According to an article in Zone militaire published on September 22, a few examples of this very special vest have already been delivered to operators of the Special Operations Command.
Ensuring optimal protection while allowing the best possible mobility
This is the whole challenge of ballistic protection in the 20th century: to guarantee optimal protection to the individual who will benefit from it, while hindering their mobility as little as possible so as not to hinder them on the ground. New materials interest researchers, lighter, more resistant.
#FrenchSpecial Forces to Be Equipped with Modular #G3P #Body #Armor https://t.co/TDHKwDifCH
— Army Recognition (@ArmyRecognition) September 23, 2024
Spider silk, among other things, attracts all eyes: in fact, it is three times more resistant than Kevlar (registered trademark of aramid fiber). The structure of mother-of-pearl too, since its study has allowed the design of a “plastic material fourteen times stronger and eight times lighter than steel” according to an article from Zone militaire.
The Multi-Purpose Plate Carrier Vest (G3P)
The result of technological advances, the G3P was presented by the CIEC in 2022. It has a particularity: it can be configured according to missions and threats.Depending on the threat level, the operator can either put on a lighter plate to improve his mobility, or add class 4 plates to obtain complete protection.” explained the CIEC at the time, as relayed by Zone militaire.
According to a press release published by the General Staff of the Armed Forces on December 1, 2021, this bulletproof vest is “composed of plates based on augmented ceramic“, And “provides ballistic protection against armor-piercing bullets while preserving its mobility and ergonomics.” During his presentation at the Defense Innovation Forum (FID), he would have “enjoyed great success with the official delegations and authorities present.”
The G3P plates are also equipped with sensors “allowing their integrity to be constantly monitored60,000 of these chips, subjected to a system called GMOS-TherMOS (GaMma One Shot – TherMique One Shot) will be produced and delivered in 2025, according to a “special edition” of the magazine “Soutenir” of the SCA (Army Commissariat Service).
Function and materials of this ballistic protection
As Body Protek, a company that develops ballistic equipment for the military, security agents and law enforcement, points out, bulletproof equipment must protect the vital organs of the individual wearing it against firearm projectiles.
Knowing that a bullet travels at over 1500 km/h, the protection does not deflect the projectile but stops it to prevent it from penetrating the individual's body. A vest consists of a cover of variable thickness, made from several layers of fabric, and ballistic plates to block the projectiles. These plates can be made from “polyethylene (UHMWPE), aramid (Nylon®, Kevlar®), steel or ceramic”.
The History of the Bulletproof Vest
The first advance in the development of bulletproof vests was made by American physician George Emory Goodfellow, who discovered the ballistic properties of layered silk in 1881.
According to the University of Technology of Compiègne, the First World War accelerated the development of this military technology, since American soldiers quickly abandoned a type of nickel-chromium steel breastplate due to its weight (18 kg).
It was finally in the 1970s that the modern bulletproof vest was marketed thanks to the appearance of a new material: Kevlar (aramid fiber). First used by the tire industry, it increasingly interested the American National Institute of Justice. Subjected to batteries of tests, it was finally in 1976 that the first Kevlar fiber bulletproof vest was developed by Richard Davies.
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