Level 3 body armor, also referred to as Level III, is a protection level given to armor plates to communicate that the plate can stop a range of handgun rounds or certain medium-bore ammunition. The levels are defined by the National Institute of Justice, a research, development and evaluation agency operated by the U.S. Department of Justice.![]()
There are two types of Level III armor plates. The first refers to Level IIIA and it's capable of stopping powerful handgun rounds like .357 SIG and .44 Magnum. The second is simply Level III and it's capable of stopping 7.62 NATO FMJ lead core rounds. With that said, both armor plates can stop smaller caliber-rounds than the ones they're rated to stop.
No. While Level IIIA is rated to stop powerful handgun ammo, it is not rated to stop rifle ammunition like .223 Remington. On the other hand, Level III is rated to stop .223/5.56.
Yes. Level 4, or Level IV, body armor is rated to stop .30-caliber steel core armor piercing rifle ammunition.
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