190417_-_PC_Gen_III_Soft_Armor_PRF_SPEC.docx

DTL-14007A0000

w/ Change 1 7 Oct 2015

PRF-19001A0004 V1.0

PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATION

FOR

SOFT ARMOR, PLATE CARRIER SYSTEM; GENERATION III

This document is approved for use by all Departments and Agencies of the Department of Defense (DOD).

Prepared by:

Program Manager Infantry Combat Equipment Marine Corps Systems Command 2200 Lester St, Quantico, VA 22134

APRROVED FOR USE AS

PRODUCT BASELINE BY: __________________________________ DATE: ___________

Program Manager Infantry Combat Equipment

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT D. Distribution authorized to Department of Defense and US DoD contractors only; Administrative or Operational use, 4 November 2016. Other requests shall be referred to the Commander, MARCORSYSCOM (Attn: PfM GCES – PM ICE) 2200 Lester Street, Quantico, VA 22134.

Comments, Suggestions, or questions on this document should be addressed to Armor Team, Program Manager Infantry Combat Equipment, 2200 Lester St, Quantico, VA 22134. Since contact information can change, you may want to verify the currency of this address information using the ASSIST Online database at https://assist.dla.mil.

February 2019 V1.0

UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

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1. (U) SCOPE

1.1 (U) Description. This specification covers the requirements for the Soft Armor, Plate Carrier System, Generation III (PC Gen III), consisting of soft armor inserts to be used with the PC Gen III body armor system. This specification delineates sub-system level performance requirements to accomplish the end item body armor performance.

1.2 (U) Classification. The PC Gen III Soft Armor consists of the following subsystems, in the following sizes.

1.2.1 (U) Subsystems. The PC Gen III Soft Armor consists of the following subsystems; (1) a base vest set consisting of two base vest inserts, (2) a side plate set consisting of two side plate pocket inserts, and (3) soft armor cummerbund set consisting of two soft armor cummerbund inserts which is provided as part of the system to support Military Police only. The PC Gen III Soft Armor will be available in the sizes and colors as follows:

1.2.2 (U) Sizes. The PC Gen III Soft Armor subsystems are available in the following sizes.

2. (U) APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

2.1 (U) General. The documents listed in this section are specified in sections 3 and 4 of this specification. This section does not include documents cited in other sections of this specification or recommended for additional information or as examples. While every effort has been made to ensure the completeness of this list, document users are cautioned that they must meet all specified requirements documents cited in sections 3 and 4 of this specification, whether or not they are listed.

2.2 (U) Government Documents.

2.2.1 (U) Specifications, Standards, and Handbooks. The following specifications, standards, and handbooks form a part of this document to the extent specified herein. Unless otherwise specified, the applicable issue of these documents shall be the latest issue listed in the Acquisition Streamlining and Standardization Information System (ASSIST) database, or the issue cited in any solicitation (see paragraph 6.2).

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SPECIFICATIONS

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE STANDARDS

(Unless otherwise indicated, copies of the above specifications, standards, and handbooks are available from the Standardization Document Order Desk, 700 Robbins Avenue, Building 4D, Philadelphia, PA 19111-5094 or https:www.daps.dla.mil using Assist Quick Search.)

2.2.2 (U) Other Government Documents, Drawings, and Publications. The following other Government documents, drawings, and publications form a part of this document to the extent specified herein. Unless otherwise specified, the applicable issue shall be the issue cited in any solicitation (see paragraph 6.2).

PURCHASE DESCRIPTIONS

(Contact contracting activity for the copies of the Purchase Descriptions.)

DRAWINGS

Drawing Numbers:

*Note: The XSAPI drawings are identical to the ESAPI drawings.

TEST OPERATING PROCEDURES

ITOP 4-2-805 Projectile Velocity and Time of Flight Measurements TOP 10-2-210 Ballistic Testing of Hard Body Armor Using Clay Backing

GUIDES

U.S. Army Research Laboratory Security Classification Guide for Armor Materials and Technology

(Copies of drawings, publications, and other Government documents required by contractors in connection with specific acquisition functions should be obtained from the contracting activity or as directed by the contracting activity.)

2.3 (U) Non-Government publications. The following publications form a part of this document to the extent specified herein. Unless otherwise specified, the issue of the documents which are Department of Defense adopted shall be the latest issue listed in ASSIST, or the issue cited in any solicitation. Unless otherwise specified, the issue of documents not listed in the ASSIST shall be the issue cited in any solicitation.

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF TEXTILE CHEMISTS AND COLORISTS (AATCC)

(Applications for copies should be addressed to the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, PO Box 12215, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2215 or www.aatcc.org)

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS (ASTM)

(Applications for copies should be addressed to ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959 or www.astm.org)

AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDS INSTITUTE (ANSI)

ANSI/ASQ Z1.4-2003 - Sampling Procedures and Tables for Inspection by Attributes

(Copies of this document are available online at http://www.asq.org or from the American Society for Quality Control, P.O. Box 3005, Milwaukee, WI 53201-3005.)

SAE INTERNATIONAL

AMS-STD-595 - Colors Used in Government Procurement

(Applications to purchase chipsets, fan decks, or individual color chips should be addressed to SAE INTERNATIONAL, Logen Johnson, Aerospace Standards Engineer, 1200 G Street, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC, 20005, Tel: (724)272-0495, www.sae.org)

2.4 (U) Order of Precedence. Unless otherwise noted herein or in the contract, in the event of a conflict between the text of this document and the references cited herein, the text of this document shall take precedence. Nothing in this document, however, shall supersede applicable laws and regulations unless a specific exemption has been obtained.

3. (U) REQUIREMENTS

3.1 (U) First Article. When specified, a sample shall be subject to the first article inspection in accordance with section 4.2.

3.2 (U) Materials and Hardware. PC Gen III Soft Armor materials shall conform to the applicable specifications, standards, and patterns specified herein.

3.2.1 (U) Cloth, Ballistic Insert Cover. The ballistic insert cover shall conform to the following requirements when verified in accordance with paragraph 4.5.

a) The ballistic insert cover shall be a lightweight water tight nylon ripstop that does not exceed 210 denier.

b) The ballistic insert cover shall have a minimum AATCC-22 spray rating of 100, 100,100.

c) The ballistic insert cover shall be heat sealed around the ballistic filler with a minimum heat seal width of 0.20 inches.

d) The ballistic insert cover shall show no leakage below a hydrostatic height of 35 centimeters when exposed to motor oil, gasoline, weapon lubricant, sweat, and sea water when tested in accordance with 4.5.1.

3.3 (U) PC Gen III Soft Armor Design. The PC Gen III Soft Armor shall consist of: (1) One base vest set consisting of two base vest inserts, (2) One side plate set consisting of two side plate pocket inserts, and (3) One soft armor cummerbund set consisting of two soft armor cummerbund inserts which is provided as part of the system to support Military Police only and is not a standard component of the PC Gen III System. Soft Armor inserts are inserted into the PC Gen III outer base vest to provide handgun and fragmentation protection to the wearer. The soft armor inserts shall be compatible with the E-SAPI/XSAPI subsystem, which consists of a set of interchangeable, sized, and contoured plates. The E-SAPI/X-SAPI plates shall be capable of being inserted into the PC Gen III in front of the soft armor inserts to provide vital organ protection against multi-hits of small arms rifle bullets and indirect fire flechettes. The PC Gen III shall be used with the ESBI subsystem, which consists of a set of interchangeable, contoured plates inserted into the side plate pockets in front of the soft armor inserts.

3.3.1 (U) Patterns. The Government will furnish patterns for the baseline design from which the contractor can use applicable parts to create working cutting patterns. The Government patterns shall not be altered in any way and the working patterns shall be cut to conform exactly to the Government patterns. Compliance with patterns is required to meet interface requirements with fielded individual combat equipment. The contractor shall ensure that all finished components are constructed in accordance with dimensions of the cut parts provided in the Government patterns. In the event of a conflict between the Performance Specification and the Government patterns, the patterns supersede the Performance Specification. The working patterns shall include size, directional lines, placement marks, and notches. The ballistic inserts shall be cut with a tolerance of ±1/16 inch to ensure maximum coverage and seamless integration between the components. The ballistic cover material shall be cut with a tolerance of ±1/16 inch in accordance with the pattern parts indicated except where changes or enhancement(s) to baseline are proposed. Drill holes are not permitted. Conformance to soft armor patterns shall be verified in 4.6.1.

3.3.1.1 (U//FOUO) PC Gen III Pattern List.

BALLISTIC INSERTS

Cloth, Ballistic Insert Cover (3.2.5)

Template

3.3.2 (U) PC Gen III Subsystem Measurements. PC Gen III subsystems shall meet requirements for area of coverage and finished measurements as specified in the succeeding paragraphs.

3.3.2.1 (U//FOUO) Area of Coverage. The PC Gen III soft armor shall provide ½” of overlap beyond the edge of the hard armor plate. The minimum area of ballistic coverage for each ballistic panel subcomponent in each size is outlined in Table I when tested as specified in 4.6.2.

Table I: Minimum Ballistic Insert Area (in2)

Short

(U/FOUO)

3.3.2.2 (U//FOUO) Soft Armor Finished Measurements. Finished base measurements for each soft armor insert and size are outlined in Table II-A through II-C when measured as specified in 4.6.3.1.

Table II-A: Base Vest Insert Finished Measurements (inch)

± 1/8 Edge Length ± 1/8 Width 1 ± 1/8 Width 2 ± 1/8 Width 3 ± 1/8

(U//FOUO)

± 1/8 Center Width ± 1/8

(U//FOUO)

Table II-C: Cummerbund Soft Armor Insert (inch)

± 1/8 Center Width ±1/8

(U//FOUO)

3.4 (U) PC Gen III Soft Armor Insert Construction. See paragraph 3.3 for PC Gen III system configuration. PC Gen III system construction and the succeeding paragraphs in 3.4 shall be verified in accordance with paragraph 4.6.3.

3.4.1 (U) Fabric. Fabric shall not have any holes, tears, or catches. Fabric edges shall not ravel.

3.4.2 (U) Heat Seal. The heat seal shall be smooth and shall not have any rips, tears, or bubbles, or leaks.

3.5 (U) PC Soft Armor Operational Performance Requirements. The PC Gen III Soft Armor shall conform to the specified patterns and tolerances (see Paragraph 3.3.1) and the following operational requirements.

3.5.1 (U) Areal Density. The threshold and objective ballistic filler areal densities are 0.75lbs/sqft (T) and 0.68 lbs/sqft (O) respectively. The areal density shall be tested as specified in paragraph 4.7.1. Except for ancillary components such as thread, the ballistic filler shall be made entirely of ballistic material. The ballistic filler shall be a uniform areal density.

3.5.1.1 (U) Areal Density Shoot Pack. A representative shoot pack for the base vest shall be used to represent the ballistic resistance materials for the areal density calculation. The representative shoot pack system shall consist of a ballistic filler packet comprised of the ballistic filler only. The ballistic material systems used shall be 15 inches by 15 inches in size consisting of the same number and layup of plies as the proposed ballistic material system. The ballistic package used within the shoot pack shall be unstitched. When the ballistic filler is an asymmetric system of different materials, the filler packet shall be labeled to clearly indicate the strike face from the back face. Each shoot pack shall be individually serialized.

3.5.2 (U) Thickness. The threshold and objective thickness of the ballistic filler is 0.30 inches (T) and 0.27 inches (O) respectively. The thickness shall tested as specified in paragraph 4.7.2.

3.5.3 (U) Removable Ballistic Inserts. Ballistic inserts shall be able to be inserted into the PC Gen III inner shell front and back carriers, side plate pockets, and/or cummerbunds when verified in accordance with paragraph 4.7.3.

3.5.4 (U) Functional Integration. All components within a size shall be fully interchangeable with every other system of the same size (i.e. base vest insert will fit into any PC Gen III inner vest of the same size) with no fabric rolls, lumps, or excessive force when verified in accordance with 4.7.4.

3.5.5 (U) Flexibility. The ballistic inserts shall be flexible enough to be inserted into the soft armor pocket opening within the inner vest and the side plate pockets. Once inserted into the pockets, the inserts shall be capable of laying smooth with no rigid peaks or crumbled corners when verified in accordance with paragraph 4.7.5.

3.5.6 (U) Fungus Resistance. All fabrics shall be resistant to fungal growth. The visual effects shall be less than 2 when using the Evaluation Scheme for Visible Effects from MIL-STD-810 when tested as specified in paragraph 4.7.6.

3.5.7 (U) Shade. Applicable PC Gen III components shall match the AMS-STD-595 shades as listed in Table III. PC Gen III component shades shall be verified in accordance with paragraph 4.7.7.

Table III: Shade

(U)

3.5.8 (U) E-SAPI/ESBI Integration. With soft armor inserts inserted into appropriate pockets of the PC Gen III, E-SAPI, XSAPI, 6x6 ESBI, and 6x8 ESBI plates shall be capable of being inserted and fitting in the PC Gen III when tested as specified in paragraph 4.7.8 and 4.7.9.

3.5.9 (U) Heat Seal Performance. The ballistic insert cover when heat sealed shall show no leakage of water into the ballistic filler when submerged in water when verified in accordance with 4.7.10.

3.6 (U//FOUO) Ballistic Performance Requirements. The PC Gen III ballistic system shall accomplish the ballistic characteristics specified in paragraphs 3.6.1 and 3.6.2 when tested in accordance with paragraph 4.8. The PC Gen III soft armor protection levels are as follows:

a) (U//FOUO) The PC Gen III soft armor shall provide fragmentation protection from conventional fragmenting munitions (see paragraph 3.6.1)

b) (U//FOUO) The PC Gen III soft armor shall provide multi-hit handgun bullet protection for 9mm, 124 grain, .357-Sig, 125 grain, and the .357-Mag, 158 grain. (see paragraph 3.6.2).

c) (U//FOUO) The PC Gen III soft armor used in conjunction with E-SAPI or X-SAPI and ESBI or XSBI shall provide multi-hit small arms projectile protection from:

1) Threat Code A

2) Threat Code B

3) Threat Code C and C1

4) Threat Code D

5) Threat Code E

6) Threat Code F

7) Threat Code X

3.6.1 (U//FOUO) Fragmentation Protection. The soft armor shall provide consistent ballistic performance when tested with the Fragment Simulating Projectile (FSP) (MIL-DTL-46593) and Right Circular Cylinder (RCC) for the dry, wet, extreme temperature, accelerated aging, and Petroleum, Oils, and Lubricants (POLS) conditions when tested and measured in accordance with section 4.8. Table IV (A-E) lists the required minimum V50 values for the soft armor at the specified obliquity.

Table IV-A: 2-grain RCC V50 Testing

(degree) V50 Requirement (ft./sec.)

2-gr. RCC

(U//FOUO)

Table IV-B: 4-grain RCC V50 Testing

(degree) V50 Requirement (ft./sec.)

4-gr. RCC

(U//FOUO)

Table IV-C: 16-grain RCC V50 Testing

(degree) V50 Requirement (ft./sec.)

16-gr. RCC

(U//FOUO)

Table IV-D: 64-grain RCC V50 Testing

(degree) V50 Requirement (ft./sec.)

64-gr. RCC

(U//FOUO)

Table IV-E: 17-grain FSP V50 Testing

(degree) V50 Requirement (ft./sec.)

17-gr. FSP

(U//FOUO)

3.6.2 (U//FOUO) Handgun Protection. The PC Gen III soft armor shall provide handgun protection capable of meeting the minimum dry V50 and V0 requirements listed in Table V (A-C) for the 9-mm, 124-gr., Full Metal Jacketed (FMJ) Remington, the .357-Sig., 125-gr. Full Metal Jacketed Flat Nose (FMJFN), and the .357-Mag., 158-gr. Jacketed Soft Point (JSP) against 3 hits at 0 degree obliquity and 2 hits at 30 degree obliquity, with the maximum backface deformation requirement of 44.0 mm when tested and measured in accordance with section 4.8.9.4.

Table V-A: 9-mm Handgun V50 Testing

(degree) V50 Requirement (ft./sec.)

9-mm, 124-gr. FMJ Remington

(U//FOUO)

Table V-B: .357-Sig. and .357-Mag. V50 Testing

(degree) V50 Requirement (ft./sec.)

.357-Sig., 125-gr. FMJFN

(U//FOUO)

Table V-C: Handgun V0 Testing

.357-Sig., 125-gr. FMJFN

(U//FOUO)

3.7 (U) Support or Ownership Requirements. The PC Gen III soft armor shall meet the following support of ownership requirements.

3.7.1 (U) Service Life and Reliability. The PC Gen III soft armor shall have a service life of ten years of continuous use in all military field environments with no operational mission failures if not impacted by ballistic projectiles. Reliability shall be verified in accordance with paragraph 4.9.1.

3.7.2 (U) Health and Safety. The PC Gen III soft armor shall be safe to use and not contain any harmful materials. Additionally, the soft armor shall be non-hazardous (non-explosive and have no toxicological or electromagnetic radiation effects) to the individual wearing the system or troops in the surrounding area. Health and safety shall be verified in accordance with paragraph 4.9.2.

3.7.3 (U) Toxicity. Any finishes on the soft armor shall not present a dermal health hazard when used as intended. Toxicity shall be verified in accordance with paragraph 4.9.3.

3.7.4 (U) Hazardous Materials. Hazardous materials that can be exposed to personnel or the environment during any operational (to include fabrication, transportation, and setup/tear down) or maintenance procedures, or exposed as a result of damage to equipment, or requiring special disposal procedures, shall be eliminated, consistent with operational requirements. Environmentally acceptable substitutes shall be used without degrading operational function and maintaining cost effectiveness. Hazardous material exposed to personnel shall be controlled to levels below the OSHA Permissible Exposure Limits. The soft armor shall not present any uncontrolled health hazards throughout the life-cycle of the item when verified in accordance with 4.9.4. The following shall be included when manufacturing the PC.

a) Avoid use of materials that cause skin irritation or allergies.

b) Utilize materials that are resistant to fungus and bacterial growth.

c) Allow for easy cleaning and/or replacement of parts that could present health hazards to the wearer.

3.7.5 (U) Size, Identification, and Instruction Label. Labels shall be readable under low light conditions; moonlight and red or blue filtered flashlight. All labels shall be applied so that text faces the body when worn. The label shall be of sufficient strength to withstand repeated abrasion during field use and cleaning. Label examples are provided in Appendix B. The labels shall be verified in accordance with paragraph 4.9.5. The labels shall comply with the following:

a) The soft armor components shall have labels that include the following information: size, identification, Serial Number, Lot Number, National Stock Number (NSN), Contract Number, CAGE Code, Date of Production, Part Number, and instruction label for the entire ballistic components. Instruction label shall only be required on the base vest inserts. The labels shall be adhered to the ballistic inserts without stitching.

b) The instruction labels shall be located on the inner side of the vest or ballistic component. The size of the label shall be appropriately scaled to fit the ballistic component. The type shall be no smaller than 10 point and shall be in accordance with MIL-DTL-32075, Type VI, Class 14.

3.7.6 (U) Unique Identification Label. PC Gen III soft armor components will require a unique identification label. The manufacturer shall comply with current versions of MIL-STD-130 and the following criteria: In addition to the man readable information listed, a machine readable label with the same information listed above shall be included as provide in either Example A or Example B provided in Appendix B. Labels shall be verified in accordance with paragraph 4.9.6. The labels shall meet the following requirements:

a) (U) The label shall include Human Readable Information (HRI) as well as Machine Readable Information (MRI).

b) (U) The HRI shall consist of: CAGE Code, Lot Number, Serial Number, Date of Production, NSN, Part Number, Contract Number and size. HRI shall meet the requirements of the latest version of MIL-STD-130.

c) (U) The MRI shall consist of one ECC 200 compliant Data Matrix code containing: CAGE Code, Lot Number, Serial Number, Date of Production, NSN, and Part Number. The tag/label shall comply with the latest version of MIL-STD-130, ANSI MH10.8.2, and Items d and e below. To prevent automated read errors, the Government will not allow other 1D or 2D codes to be printed on this label. This does not restrict the contractor from using other HRI and MRI on labels not associated with the UID label/tag.

d) (U) Data Matrix Construct: The Data Matrix shall be encoded per MIL-STD-130 using only the data identifiers (DI) and criteria shown below. The following DI sequence shall be maintained in the order listed below:

Cage=17V followed by cage code Lot=1T followed by lot number Serial number = S followed by the serial number Date of production = 16D followed by the production date, YYYYMMDD National stock number = N followed by NSN Part number = 1P followed by part number

e) (U) Construct Example:

[)>RS06GS17V52969GS1TE034GSS328185GS16D20080215GSN8470-01-520-7370GS1PABC-123RSEOT

f) (U) Data Matrix Geometry: Data Matrix codes shall be a square ECC200 matrix per ISO 16022. Individual Cell size (element size) of the code shall be between 0.020 and 0.23 inches. A quiet zone of 0.5 inches of Black label/tag material shall be required around the Data Matrix code.

g) (U) Verification: Data Matrix code quality will be graded to ISO 15415 with a certified verifier and meet a minimum passing grade per the latest release of MIL-STD-130. AS9132 and AIM DPM grading platforms will not be allowed for this project. Contractor must provide the contracting officer with at least two verification reports per ballistic insert for each FAT and LAT. If using laminates or overcoats the label must be verified after placing the laminate of overcoat on the label or tag. No exceptions are allowed. Proof of Verification is subject to inspection at the time of shipment.

h) (U) Validation: Validation checks of the UID must be performed on a routine basis. Contractor is responsible for encoding the UID per above guideline (d and e) and the latest revision of MIL-STD-130. Proof of Validation is subject to inspection at the time of shipment.

3.7.7 (U) Responsibility for Compliance. All items shall meet all requirements of section 3 and 4 of this specification. The absence of any inspection requirements shall not relieve the contractor of the responsibility of ensuring that all items submitted to the Government for acceptance comply with all requirements of the contract. Sampling inspection, as part of manufacturing operations, is an acceptable practice to ascertain conformance to requirements; however, this does not authorize submission of known defective material, either indicated or actual, nor does it commit the Government to accept defective material. If there is a conflict between the stated requirements and the ANSI standard, the more restrictive requirement shall apply.

4. (U) VERIFICATION

4.1 (U) Classification of Inspections. The inspection requirements specified herein are classified as follows. Unless otherwise specified, the contractor is responsible for the performance of all inspection requirements specified herein. The Government reserves the right to perform any of the inspections set forth below where such inspections are deemed necessary to ensure the supplies conform to prescribed requirements.

a. First Article Test/Inspection (see paragraph 4.2)

b. Lot Acceptance/Conformance Inspection (see paragraph 4.3)

4.2 (U) First Article Test. Each PC Gen III Soft component sample shall be examined for compliance with the requirements specified in Section 3. Any redesign or modification in the contractor’s standard product to comply with specified requirements, or any necessary redesign or modification following failure to meet the specified requirements shall receive particular attention for adequacy and suitability. Table VIII delineates requirements and the associated verification methods.

4.2.1 (U) Soft Armor FAT Items. The following items shall be submitted for the PC Gen III Soft Armor FAT:

· One Hundred –Four (104) Base Shoot Packs (See 4.2.1.2.1)

· Eight (8) Areal Density Base Shoot Packs Un-sewn (See 3.5.1.1)

· Four (4) finished components per size: base vest insert, side plate pocket insert, and cummerbund insert. A total of 52 completed inserts inclusive of all types and sizes.

· Twenty (20) feet of all raw non-ballistic materials (3.2.1) in each required color

4.2.1.1 (U) Non-Ballistic Verification. All requirements defined within sections 3 and 4 shall bet met. At any point after a first article test has been approved, any material change must be tested in accordance with the appropriate paragraph of this specification.

(U) Accept/Reject Criteria:

a) One or more Major/Minor defects constitutes a FAT rejection. Major and minor defects are defined in the Table X in section 4.6.3.

4.2.1.2 (U//FOUO) Ballistic Verification. The following ballistic tests are required for First Article Testing for the PC Gen III Soft Armor. All ballistic performance and operational requirements in sections 3 and verifications in section 4 shall be met using the test matrix in Table VI below. Areal density measurements during FAT shall be measured on the un-sewn areal density shoot packs only (See 3.5.1.1). All base vest shoot packs for the rest of FAT shall be constructed in accordance with 4.2.1.2.1. Failure to meet the ballistic performance requirements specified in paragraph 3.5 and 3.6 and tested as specified in 4.7 and 4.8 constitutes a FAT rejection.

Table VI: FAT Test Matrix

1Shoot pack

5 Shoot packs

V50, Hot, 0°

1Shoot pack

1Shoot pack

2 Shoot packs

V50, Cold, 0°

1Shoot pack

1Shoot pack

2 Shoot packs

V50, Age, 0°

1Shoot pack

1 Shoot pack

2 Shoot packs

V50, POL/OIL, 0°

1Shoot pack

1Shoot pack

2 Shoot packs

V50, POL/F-24, 0°

1Shoot pack

1Shoot pack

2 Shoot packs

1Shoot pack

5 Shoot packs

V0, Dry, 0°and 30°

4 Shoot packs

8 Shoot packs

Non Ballistic Testing

15 Shoot packs

(U//FOUO)

4.2.1.2.1 (U) Surrogate Shoot-Pack. A surrogate Shoot-Pack system of PC Gen III base vest ballistic assembly shall be used to represent the ballistic resistant materials of the PC Gen III soft armor. All surrogate shoot-pack systems shall consist of (1) a base vest ballistic filler packet and (2) a ballistic filler carrier with insert pocket. Instructions for shoot-pack measurement are provided in Appendix A.

(U) The ballistic filler packet for the PC Gen III base vest shall be 15 x 15 inches in size consisting of X plies of the proposed ballistic material system used in PC Gen III base vest. The ballistic packet shall be heat sealed in the same manner as the end item. If no stitching pattern is used and stitching is required, the ballistic packet will be stitched diagonally across the 4 corners with a 5 inch line of 50 TEX aramid thread at 5 to 10 stitches per inch (not to include the heat seal outer cover). When the ballistic filler is an asymmetric system of different materials, the filler packet will be labeled to clearly indicate the strike face from the back face.

(U) The ballistic filler carrier shall be comprised of a front outer face and a back outer face fabric with an internal insert pocket capable of holding the largest insert. The insert pocket shall consist of the same plate pocket fabric used in the construction of the PC Gen III plate pocket (MIL-DTL-32439, Type IV, Class 2). The outer front and back fabric of the ballistic filler carrier shall consist of the same outer fabric used in the construction of the PC Gen III base vest (MIL-DTL-32439, Type III, Class 3). See Figure 1 below for a depiction of how the fabrics should be layered. The top edge of the pocket will have a minimum of 5 inches of not less than 0.5 inch wide hook and loop fastener centered and stitched at the top. The outer front and back fabric of the ballistic filler carrier shall be stitched together on 3 sides with nylon or polyester thread to form a pocket to hold the ballistic filler packet(s). The fourth side shall remain unstitched but will have a minimum of 5 inches of not less than 0.5 inch hook and loop fastener centered and stitched to the top. Each ballistic filler carrier shall be individually serialized and clearly labeled to indicate the strike face.

Figure 1: Surrogate Shootpack Carrier Layup

4.3 (U) Lot Conformance Testing. Lot acceptance testing shall only be performed on valid approved FAT designs and production representative end items.

4.3.1 (U) Non-Ballistic Verification. All testing requirements defined within section 3, Requirements, and Section 4, Verification shall be met. The PC Gen III soft armor must also meet the inspection verifications listed in Tables X in section 4.6.3.

(U) Accept/Reject Criteria:

a) One or more major defects constitutes a LAT rejection. All individual requirements are defined as a Major defect unless otherwise noted in Table X.

b) A minor defect rate higher than allowed by using ANSI Z1.4 Single Sampling for Normal Inspection (S-3) at an AQL of 4.0 as defined in the LAT Plan constitutes a LAT rejection.

c) If a critical defect is found during inspection, the lot shall be 100% inspected for the critical nonconformities and corrected or replaced at the discretion of the Government.

4.3.2 (U//FOUO) Ballistic Verification. The following ballistic tests shall be required for Lot Acceptance Testing for the PC Gen III soft armor inserts. Complete soft armor inserts from a finished production lot shall be randomly selected for testing. The soft armor inserts shall be ballistically tested in a surrogate cover as defined in paragraph 4.2.1.2.1. Areal density measurements will only be made on un-sewn shoot packs. All ballistic samples shall be inspected for ballistic configuration (ply count). For base vest system lots, comprised of 2 base vest inserts per base vest system, the test matrix in Table VII-A shall be used. For component set lots (side plate pocket insert and cummerbund insert lots), comprised of 2 inserts per set, the test matrix in Table VII-B shall be used. All testing requirements and verifications shall be met in accordance with section 3 and section 4 using the test matrix in Table VII-A and VII-B below.

Table VII-A: Lot Acceptance Test Sample Selection Matrix (Base Vest System)

Total inserts required

(Dry) V0, 9mm2

(U//FOUO)

1/ (U) Lot Size is comprised base vest systems which consists of 2 base vest inserts per base vest system (e.g. A lot of 26 base vest systems is comprised of 52 base vest inserts.

2/ (U//FOUO) For XS-Short and SM-Short inserts, one additional 9mm V0 test shall be required due to the small size of the inserts. This additional insert will be pulled from the contingency inserts and the total number of inserts required shall remain the same as other sizes.

Table VII-B: Lot Acceptance Test Sample Selection Matrix (per component sets) (Side Plate Pocket and/or Ballistic Cummerbund)

(U//FOUO)

Footnotes:

1) (U) Lot Size is comprised of component sets which consists of 2 inserts per set (e.g. A lot of 26 component set systems is comprised of 52 inserts).

2) (U//FOUO) Multiple test inserts may be necessary to calculate V50. If these requirements are not met using the first insert, subsequent inserts may be used and combined until the number of valid data points is reached.

4.4 (U) Requirements and Verifications. Table VIII delineates performance requirements and the associated verification methods. Performance requirements are verified through visual, demonstration, physical measurement, and various test methods in order to determine that no deficiencies exist and the performance requirements specified in section 3 of this specification are met.

Table VIII: Requirements and Verifications

(U)

4.4.1 (U) Certificate of Compliance (COC). COCs shall be provided when requested by the Government. The Government reserves the right to inspect any item to determine the validity of the certification

4.5 (U) Material and Components Verification. The materials shall conform to applicable specifications, standards, and patterns required herein as stated in paragraph 3.2. The finished cloths shall be tested for the characteristics listed in Table IX.

Table IX: Material and Component Verifications

Cloth (all classes)

Cloth, Ballistic Insert Cover Weight Water Repellency Hydrostatic Resistance 3.2.5

ASTM D-3776

AATCC 22

4.5.1; AATCC 127 or ASTM D 751

(U)

4.5.1 (U) Resistance to POL, sweat, and sea water. The ballistic insert cover material shall be tested initially for hydrostatic resistance after exposure to motor oil, gasoline, weapon lubricant, sweat, and sea water in accordance with AATCC TM 127. The specimen be laid flat, face side up, on a glass plate, 8 inches by 8 inches by ¼ inch and three drops of each test liquid shall be applied to the center of the specimen. A glass plate with the same dimensions as the sample shall be placed on the specimen and a 4 lb. weight shall be placed in the center of the glass plate assembly. After 16 hours, remove the specimen and test immediately for hydrostatic resistance in accordance with AATCC TM 127. The motor oil shall conform to ASTM-D-4485, Grade CD-II. The weapon lubricant shall conform to MIL-PRF-63460 or commercial Break Free CLP, Santa Ana, CA or equal. The perspiration solution shall be made up in a 500 ml glass beaker by combining 3.0 grams of sodium chloride, 1.0 gram of trypticase soy broth powder, 1.0 gram normal propyl propionate, and 0.5 gram liquid lecithin. Add 500 ml of distilled water, add a magnetic stirring bar, and cover the beaker. Place the beaker on a combination hot plate/magnetic stirrer apparatus. While stirring, heat the solution to 50 degree C until all ingredients are dissolved. While stirring, cool the solution to 35 degree C, remove cover, and dispense immediately with pipette or other suitable measuring device. Dispense 2 ml of perspiration solution at 35 degree C onto the center of an 8 inch by 8 inch by ¼ inch glass plate. Place an 8 inch by 8 inch specimen face up. Dispense an additional 2 ml of perspiration solution onto the center of the specimen. A glass plate (do not rinse) of the same dimensions shall be placed on the specimen and a 4 lb. weight placed in the center of the glass plate assembly. After 16 hours, remove and air dry specimen before testing for hydrostatic resistance. For sea water, prepare the sea water in as specified in 4.81.1 and use the same sample preparation as the perspiration sample described previously.

4.6 (U) Soft Armor Design and Construction Verification. The soft armor design and construction shall be verified through inspection and physical measurement. The following verification criteria shall be completed.

4.6.1 (U) Pattern Conformance. The ballistic components of the PC Gen III shall be inspected to determine conformance to the patterns. Non-conformities shall be marked as a defect in accordance with Table X.

4.6.2 (U) Area of Coverage. Square inches of coverage are measured by digitized patterns and compared to working patterns to verify that minimum area of coverage is met in accordance with 3.3.2.1.

4.6.3 (U) Soft Armor End Item Dimensional and Visual Inspection. Inspection shall be made of working patterns to assure that they conform to Government patterns in all respects. The end items shall be inspected for finished measurements and conformance to patterns and any defects shall be scored in accordance with Table X.

Table X: Ballistic Filler Visual and Dimensional Examination Defects

Gaps or bubbles in heat seal around the ballistic filler.

Heat seal width under 0.20 inches.

226†

(U)

† Critical Defect: If a critical defect is found during inspection, the lot shall be 100% inspected for the critical nonconformities and corrected or replaced at the discretion of the Government.

*The presence of a number designates either major or minor. The value of the number is for internal inspection purposes only.

1/ (U) To be scored when condition exists for a length of more than 2 inches or if condition exists in two or more areas with an accumulated distance of 4 inches.

2/ (U) The front filler or back filler individual components, as applicable, shall be examined with the applicable cutting pattern centered on the filler components.

4.6.3.1 (U) Soft Armor Linear Measurements. Front and back center measurements are taken along the center line by holding the garment taut with a metallic measuring device and measurements taken to the nearest 1/16 inch. Front and back width, and webbing hanger's measurements are taken in a flat, relaxed state, with a metal measuring device and measurements taken to the nearest 1/16 inch. Dimensional measurements are taken as described below.

a) Soft Armor Front and Back Lengths: The center front and back length of the base vest soft armor inserts shall be measured at two locations as shown in Figure 2. Length 1 is measured on a straight line from the center of the top edge of the insert to the bottom edge of the insert while pinching off any excess ripstop. Length 2 is measured on a straight line from the bottom edge of the insert to the corner of the insert while pinching off any excess ripstop.

Figure 2: Base Vest Soft Armor Front Measurements

b) Soft Armor Front and Back Widths: The front and back soft armor insert widths shall be measured on a straight line across the width of the insert from three separate locations. The three width locations are shown in Figure 1: Width 1) top edge, Width 2) corner to corner and Width 3) bottom edge. All measurements shall be taken on a straight line while pinching off any excess ripstop.

c) Soft Armor Side Plate Pocket Width. The side plate pocket insert width shall be measured on a straight line across the width of the insert.

d) Soft Armor Side Plate Pocket Length. The side plate pocket insert length shall be measured on a straight line across the length of the insert.

e) Soft Armor Cummerbund Height. The soft armor cummerbund height shall be measured on a straight line across the center height of the insert as shown in Figure 2 below.

f) Soft Armor Cummerbund Length. The soft armor cummerbund insert length shall be measured on a straight line across the length of the insert from as shown in Figure 3 below:

Figure 3: Soft Armor Cummerbund

4.7 (U) Operational Requirements Verification.

4.7.1 (U) Areal Density. Areal density shall be calculated on unstitched ballistic filler material (no ballistic cover) for the base vest in accordance with ASTM-D-3776, Standard Test Method for Mass per Unit Area of Fabric, Option C, with exceptions. The shoot-packs used for the areal density calculation shall be built in accordance with section 3.6.2.1. Each 15x15 inch ply of ballistic filler shall have two (2) 100 cm2 die cut samples cut out and weighed independently to the 0.001 lbs. The weight percent difference between the first sample and the second sample shall be within two (2) percent. The areal density for a single ply shall be the total mass of the two (2) pieces divided by the total area of the two (2) pieces. The actual areal density for the entire ballistic filler shall be calculated by adding each plies’ areal densities together. Areal density calculations shall be conducted on five (5) shoot-packs. The average of the five (5) areal density measurements shall be determined and compared against the requirement in section 3.5.1.

4.7.2 (U) Thickness. Thickness shall be measured to the nearest 0.01 inch when tested according to ASTM D-1777, Table 1 testing option 1 for five (5) randomly selected ballistic shoot packs submitted for FAT. The ripstop cover shall be removed prior to measurement. The average of the five shoot-packs will determine if the requirement is met. Lot acceptance testing will be conducted on one randomly selected final sized medium base vest insert and shall meet the threshold requirement as defined in section 3.5.2.

4.7.3 (U) Removable Ballistics. This performance requirement is verified by observation and operation that the properties, characteristics, and parameters of the item to meet the functional requirements specified in 3.5.3. Verification is indicated by a pass or fail criteria which is a simple accept or reject indications of functional performance since no qualitative values exist or are hard to measure.

4.7.4 (U) Functional Integration of Soft Armor. Functional integration of the soft armor into the carrier shall be verified by inserting and securing the final cut PC Gen III soft armor inserts into the corresponding size and type PC Gen III carrier component without tools or special aids. Each soft armor insert shall be inserted and secured fully within the corresponding carrier component without any bunching, extension of the material outside the carrier, or inability to secure the carrier. For FAT, this test shall be conducted for each type and size and can be conducted in conjunction with the flexibility verification in 4.7.5.

4.7.5 (U) Flexibility. Two base vest inserts and two side plate inserts shall be tested for flexibility. The flexibility shall be verified by inserting the finished base vest inserts into the corresponding sized front inner vest soft armor pocket and the rear inner vest soft armor pocket and the side plate pocket insert into the corresponding sized side plate pocket (e.g. 6x6 inserts into 6x6 side plate pocket, etc.). The insert shall be inserted without any tools or excessive force needed to bend the panels for insertion. Once inserted, the inserts shall lay smooth with no rigid peaks or bunched edges. Failure to be able to insert the insert or an inability to smooth out the insert once inserted shall be marked as a major defect. For FAT, this test shall be conducted for each type and size.

4.7.6 (U) Fungus Test. Verification of compliance with the…