To all valued clients of Pacific Safety Products,

Last week the NIJ released the Ballistic Resistance of Body Armor Standard 0101.06 to the Law Enforcement Community.  complete copy of the new standard is provided below as well as downloadable synopsis of the expected changes by Dr. Michael Riley of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

(click on title)
Ballistic Resistance of Body Armor: NIJ Standard -0101.06 - PDF File

Revisions to the NIJ Ballistic Resistant Body Armor Test Standard(M. Riley, NIST) - PDF File

The following information is provided for the benefit of our customers.

• Current NIJ certified PSP product is available and will continue to be so until a new Certified Product List is published by the NIJ. At this time we understand that customers will not be able to order NIJ06 certified product until the latter portion of this calendar year.
• New 06 compliant and certified products will be available from PSP by the end of this year assuming the NIJ completes it lab certification by this fall.
• PSP will offer a full line of NIJ certified 06 products.

For further clarification please note the Q&A’s below.

The New NIJ Standard 0101.06 represents significant changes to the current standard which may result in weight/performance/comfort trade off. Agencies should evaluate their current needs and make an informed decision moving forward. Most agencies that we are in contact with have decided to continue purchasing armor under the interim 05 standard until they have had an opportunity to review the new standard in its entirety.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT NO TEST LABS ARE CURRENTLY CERTIFIED BY THE NIJ TO TEST TO THE NIJ STANDARD-0101.06

A number of questions have arisen regarding the release and implementation of the NIJ 06 standard.
The following Q&A response will be posted on our web site and periodically updated as new questions and information becomes available.

Question: Will your current Interim O5 compliant armor meet the new standard?
Answer: With some limited exceptions, it is unlikely that our current interim 05 compliant armor will meet the new standard. As a matter of fact, it is unlikely that there will be many currently certified armor in the industry that meet the NIJ Standard 0101.06

Question: Do you have any models compliant under the NIJ 0101.06 Standard?
Answer: No. Currently there are no test laboratories certified to test to the new standard

Question: When will the test labs be ready to certify to the new standard?
Answer: Although there is no absolute answer to this it should be somewhere between September and the end of the year.

Question: When will we be able to purchase armor that is compliant to the NIJ 0101.06 standard?
Answer: Our understanding is that the NIJ is going to wait until there is a body of certifications available before publishing a Certified Products List (CPL). Until the CPL is published and available on the NIJ's web site you will not be able to purchase armor even if it has successfully passed.

Question: What are PSP’s plans as it relates to certification to NIJ Standard 0101.06?
Answer: PSP has allocated the resources necessary to certify to the new standard. We are currently working on three series of armor in threat level's 2A, 2 and 3A in both Male and Female versions.

Question: How long can we continue to purchase interim 05 compliant armor?
Answer: At least until the NIJ 06 CPL is posted. When previous standards were introduced both standards ran parallel for a period of time. We will continue to update as more information becomes available.

Question: How different are the vests going to be under the NIJ 06 compared to the Interim 05?
Answer: Due to the changes in the standard what is currently a 3A under interim 05 will be similar to a level 2 under NIJ 06. The level 2 under Interim 05 will be similar to a Level 2A under 06. If you are currently purchasing a 3A under interim 05 then a 3A under NIJ 06 will more likely be thicker, heavier and stiffer than what you are currently wearing

Question: Will Armor under NIJ 06 cost more than Interim 05?
Answer: Yes. We will be offering a complete series of armor under NIJ 06. Each series will provide agencies a choice between comfort, price and performance. Agencies will have a choice based upon their individual budget requirements. A more stringent standard means that more ballistic material will be required to pass certification, additionally, certification costs are increasing significantly. More Ballistic material and higher certification costs will definitely result in a higher cost to agencies.

Question: Will the NIJ be retesting used armor under the NIJ standard 0101.06?
Answer: According to the NIJ, they will not be formally testing used armor as a part of the NIJ standard 0101.06. Instead, a certain number of new panels within each certification will be environmentally conditioned. They will be subjected to heat, humidity, moisture and a tumbler in an attempt to replicate use during the warranty period. After the panels are conditioned they will be shot in accordance to the conditioned armor testing protocol and must pass before your vest will be certified

Question: We see that armor submitted for certification must meet size templates for both Male and Female Armor. How does that translate to the end product? Will Male and Female vests be the same construction?
Answer: Manufactures are required under NIJ Standard 0101-06 to test to the smallest Male and Female template and the largest Male and Female template that meet the sizes they plan to offer to their customers. The larger the panel, the better it performs. The smallest female template is approximately 12" X12". That size vest will definitely be heavier per square foot than say a Male Extra large.