Since the late nineteenth century, when the first bulletproof vests with plates were created, each successive generation of soldiers has utilized increasingly advanced armor. To fight ever-more-powerful armor, ever-more-powerful bullets are required, and even then, the most powerful armor finally destroys the most powerful ammo. This is a typical arms race.
As soon as long-range weaponry became accessible, “body armor” was developed. When muskets became prevalent in the 16th century, soldiers began searching for ways to defend themselves from projectiles. Metal plate was the only material available to early ballistics engineers, limiting their possibilities for deflecting or absorbing bullet energy. Even though the plate armor used by medieval knights served as a model for the earliest known types of body armor, even the earliest musket bullets could easily penetrate it. As firearms became more prevalent in the early 19th century, individuals began to wear bulletproof vests with plates. In the 1840s, a tailor in Dublin, Ireland, was the first person to mention these vests in writing. However, these vests were extremely difficult to get, maybe because they provided so little genuine protection.
As far back as the 1970s, the greatest major improvement in body armor technology occurred in 1971. Stephanie Kwolek, a research chemist at DuPont, was investigating liquid crystal polymer molecules. This gets us to the present day, when Kevlar is the name given to a material produced by DuPont following years of research. Most modern body armor still utilizes Kevlar vests from the 1970s, although it is important to note that no Kevlar vest can stop every bullet or missile. It is vital to strike a balance between mobility and security in the actual world. In modern warfare, where soldiers are expected to be extremely active, wearing fully bulletproof vests with plates would be a necessity. The bulk of modern US military vests are designed to stop 9mm and 7.62mm rounds at range, as well as most shrapnel.
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