AR500 Armor prides itself on producing 100-percent American-made ballistic protection with a protective polyurea coating to help mitigate fragmentation and spalling upon impact.
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AR500 Armor’s Panels
In terms of soft armor, AR500 offers both Level II and Level IIIA options, including various sizes of the Hybrid, which is made from Kevlar, Spectra Shield, Gold Shield and laminated rip-stop nylon to be extremely tough yet thin and lightweight. These panels are only 0.25 inches thick but can stop a 240-grain .44 Magnum SJHP traveling at 1,430 feet per second.
AR500’s Level IIIA Rimelig series panels are made from aramid fibers and the same laminated rip-stop nylon for a thickness of 0.55 inches and a weight of just 1.43 pounds. Finally, AR500’s Level IIIA steel plates provide the ballistic protection of the Hybrid and Rimelig series while also being stab and slash resistant. These panels come with an outstanding 20-year warranty. AR500 also offers proven hard armor, carriers and accessories for first responders and others working in the line of fire.
Proven Performers
Why do I say “proven”? I recently got the chance to see some AR500 armor in action at the Guardian Training Center in Warminster, Pennsylvania. AR500 brought along four armor panels and fired a variety of rounds from 7 yards to test their durability. The Level IIIA Hybrid soft armor survived 9mm, .357 SIG, 10mm, 40 S&W and .45 ACP rounds as well as a 12-gauge slug. The only significant backface deformation came with the last round.
The hard armor survived both 5.56mm NATO and 7.62x39mm FMJs. AR500’s Level III+ Lightweight Advanced Shooter’s Cut (ASC) plate stopped every round without any penetration. The steel layers did separate some (about a quarter of an inch) but not significantly enough to cause any concern. It definitely did its job.
AR500 also brought along a Level IV plate with a ceramic core and a plastic outer coating. This plate stopped every round but, as engineered, the ceramic crumbled when hit. The 7.62x39mm and 12-gauge rounds damaged the ceramic plate but did not penetrate, as can happen with some standard SAPI plates.
In the end, the armor made by AR500 performed as advertised and even outperformed standard NIJ testing. Each piece of armor took all the punishment it was rated for and more. No matter which plate, our test indicated the armor plates would perform when needed.
For more on AR500 Armor, visit ar500armor.com.
Read more about AR500 Armor in the upcoming November/December 2018 issue of Tactical Life Magazine, which hits newsstands on Sept. 11. Grab your copy here at OutdoorGroupStore.com.
