The US Army has awarded BAE Systems a $15.8m contract for the manufacture and supply of XSBI hard body armour technology. XSBI plates are placed inside troop vests and boost the level of protection supplied to beyond that achievable through just wearing soft armour.

In March 2011, BAE Systems announced that it had just rolled its one millionth SAPI (Small Arms Protective Insert) – the forerunner of the company’s XSBI technology. Like the original SAPI, XSBI is intended to supply warfighters with ballistic protection across a wide stratus of conditions encountered on the frontline.

The SAPI plate first emerged in 1998 and, since then, been continually upgraded as a result of repeated contracts awarded by the US Department of Defense.

BAE Systems Body Armour

This latest BAE Systems body armour order is linked to an earlier contract award made in September 2010. Worth $15.8 million, it takes the overall contract value to over the $50m mark. The XSBI plates will be pieced together at BAE Systems facility in Phoenix, Arizona, and delivered between now and the end of February.

“We look forward to producing and delivering additional XSBI plates to the Army”, BAE Systems Protection Systems’ warfighter equipment director, Greg Kraak, explained in a 12 January press release. He added: “These plates offer increased protection on the battlefield, and will help protect the lives of the brave men and women serving our country.”

US Army Body Armour Plates

BAE Systems is one of the foremost suppliers of solder protection equipment to the US military, with a significant amount of the US Army’s body armour plates, combat helmets and tactical vests worn by its troops being the company’s in origin.

At the end of 2010, as reported by Armed Forces International, BAE Systems was contracted to provide the US Army with 60,000 IOTVs (Improved Outer Tactical Vests) which are fully compatible with the firm’s SAPIs, ESAPIs (Enhanced Small Arms Protective Inserts) and ESBIs (Enhanced Side Ballistic Inserts).