RTS Tactical is a body armor manufacturer headquartered in Miami that manufactures ballistic panels, shields, helmets and more. The company places importance on extensive field testing and innovative technological developments to create high-quality body armor and tactical equipment.
Their most recent development is the RESES Technology to combat one of the biggest weaknesses of modern steel armor. This technology stops and encases fragmentation of a bullet within a containment chamber.
What is fragmentation?
When you shoot something, there are three things a bullet can do. It can pass through the target, the target can absorb it or it can shatter. Steel armor plates can stop bullets, but the residual energy is typically lost through fragmentation, also known as spall.
The bullet then breaks into smaller fragments which retain the energy as the bullet deflects. These fragments, moving at high speeds, can cause significant damage to both the wearer and nearby bystanders.
Stopping fragmentation
At RTS tactical, significant research and development has led to the invention of RESES Technology, which can potentially solve the issue. When a fast moving projectile meets a ballistic steel armored panel fitted with the RESES Technology, the panel entirely contains its fragmentation.
Their proprietary chamber creates a sandbag effect that suppresses the bullet trajectory resulting in the chamber encapsulating the round. This leaves no room for the fragmentation to escape the RESES containment chamber.
This technology uses self-sealing Polyuria coating which seals the bullet hole immediately upon impact. In this way, the RESES Technology ensures the complete containment of fragments.
Steel body armor
As steel is one of the most durable substances, ballistic plates made from this material will maintain their ballistic integrity. Due to this, the plate has a shelf life of 10 years unlike Kevlar and Ceramic armor which is only 5 years. RTS Tactical also offers to replace your armor at no cost if you are shot and your armor is hit in the line of duty.
The company aims to deliver the RESES technology with minimal addition of weight to the armor itself, weighing the steel plates at 7.9 lbs.
Testing steel armor
RTS Tactical offers a Level III+ steel armor plate fitted with the RESES Technology. This plate has been lab tested and proven effective against Special Threat Rounds. These include the 5.56 M855 GREEN TIP, 5.56 M193, 7.62×39, AK47/SKS Mild Steel Core, 7.62 x 51 M80.
Official NIJ third party lab testing also confirmed these results with zero spalling when shooting six shot 7.62×51 mm military into one RESES™ Spall Containment Chamber. The company guarantees full spall protection as long as the bullets strike at least 2 inches from the edge.
