There's an armor called dragon skin, they say it's bullet proof from most weapons, why don't the army have it?

Question

It's from america, it can take armor piercing rounds and not be damaged and it covers more of the body. aussie army don't have it.Its been around for years.

Answer 1

For one thing Pinnacle has a very shady track record having been caught selling body armor certified at a certain level that never was. They also fraudulently misrepresented their case with one of their experts and are or have been under investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies across the country.

Last I knew, Pinnacle was barred from any contracts on a permanent basis from the USAF.  

Answer 2

dragon skin was shown on future weapons and it looked ****** impressive! not sure why us aussies arent using it? seems kinda stupid cause it clearly would save lives

Answer 3

They aren't using Dragon Skin because it hasn't been sufficiently tested, they are currently testing it. If it passe's all tests and is considered better then the current armour we may use it. But at the moment it's against Military Law to use Dragon Skin Armour. You can find more information out about this if you search "Dragon Skin" on You tube.

Answer 4

The armor is available in two basic protection levels: SOV-2000, which was certified as Level III protection (this certification was withdrawn, and Pinnacle is suing to force the NIJ to reinstate on the basis of its own private retesting and SOV-3000, which is advertised as Level IV but has not yet been certified as such. Pinnacle Armor's website also identifies a "Level V" variant, which does not correspond to any body armor standard and is not available to the general public.

NBC had some tests done, and it looked promising, however, the results did not corelate with Official Testing, and when confronted, the technical expert solicited by NBC to certify its test backed away from his staunch defense of Dragon Skin and stated that the vests weren't "ready for prime time."

Karl Masters, director of engineering for Program Manager - Soldier Equipment, said he recently supervised the retest and commented on it. "I was recently tasked by the army to conduct the test of the 30 Dragon Skin SOV-3000 level IV body armor purchased for T&E [tests and evaluation]," Masters wrote. "My day job is acting product manager for Interceptor Body Armor. I'm under a gag order until the test results make it up the chain. I will, however, offer an enlightened and informed recommendation to anyone considering purchasing an SOV-3000 Dragon Skin - don't. I do not recommend this design for use in an AOR with a 7.62x54R AP threat and an ambient temperature that could range to 120 F. I do, however, highly recommend this system for use by insurgents..."

Apparently, there is some question as to it's actual effectiveness.

Answer 5

Where did you hear that DS can withstand AP rounds? That's nothing but horsey f***s.

The stuff falls apart under field conditions, and the hype surrounding it just makes me even more suspicious.

I'll keep my Interceptor, thanks...

Answer 6

Dragon skin is experimental, expensive and not manufactured by a bush owned company.

Answer 7

It has been tested by the 75th Ranger Regiment and other Special Operations units. It has failed to meet requirements, and quite honestly, Dragon Skin is a horrible product.

The only reason it is well known is due to PR and the Discovery Channel. But the real deal isn't public and it failed to provide anything extra, especially when functioning with it in the heat, and the need to stay mobile and agile. That's why they don't have a DOD contract.

Answer 8

Because our current supplier of body armor has more lobbyists in government.  

Answer 9

1. Price.

2.  The Army and Pinnacle could not agree on a way to test the armor, so it hasn't been approved for fullscale Military use.

Answer 10

Too new and too expensive..It has not been developed to the point of being pratical.