Monday, December 2, 2019

What Are Ballistic Standards in Armoring?

The demand for civilian armored vehicles is growing around the world and there is many a reputed armored car company in the business now. However, it follows that people will be looking for varying levels of protection from external attacks depending on their threat perception. For instance, some may be interested in light armored vehicles to protect against handguns and other small caliber firearms while others may call for heavier armoring that can withstand high powered rifles and machine guns.


Therefore, various countries have developed ballistic standards to match the common types of ballistic threats present in their geographic regions. These standards involve defeat levels and testing procedures to certify the armoring materials based on the specific types of ammunition they can stop. Some even specify general guidelines on vehicle construction.

In the USA, the standards were developed by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), a procurement arm of the US government, with the armor types ranging from I, II-A and II to III-A, III and IV. The European Union has its own ballistic standards, called CEN, which is the B-Level standard and ranges from B2 to B7. The German ballistic vehicle resistance standard is called VPAM and has numerous levels ranging from 1 to 14. Similarly, some other countries have also developed their own standards.

Every armored car company follows one of these ballistic standards in keeping with its mission and client requirements. For instance, International Armoring Corporation (www.armormax.com) adheres to the European Union’s standards as they are more specific to the requirements of armored passenger vehicles. It offers B4 to B7 rating levels where B4 is capable of stopping handgun shots, B5 can withstand AK-47s and B6 can defeat high-powered rifles too. B7 is the gold standard and can successfully survive armor piercing shots as well! The company has built more than 8000 armored vehicles and boasts of a 100% success rate in protecting its clients.

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