Ceramic plate
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Ceramic plates (also known as trauma plates) are commonly used as inserts in soft body armour. Most ceramic plates used in the body armour industry can protect against a NIJ level III and IV with a IIIA vest supporting. Ceramic plates are a form of composite armour. Insert plates may also be manufactured from steel.
These plates are often worn by personnel needing protection from rifle fire. In Iraq, the type III vest with the ceramic plate helps protect troops from small arms fire up to and including 7.62×39 mm and 7.62×54 mm rifle bullets.
A ceramic plate is usually slipped into the outer layer of a Kevlar vest. There may be two plates, one in the front and one in the back, or one universal plate on either front or back.
The United States Military refer to these ceramic plates as Small Arms Protective Inserts (SAPI).
The approximate weight for one NIJ level III plate is 5 pounds (2.2 kg)[citation needed]. The standard size is 10" by 12" and .5" thick. There are other types of plates that come in different sizes and offer different levels of protection. For example, the MC-Plate (maximum coverage plate) offers 19% more coverage than a standard ceramic plate.
The Dragon Skin body armor uses many overlapping 2" diameter and 0.25" thick disk-shaped ceramic plates made of silicon carbide, forming pattern similar of fish scales or scale armour.
