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Military Testing Improved Body Armor
Monday, May 09, 2005
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STILLWATER, Okla. — The U.S. military is testing new body armor that would protect soldiers without compromising mobility.
ROTC students at Oklahoma State University (search) have been testing body armor that is 15 times stronger than steel. Each suit, made of a superstrong polyethylene fiber fabric called Dyneema (search) and weighing only 10 pounds, is designed to protect against roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices that have been used against soldiers in Iraq.
"This is of course what the designers are improving: your standard body armor vest. This is what the soldiers are wearing and while it does protect all of your vital organs, the rest of your body is totally exposed. So while your life may be saved, your arm or your leg may not be," said OSU professor Dr. Donna Branson, who heads the Department of Design, Housing and Merchandising in the College of Human Environmental Sciences.
Veterans from the Iraq war have also helped test the flexibility of the suits at the Army research lab's obstacle course.
OSU ROTC Sgt. Ryan Wallace, who has been testing the suits, said he hopes to be able to wear one of the suits if he's ever called to duty in Iraq.
"At least I know that if there's something there waiting for me, I've got a better chance for survival," said Wallace.
Click in the box near the top of the story to watch a report by FOX News' Phil Keating.
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