Interceptor Body Armor

Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) is the United States Army's primary bullet-resistant vest. The Interceptor design replaced the older standardized fragmentation protective Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT) body armor system, introduced in the early 1980s.

Materials for the Interceptor vest were developed by DARPA in the 1990s, and a contract for production was awarded to DHB Industries' Point Blank Body Armor, Inc., by the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center.

the original Interceptor OTV variant first began to be issued to U.S. Military Forces in the early 2000s, and the first OTV carriers were first produced in the M81 Woodland camouflage pattern (one initial contractor for the early OTVs was Point Blank, Inc). Quickly, a coyote-brown variant was made for the USMC. Marines used OTV in both woodland and coyote-brown camouflages in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the U.S. Army, the Woodland camouflage pattern was then superseded by the 3-color Desert Combat pattern, followed by the Universal Camouflage Pattern.

It exists in a few solid color shade variants, such as black (used by embedded journalist or law enforcement) and orange (worn during training by some USMC instructors or for non-military use).

Read more about Interceptor Body Armor:  Technical Details, Controversy, Improved Versions Replacement

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