber, prepreg, ceramic, and finished armor — and where the pitfalls are.

UHMWPE Fibers — Dyneema vs Spectra in Body Armor

UHMWPE (Dyneema, Spectra) has displaced aramid in many body-armor applications since the 2000s. This guide covers how the fiber works, why Avient and Honeywell dominate supply, and the grades that matter (SK78, SK99, Force Multiplier, Spectra Shield).

FPDS award : ANGEL ARMOR, LLC