Ceramic plate
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Ceramic plates (also known as trauma plates) are commonly used as inserts for soft body armour. Most ceramic plates used in the body armor 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.
The standard ceramic plate is made of 98% aluminum oxide (alumina), which is then bonded into aramid fiber[citation needed]. These plates are often worn by army personnel needing protection from heavy rifle fire. In Iraq, the type IIIA vest with the ceramic plate helps protect troops from small-arms fire to 7.62mm rifle bullets, like those commonly used with the Kalashnikov (AK-47).
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 (S.A.P.I).
The approximate weight for one NIJ level III plate is 5.0 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.
Silicon carbide and boron carbide ceramics are now commonly used throughout the armor industry as they offer increased performance and weight benefits over standard alumina[citation needed].
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 plate mail.
