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Explaining the NIJ Standard 0101.06 Ballistic
Resistance of Body Armour
As CEO of PPSS Group I am dealing with body armour
almost every single day of the week. My job is to
advise government and homeland security agencies
in countries around the world in the latest body armour
technology and argue my case why I strongly believe
a certain type of body armour is the most appropriate
one based on the operational risks, threats and duties
of their frontline staff.
One thing has always been a ‘thorn in my eyes’ though.
It is my genuine believe that the vast majority of bullet
proof vests are of poor, or even exceptional poor
quality (please insert any word you fancy replacing
‘exceptional poor’). The performance of most bullet
proof vests might be of an acceptable level on the day
of testing/certification, but when worn in hot and humid
environments by an officer who is actively involved
in serious physical confrontations, for several hours
a day, several days a week/month/year, that ballistic
protection level might well have been reduced by a
high percentage due to the use of poor raw materials
and craftsmanship and ‘cutting corners’ during the
design and manufacturing process.
So, how do we know one body armour is ‘really good’
and that it will do the job even after having been
subjected to all types of severe stress for many months
and even years?
The ‘guarantee’ now comes in form of the compliance
to a very specific ballistic resistance standard.
To ensure that body armour continue to be effective
in protecting soldiers, homeland security officers and
personal protection specialists, the U.S. National
Institute of Justice (NIJ) established a body armour
standard and testing program back in 1972, and it has
been updated five times since then to reflect the design
and manufacturing developments of body armour and
test methods.
There is no question about it this standard is without
any doubt the single most important ballistic resistance
standards in the world. The latest is also the most
stringent and most important version of it. I am
talking here about the ‘NIJ Standard 0101.06 Ballistic
Resistance of Body Armour’.
So, what has changed? Why was it time for the body
armour test protocol to change? Why is it relevant to
you and anyone charged with the safety of frontline
professionals and those responsible for the purchase of
body armour?
Let me start with a simple statement… the NIJ 0101.06
standard means added safety, which has always been
the key objective for PPSS Group.
The NIJ 0101.06 standard is the most comprehensive,
stringent and rigorous body armour compliance
standard that exists today.
by Robert Kaiser, CEO of PPSS Group
NIJ
0101.06
Ballistic
Resistance
Standard
UNDERSTANDING

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A NIJ 0101.06 tested and certified body armour
ultimately means increased protection for you. It means
‘reassurance’ and ‘piece of mind’ knowing that you are
wearing a body armour based on the very latest design
and manufacturing capabilities and technologies.
In the official ‘NIJ Standard 0101.06 Ballistic Resistance of
Body Armor’, John Morgan, Deputy Director for Science
and Technology, National Institute of Justice stated:
“The NIJ Standard–0101.06, ‘Ballistic Resistance
of Body Armor’ is a minimum performance standard
developed in collaboration with the Office of Law
Enforcement Standards (OLES) of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It
is produced as part of the Standards and Testing
Program of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ),
Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of
Justice. This standard is a technical document that
specifies the minimum performance requirements
that equipment must meet to satisfy the requirements
of criminal justice agencies and the methods
that shall be used to test this performance. This
standard is used by the NIJ Voluntary Compliance
Testing Program (CTP) to determine which body
armor models meet the minimum performance
requirements for inclusion on the NIJ Compliant
Products List. Users are strongly encouraged to have
this testing conducted…”
This extremely stringent new ballistic resistance
standard increases safety in three ways:
• By increased performance against today’s
emerging threats
• By improved reliability
• By superior durability for body armour… ensuring they
will cope with the stress they may endure by being
worn 10 hours a day, five days a week, 52 weeks a
year, over several years.
These changes in testing and these new improved
minimum performance requirements have been set for
several reasons:
• To improve performance, so that all officers receive
sufficient protection
• To provide adequate protection against realistic and
likely ballistic threats
• To provide assurance that the armour will provide
protection through the entire life of its warranty… and
not just on day of testing/certification.
The NIJ 0101.06 standard features several crucial,
‘right’ and ‘good’ changes to the previous globally
dominating NIJ Standard 0101.04 (Ballistic Resistance
of Personal Body Armour):
Higher Velocities
• Increased test velocities for new armour testing of
Types IIA, II and IIIA
• Test velocities have been established for conditioned
armour testing
• Special-threat rounds to be tested at elevated
velocities within the special test class
Protection Level IIIA Round Changes
• Round changed from a 9mm FMJ RN to a .357FMJ FN
Shot Placement
• The new NIJ Standard 0101.06 modifies “shot-to-edge”
spacing. New spacing allows shots within 2 inches of
the edge of the vest for the .357mm SIG FMJ FN and
9mm FMJ RN threats
• While maintaining a 2-inch shot-to-shot spacing, the
new NIJ Standard 0101.06 changes the pattern of the
fourth, fifth and sixth shot to be within a maximum of a
3.94-inch circle
Size of Test Samples
• Five standardized armour samples will now be
accepted for testing to NIJ Standard-0101.06: smallest,
small, medium, large and largest
• Manufacturers must submit 2 different sizes for testing
• The sizes selected determine the range of sizes that
can be produced for that particular model:
• One closely matching the smallest production size
• One closely matching the largest production size
Immersion Testing
• The new NIJ Standard-0101.06 requires test panels
to be fully immersed vertically in a water bath at 70°F
for 30 minutes. (Prior standards only required a water
spray test for 6 minutes)
Environmental Conditioning (Tumbling) Test
• Prior standards did not include environmental
condition tests
• The new standard requires panels to be tumbled for
72,000 cycles over a 10-day period at 149°F at 80%
relative humidity prior to ballistic testing

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• The conditioned armor portion of the test protocol uses
lower velocities, then the reference velocities used with
the new armor portion of the test protocol
Number of Samples Required
• The new NIJ Standard-0101.06 standard requires 28
complete test samples, including front and back panel.
(Prior standards required 6 complete test samples)
Angle of Incidence
• The new NIJ Standard-0101.06 standard requires that,
for P-BFS testing, each test panel must be shot with
one hit at 30° and another hit at 45° angles
For those of you who prefer to read/see this in form of a
table (below) the following will certainly answer some of
your key questions:
In case you wish to develop a further, even more in
depth understanding of the ‘NIJ Standard 0101.06
Ballistic Resistance of Body Armor’ then please view
the entire official document: click here
Please also read my following two blogs:
• “Understanding Concealable Bullet Proof Vests”
• “Slash Resistant Clothing for Homeland Security
Professionals”
In case you have any questions or concerns… please
comment on my blog or view our www.ppss-group.com.
You can also email info@ppss-group.com or call us on
+44 (0) 845 5193 953
Information NIJ 0101.04 Standard NIJ 0101.06 Standard
Conditioning prior to testing 6 minutes / shower 30 minutes complete submersion and tumbling for
10 days at 149 degrees at 80% humidity
Total number of shots for soft armour 48 shots / 24 each cal. 144 shots / 72 each cal.
Number of shots new armours 48 shots / 24 each cal. 72 shots / 48 each cal.
Number of shots artificially aged armours None 48 shots / 24 each cal.
Total number of BFS measurements 16 BFS / 8 each cal. 48 shots / 24 each cal.
Number of test samples per NIJ Level 6 complete armours 28 complete armours
Template size/shots 48 shots large size 72 shots smallest size / 48 shots largest size
Increased velocities Level IIA -9mm / 40 S&W 1120 fps / 1055 fps 1224 fps / 1155 fps
Increased velocities Level II -9mm 1205 fps 1306 fps
New Threats IIIA 9mm eliminated .357 Sig at 1470 fps
Shots to edge distance 3 inches Small cal. 2” from edge / large cal. 3” from edge
Shot placement Widely spaced 3 near edge / 3 closely spaced
V50 with both calibres 9mm only Both calibres
Conformity assessment None Manufacturing facility audits and random testing
over 5 years
Cost of Certification $2,500 - $3,300 $18,000 - $25,000
Total number of shots Level III hard armours 18 shots 24 shots
Total number of shots Level IV hard armours 8 shots 24 shots