National Institute of Justice Publishes Draft Inviting Public Comment Regarding New NIJ Standard 0101.07
The much anticipated draft document for NIJ Standard 0101.07 has finally been released. This contains proposed revisions to NIJ Standard 0101.06, Ballistic Resistance of Body Armor, published in 2008.
Publication of the final version of NIJ Standard 0101.07 is expected in late 2018, nearly ten years after the previous NIJ Standard 0101.06 came out.
Overall, the new NIJ Standard 0101.07 further refines and updates the test methods and performance requirements for the ballistic resistance of body armor designed to protect the torso against handgun and rifle ammunition.
When compared to the NIJ Standard 0101.06, the NIJ Standard 0101.07 is slightly more stringent. Conditioned armor panels must be shot at the same velocity as non-conditioned armor.
The nomenclature regarding the threat level has been revised to more accurately describe threats and to clear up confusion among body armor end users in law enforcement.
The terms “HG1” and “HG2” replace Level II and Level IIIA respectively and represent handgun (HG) threats. The terms “RF1” and “RF3” represent rifle (RF) threats and replace Level III and Level IV, respectively. “RF2” represents an entirely new intermediate threat level introduced in this draft of NIJ Standard 0101.07.
NIJ 0101.07 HG Threat Levels
The Level IIA threat level against low velocity handgun rounds no longer appears in the new NIJ Standard 0101.07.
Regarding the NIJ HG2 threat level (formerly Level IIIA), the armor panels will no longer be tested with .357 SIG FMJ Flat Nose bullets, but instead with 9mm FMJ Round Nose rounds at 1470 ft./s.
NIJ Standard 0101.07 RF Threat Levels
Many things have changed in the NIJ Standard 0101.07 compared to the rifle protection levels in the NIJ Standard 0101.06. There have been additional test rounds introduced as well as an entirely new threat level.
The NIJ Standard 0101.06 had two threat levels, Level III and IV. In the NIJ Standard 0101.07 these levels are now called RF1 and RF3.
An entirely new threat level has been introduced to fill the gap between RF1 and RF3. This RF2 threat level includes protection against the 5.56mm M855 round. The M855 bullet is 62 gr with a “penetrator” steel core at the tip, enabling it to more easily get through barriers.
Soft Armor Designed for Females
NIJ Standard 0101.07 has introduced a special test protocol for female body armor that has been specifically developed and designed to protect and be worn by women.
