BALLISTICS

Ballistics Specifications describe the attributes of a projectile which must be defeated by a particular material in order to comply with the various protection levels.

Ballistics Specifications do not specify a material.  Any material that can defeat the specified projectile will be rated according to that specification.  This is true if it is steel, composite, exotic or concrete.

Ballistics specifications are standardized in many countries and are used as reference when deciding on a protection level that will be required for a particular service requirement.  Once the protection level is determined, then materials used in the construction of the vehicle should all be compatible with that standard.

Use of standards vary depending on the region where vehicles are in use, the most common standards in use are:

North America  -  NIJ (National Institute of Justice)

Middle East & Europe - CEN (Central European Normalization)

 IMPORTANCE OF USE OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

It is common for Armoring companies to create their own In-House standards for Ballistics.   Care should be taken to understand how these relate to Internationally recognized standards for the following reasons:

1 - SAFETY FACTOR

Internationally recognized standards have a built-in safety factor. Bullets purchased “out of the box” have a pre determined charge and therefore a Preset speed when fired.   In order to comply with international standards, a bullet speed must be increased above the manufacturers preset speed.  This virtually GUARANTEES that materials which pass an International Ballistic standard will ALWAYS defeat the specified projectile “out of the box”.

 The same CANNOT be said for an manufacturers in-house standard.

2 - REGIONAL COMPATIBILITY

International Standards are based on weapons commonly used in the regions where the Standards are written.   This ensures that materials are tested to appropriate protection levels which are realistic for the area of use.  This gives added confidence in the material test since these are the most probable threats to be protected against. 

In-house testing may or may not be equally applicable.

3 - UNIVERSAL ACCEPTANCE

International Standards are more universally understood and accepted.   They are also generally well known compared to an in-house standard.  

4 - INDEPENDENT

International Standards do not depend on or benefit any particular company or product.  They are developed to ensure adequate protection against common weapons in a geographical region.   When tested at Independent Laboratories, results obtained are unbiased and can be trusted to provide assurance that materials will meet the standards and protect the users from the threat.

In-house standards may be written in such a way as to benefit a particular company or their product.