Model 1969

Model 1969

This armor replaces former Model 9042.

Developmental History

Model 1969 evolved from the venerable Model 6906 and takes the place of Model 9042.  We took a Model 6906 and added a hard rash edge to protect the plate edges and enhanced the crack arresting layer covering the ceramic strike face.  It is similar to our Model 9042 (retired) but has a more redundant polyethylene backing plate.

When we developed the Model 1969, we set out to achieve six goals:

1. Develop a high-performance plate at or below 8.2 pounds (10" x 12").

8.2 pounds seems to be the weight limit of full-sized, heavy-duty, edge-to-edge, RF3 (Level 4) armor. Some manufacturers can build RF3 armor in the 6.5-7 pound range, but these plates do not have adequate drop protection, multiple-hit capabilities, and are often assembled with backing materials far too thin for repeated crown shots.  We put a weight limit on ourselves and set out to address all of the ceramic armor limitations. Many armor companies rebrand foreign imports and sell the armor at 5 or 6 pounds. But, they don't tell you that the armor has no ceramic around the outer 1" perimeter of the plate (effort to save weight).

For the highest performance, we chose the mosaic tile array.  This tile pattern is comprised of 2" pieces that act autonomously, increasing multi-hit performance.  The mosaic tile arrays are more resistant to dropping and rough handling.  We chose the single-curve plate format to accomodate the mosaic tile array geometry.

2. Offer it to the public at an affordable price.

Quality armor that can stop a variety of high-powered threats often cost $500-$1000 per plate.  Even if we had to be a little heavier, we wanted to offer the same performance at prices people can afford. Model 1969 is tested by NIJ labs to stop multiple rounds of the hard-hitting .30 M2AP, plus other threats.  In many cases, other armor plates with similar performance cost 3x-4x our price.  In order to combine the goals of having high-performance, a weight at or below 8.2 pounds and affordability, we chose aluminum oxide (alumina) ballistic ceramic tile. Lighter plates made from silicon carbide (SiC) are much more expensive. Sometimes, the price increase is worth it - but the goal of Model 1969 was to offer the armor plate in a high performing, affordable format that met our other goals.

3. Incorporate redundancies in the design as safety factors.

We did not want ceramic and backing materials that were barely capable of meeting NIJ specifications.  We chose a robust, 99% pure alumina tile and added 20% more Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight-Polyethylene (UHMWPE) plies than traditional armor backing plates.  We added strike face layering that prevents ceramic fragments from exiting the plate on impact. All of this means more protection for you with enhanced safety margins.  

4. Enhance multiple-hit capability as much as possible.

Multiple-hit capability is enhanced in ceramic armor by protecting the surrounding ceramic while struck by high energy projectiles.  This is accomplished with mosaic tile arrays and use of well designed crack arresting materials.  Crack arrestors are materials (aramid, carbon fiber, polyethylene, etc.) draped and secured over the ceramic that prevent collateral tile damage.  The combination of mosaic tile array and crack arresting technology forces incoming ballistic energy into the adhesive layers and into the UHMWPE backing material.  The amount of spall on the reverse side of a mosaic tile array can be as low as 50% compared to a monolithic ceramic armor strike face.  This also aids in boosting multiple-hit resistance because more of the ceramic remains in place at full-thickness, ready to resist incoming projectiles.

5. Reduce or eliminate ceramic fragment ejection from the strike face when shot.

How many test videos have you watched where the ceramic particles spark and fly into the air when shot?  Almost all of them.  Why is this bad? For a couple of reasons.

Ceramic fragments may be contained when worn in a quality carrier.  But, what happens if the fabric tears? The resultant ejection of ceramic fragments can be distracting (at a time most inconvenient) and may result in injuries.  Containing those fragments is important for those reasons.

But, there's something else.  Containing the ceramic keeps the ceramic shards in place, inside of the armor plate (where they should be).  The retention of ceramic particles results in a bulwark against other tile boundaries, aiding the adhesive bond and preventing movement of ancillary border tile.  This helps with multiple-hit resistance.

Notice that I am referring to these particles as ceramic fragmentation, not "spall."  Spall really occurs on the reverse side of the strike face, between the ceramic and the UHMWPE backing pate.  As the ceramic fractures, part of it breaks off on the back side.  This "broken off area" is how the ceramic works and is considered the spall area.  The spall area is significantly lower on mosaic tile arrays versus monolithics.  This can equate to higher multiple-hit resistance.  However, the more focused ballistic energy often creates additional back face deformation (BFD) which has to be alleviated with thicker materials layers. This is why mosaic tile array plates are often thicker than monolithic designs (all other things held constant... like protection level and overall resistance).

6. Bond the plate components with proprietary, ARMORFILM adhesives.

Mosaic tile arrays require independent movement.  Our adhesives permit enough motion for the mosaic array to react efficiently. ARMORFILM is also VOC-free, California Proposition 65 complaint, safe to work with, and made in the USA.

Additional Information

It's simple: within the goals set above - this is the best alumina armor plate we can build.

Model 1969 is specifically developed for the law enforcement market (is available to the public also). The standalone 1969 design is our strongest armor plate. Multi-hit resistance is enhanced by multiple layers of crack arresting fiber that limits ceramic fragmentation and ejection from the strike face when shot.  

This is an RF3 (Level 4) ceramic armor plate that protects against RF1, RF2 and RF3 threats. Like all of our armor, the Model 1969 utilizes a polyethylene backing plate that is standalone at the HG2 NIJ 0101.07 protection level.  If your ceramic strike face is damaged by incoming multiple hits, you will still have protection against shrapnel and handgun projectiles even in areas where the ceramic is completely missing.

Model 1969

The Model 1969 is a powerful, alumina plate.  Here is a tear down video showing the plate after passing two .30 M2 armor piercing rounds, two M80A1 EPRs and finally falling victim to the M993 at the end of the test.