Description
Level 3 Body Armor
The Storm: Foundation
With the Storm Foundation you not only have a top-tier Level III/RF1 armor plate, you have a plate that can rapidly scale to adapt to a changing threat environment.
The Foundation: An ultra-light Level 3 body armor / RF1 plate. It is among the very lightest in its category — at just 2.4 pounds for a full-cut, multi-curved, 10×12″ plate, the Foundation is a full pound lighter than most of those other plates which are also made primarily of UHMWPE. It is also among the thinnest standalone UHMWPE Level III armor plates available anywhere, at just 0.9″ thick. This is made possible with an architected UHMWPE lay-up methodology, high-pressure consolidation, advanced patent-pending thermochemical treatments, and a highly rigid and durable foam system.
The Foundation – on its own – is the best possible armor solution for those who require an extremely lightweight armor plate and don’t expect to face down threats with hard steel cores or penetrators, such as the M855.
As a standalone plate, it will stop:
7.62x51mm
M80 Ball at 2800 fps
5.56x45mm
M193 at 3300 fps
7.62x39mm
MSC at 2400 fps
All handgun threats.
Buoyant, highly multi-hit capable, and extremely lightweight, it is the best possible plate for use in situations where mobility is paramount. There is no longer any need to sacrifice protection for speed.
But for those who expect to encounter steel-cored small-arms threats and require more protection, the Foundation can easily and rapidly be up-armored with the Storm: Titanium and Storm: Disruptor add-on armor plates.
With the Storm Foundation you not only have a top-tier Level III/RF1 body armor plate, you have a plate that can rapidly scale to adapt to a changing threat environment.
Specifications:
• 10×12” SAPI (dimensions are nominal)
• Multi-curve
• UHMWPE composite construction
• Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Thickness: 0.9”
• Standalone threat rating: NIJ III/RF1
Ballistic performance
FOUNDATION
LEVEL III BODY ARMOR
Protection Against
7.62x51mm M80
7.62x39mm AK47 MSC
5.56x45mm M193
5.45X39mm AK74 MSC
7.62x54mmR LPS
FOUNDATION + TITANIUM
LEVEL III+ BODY ARMOR
Protection Against
5.56x45mm M855 (SS109)
7.62x51mm M80
7.62x39mm AK47 MSC
5.56x45mm M193
5.45X39mm AK74 MSC
7.62x54mmR LPS
FOUNDATION + DISRUPTOR
LEVEL IV BODY ARMOR
Protection Against
.30-06 APM2
7.62x51mm M80A1
And all lesser rifle threats
Storm Foundation vs The Competition
Storm Foundation
$325
Weight: 2.4 Pounds
Thickness: 0.9″
Curvature: Multi
Special threat tested: Yes
Up-Armor ready: Yes
Industry Average UHMWPE plate
$350
Weight: 3.1 Pounds
Thickness: 1.05″
Curvature: Single
Special threat tested: No
Up-Armor ready: No
Competing high-end UHMWPE plate
$600
Weight: 2.5 Pounds
Thickness: 1.1″
Curvature: Multi
Special threat tested: Partial
Up-Armor ready: No
US Navy Maritime Buoyant Plate
Unknown
Weight: 2.8 Pounds
Thickness: 1″
Curvature: Multi
Special threat tested: Partial
Up-Armor ready: No
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UHMWPE Composite Hard Armor Plate
Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (“UHMWPE”) composite armor is made from long, highly crystalline, highly oriented fibers of the simple hydrocarbon polymer polyethylene (C2H4). UHMWPE fibers offer an outstanding performance-to-weight ratio on account of the high strength and stiffness of the bond between their carbon atoms, an intrinsically low defect rate, and a very low specific gravity. (0.96 gm/cc.) UHMWPE-resin fiber composites exhibit truly outstanding performance characteristics in body armor systems, and enable very lightweight hard armor plates — both as a standalone material for protection from rifle ball rounds with lead or mild steel cores, and as a backer for a ceramic strike-face in plates designed to stop AP rounds. The Storm Foundation is an example of both types: It is a top-tier UHMWPE composite armor plate, among the world’s lightest and thinnest, that can be used either standalone or up-armored.
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Modular Body Armor Plate
Modular body armor plates, a relatively new concept, consist of UHMWPE composite armor plates with removable strike-faces. They can be used without those strike faces in lower-threat environments, but can be up-armored in mere seconds should the mission call for it. The Storm System is the industry’s premier modular body armor plate system — it is the lightest, most intuitive, and most straightforward. The Storm Foundation, as befits its name, is the system’s foundational UHMWPE composite armor plate; the Disruptor and Titanium can fit over it to provide more protection from steel-cored and AP rounds.
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Level III Body Armor
Level III body armor is armor that complies with the NIJ 0101.06 Level III specification and is rated to stop six shots of 7.62x51mm M80 NATO Ball at approximately 2780 feet per second. With rare exceptions, Level III armor systems are rigid body armor plates. Generally speaking, the “Level III” armor rating was intended to cover all common rifle ball round threats, but it does not do so in practice. Steel armor plates rated to Level III can fail against fast-moving lead-cored ball rounds such as the M193, and steel armor plates are usually not rated to stop that threat at muzzle velocity. UHMWPE armor plates rated to Level III can fail against ball rounds with steel penetrators, such as the M855, and are not rated to stop that threat.
The Storm: Foundation is a UHMWPE Level 3 body armor plate that will stop lead-cored rounds such as M193 and M80 ball, and mild steel cored rounds such as the 7.62x39mm Type PS and 7.62x54mmR LPS.