Early modern era
In 1538, Duke Francesco Maria della Rovere, a condottiero, commissioned Filippo Negroli to create a bulletproof vest. In 1561, See more

Modern body armor is generally split into one of two categories: soft armor and hard armor. Soft armor is typically made of woven fabrics, like Dyneema or Kevlar, and usually provides … See more

Bomb disposal officers often wear heavy armor designed to protect against most effects of a moderate sized explosion, such as bombs encountered in terror threats. Full head helmet, covering the face and some degree of protection for limbs is mandatory … See more

In order for ballistic protection to be wearable, the ballistic panels and/or hard rifle-resistant plates are placed within a carrier. The term "plate carrier" is used specifically to refer to armour carriers which can hold ballistic plates. Broadly, there are two major … See more

Due to the various types of projectile, it is often inaccurate to refer to a particular product as "bulletproof" because this implies that it will … See more

Early "ice pick" test
In the mid-1980s the state of California Department of Corrections issued a requirement for a body armor using a commercial ice pick as the test penetrator. The test method attempted to simulate the capacity of a … See more

Non-standard designs of hard armour
The vast majority of hard body armor plates, including the U.S. military's Small Arms Protective Insert family, are monolithic; their strike faces consist of a single ceramic tile. Monolithic plates are lighter than their … See more