By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com February 5, 2009 On January 29, 2009, the Washington Times reported that the U.S. Army is recalling "more than 16,000 sets of ceramic body armor plates that the Pentagon’s inspector general believes were not properly tested and could jeopardize the lives of U.S. service personnel." This came just one day after the …

By David Crane defrev at gmail dot com July 31, 2008 MIT materials science and engineering researchers are studying the flexible biological scalar armor system a.k.a. flexible dermal armor system utilized by Polypterus senegalus a.k.a. Senegal bichir a.k.a. Gray bichir a.k.a. "dinosaur eel", a "living fossil" fish, for its potential applicability for developing more advanced military body armor, vehicle armor …

by Roger Charles DefenseWatch October 15, 2007 When NBC News had a German lab conduct side-by-side, comparative tests of Pinnacle Armor’s Dragon Skin and the Army’s Interceptor Body Armor System on May 3 earlier this year, the real surprise was how well the Interceptor ESAPI (Level IV) plates performed. Yes, that’s right. The Army acquisition mafia "got lucky" in Germany, …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com On September 15 (2006), DefenseReview reported on Pinnacle Armor’s SOV-2000 Dragon Skin panels passing all NIJ Level III test protocols and requirements for flexible armor systems (anti-rifle body armor). Well, SOV-2000 Dragon Skin has just passed another fairly tough ballistic test, this one performed by Dr. Gary Roberts, who has been following the Dragon Skin vs. …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com This just in: Pinnacle Armor, Inc.’s SOV-2000 Dragon Skin has just passed all NIJ Level III ballistic testing/requirements at USTL (United States Test Laboratory). Official NIJ Level III certification should come in approx. 3-4 weeks, but it will come. Pinnacle Armor company officials have told us that it’s a done deal. This is BIG news for …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com SFTT/DefenseWatch has published a Pinnacle Armor press release regarding the recent partial/unfinished testing of Dragon Skin scalar flexible hard armor system (body armor) that was conducted by U.S. Army Project Manager Soldier Equipment (PM SEQ). Karl Masters and James Zheng, both out of U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center/Natick Soldier Systems Center/PEO Soldier (Program Executive Office Soldier), …

by David Crane defrev at gmail.com On April 5, 2006, DefenseReview published the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense news transcript (Unclassified) of Major General Jeffrey Sorenson’s News Briefing on Pinnacle Armor Dragon Skin body Armor and the Safety of Use Message (SOUM) relating to it. In his news briefing Mr. Sorenson made a …

The following is a U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Transcript – Unclassified Presenter: Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Sorenson, deputy, Acquisition and Systems Management, for the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Acquisition, Logistics and Technology March 31, 2006 News Briefing with Maj. Gen. Sorenson GEN. SORENSON: Good afternoon. I’ve just been asked to …

by David Crane david@defensereview.com DefenseReview has confirmed a report that Pinnacle Armor met with General James R. Moran, Commanding General, U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center and Program Executive Officer Soldier (PEO Soldier), on January 17, 2006 in order to give him the opportunity to see the official DoD/military protocol test data on Pinnacle’s SOV/Dragon Skin body armor. Upon viewing …

by John Higgs All photos contained in this article were provided by Jenny Higgs, and are the property of John Higgs and Jenny Higgs. Click on photos to view them full-size. Martin Beale held up his thumb and forefinger about an inch apart and told me, “The technological advancement of para-aramid fibers has progressed about this far in the last forty years. …