Army Might Have Failed to Test Bullet Proof Body, Groin Plates

The Army reportedly spent $2.5 billion dollars on bulletproof body plates that officials say didn’t take the time to thoroughly test. In some cases, certain tests of the live-saving gear were allegedly ignored altogether.

“The tests we reviewed were incomplete, executed with the wrong size ballistic insert, or performed in environmental test conditions outside of the range specified,” said a new report from the Defense Department Inspector General. The report’s title, “Ballistic Testing for Interceptor Body Armor Inserts Needs Improvement,” may be a bit of an understatement, seeing as the Army hasn’t fully measured the effectiveness of around five million pieces of armor.

That armor under consideration includes arm pads, a vest, a groin cup, and side barriers. If there were parts of your body you didn’t need to protect on the battlefield, these would probably not be them.

The report writes that for the 5 million plates there was no “consistent methodology for measuring and recording velocity,” which could suggest that how the armor can take a bullet hasn’t been thoroughly investigated.