Ranger Body Armor
{{Short description|Military body armor}}
{{refimprove|date=June 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox military gear|used_by=US Army|origin=United States|type=Bullet-resistant armor|image=Ranger Body Armor (PS-930).jpg|caption=Front and rear view of the Ranger Body Armor (RBA) made by Protective Materials, Inc. in October 2003|designer=Natick Research, Development and Engineering Center|weight=Size medium:{{Cite web |date=December 1995 |title=Ranger Body Armor Sent to Bosnia {{!}} The Warrior |url=http://www-sscom.army.mil/warrior/95/dec/armor.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980420105311/http://www-sscom.army.mil/warrior/95/dec/armor.htm |archive-date=20 April 1998 |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=sscom.army.mil |publisher=SSCOM Public Affairs Office |quote=RBA is a two part system; a flexible vest and a rigid plate. The flexible vest consists of an Arimid (Kevlar KM2) filler encased in a nylon woodland camouflage printed carrier. The RBA vest weighs approximately 8 pounds (size Medium). (___enter___); The heart of RBA is the 8 pound ceramic upgrade plate. With the ceramic plate inserted in the vest, the system weighs sixteen pounds. (___enter___); [The RBA is] Available in three sizes; medium, large and extra large (...)}}
- {{convert|8|lb|kg|abbr=on}} for vest only
- {{convert|16|lb|kg|abbr=on}} vest with 2 plates}}File:Ranger Body Armor - SAPI plates.jpg (SAPI) plates of Ranger Body Armor, which offer protection against Caliber .30, Ball]]
File:Label of the Ranger Body Armor PS-930.JPG
Ranger Body Armor (RBA) is a US military-issue ballistic vest that was designed for, and used chiefly by, US Army 75th Ranger Regiment operators ("Rangers") in the 1990s and 2000s. The RBA system has since been replaced by other specialized body armor systems adopted by the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).
Ranger Body Armor was designed by the US Army Natick Research, Development and Engineering Center (NRDEC) in Natick, Massachusetts to meet the operational needs of the 75th Ranger Regiment.{{Cite web |date=December 1995 |title=Ranger Body Armor Sent to Bosnia {{!}} The Warrior |url=http://www-sscom.army.mil/warrior/95/dec/armor.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980420105311/http://www-sscom.army.mil/warrior/95/dec/armor.htm |archive-date=20 April 1998 |access-date=10 June 2025 |website=sscom.army.mil |publisher=SSCOM Public Affairs Office |quote=Along with the 20,000 U.S. Peace-keepers being sent to the former Yugoslavia are 350 sets of Ranger Body Armor (RBA). RBA was designed by SSCOM's Natick Research, Development and Engineering Center (NRDEC) to meet the operational needs of the 75th Ranger Regiment. Initially used during missions in Somalia, RBA is credited with saving lives and reducing injuries to Rangers under fire. (___enter___); RBA is a two part system; a flexible vest and a rigid plate. The flexible vest consists of an Arimid (Kevlar KM2) filler encased in a nylon woodland camouflage printed carrier. The vest protects the front and back torso from most 9mm and 44 magnum threats, as well as fragmentation protection similar to that of the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT) vest. The RBA vest weighs approximately 8 pounds (size Medium). (___enter___); The heart of RBA is the 8 pound ceramic upgrade plate. With the plate inserted into the front pocket of the vest, it protects the approximate 10" X 12" area of vital organs in the front torso from both 5.56 mm and 7.62 mm ball projectiles. The plate is made of 2" X 2" aluminum oxide ceramic tiles. The vest and plate meet the National Institute of Justice Standards, Ballistic Resistance of Police Body Armor. With the ceramic plate inserted in the vest, the system weighs sixteen pounds. (___enter___); RBA was Type Classified Limited Procurement Urgent in November 1994. Available in three sizes; medium, large and extra large, it is available for purchase through General Services Administration (GSA) contract GS-07F-6041A, Protective Materials, Inc.}} RBA was first manufactured by Protective Materials, Inc., then HS Manufacturing, and later by Ceradyne.
Components
RBA consists of two main components: a flexible soft armor vest and 1-to-2 rigid ceramic plates, both of which provide ballistic protection to the upper torso.
= Soft armor vest =
The base vest is a nylon Woodland camouflage-printed carrier that encases flexible soft armor panels, which consist of an aramid (Kevlar KM2) filler. A size medium RBA without plates weighs approximately {{Convert|8|lbs|kg|abbr=out|sp=us}}. The soft armor provides ballistic protection to Threat Level IIIA{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}} according to the NIJ's ballistic resistance standards (formerly 'ballistic resistance of police body armor' standards), meaning it protects from 9mm and 44 Magnum threats. In other words, the base RBA vest provides fragmentation protection similar to that of the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT) vest.
= Ceramic plates =
To be completed, an RBA vest will accept two ceramic plates, each weighing {{Convert|4|lbs|kg|abbr=out|sp=us}}, that make up its rifle protection capability. The ceramic plate's structure is made up of repeating {{convert|2|x|2|in|abbr=on}} aluminum oxide ceramic tiles. A size medium of an RBA vest fully loaded with both ceramic plates weighs {{Convert|16|lbs|kg|abbr=out|sp=us}}. When plates are inserted into the pockets of the vest, it protects area of about {{convert|10|x|12|in|abbr=on}} from 5.56×45mm NATO and 7.62×51mm NATO rounds.
Fielding
In November 1994, the RBA was set to type classification (TC) limited procurement-urgent (LPU). The RBA vest was available for purchase through the General Services Administration (GSA) contract GS-07F-6041A, of Protective Materials, Inc. The flexible soft armor vest was available in three sizes: medium, large, and extra-large. The negotiated cost through the GSA contract for a size medium vest and plate set was US$738.{{When|date=June 2025}}{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
History
Early versions of RBA (the first variant, which featured only a front plate and not a rear plate) first saw active frontline service in 1993, being used in combat in Operation Gothic Serpent (from 22 August 1993 to 13 October 1993), when Rangers of Task Force Ranger first arrived in Mogadishu, Somalia. There, it was used by the Rangers of B Company and Command and Control, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. The early RBA used only a front ballistic plate for protection from small arms (rifle) fire; this did not protect some of the Rangers in Somalia from serious injury or death, such as Sergeant James Joyce, who was killed by a gunshot wound to his back.{{cite web |last=Bowden |first=Mark |authorlink=Mark Bowden |date=1997-11-27 |title=Left, right, left - lost and bloody |url=http://inquirer.philly.com/packages/somalia/nov27/default27.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020127142743/http://inquirer.philly.com/packages/somalia/nov27/default27.asp |archive-date=27 January 2002 |accessdate=2008-11-12 |work=Blackhawk Down |publisher=Philadelphia Newspapers Inc |quote=[Joyce] had been hit through the vest in the upper back where the Rangers' new flak vests had no protective plate. The round (...) lodged in the front of the vest, which did have an armored plate.}}
During the 1990s, Rangers used RBA in the Balkans and in Haiti.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}} In 1996, around 350 vests were sent to soldiers deployed in the former Yugoslavia.
Also in 1996, members of the USAF Security Forces assigned to the 91st Missile Wing at Minot AFB, North Dakota received RBA vests to replace their PASGT vests.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
RBA was worn by some US Army soldiers who served in Kosovo, including soldiers from C Company, 1-187th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division; 3-504th PIR, 82nd Airborne Division; A Company 1/36 INF (MECH), 1st Armored Division; and A Company, 1-26th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
In 1998, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment (1-1 CAV), 1st Armored Division's soldiers were equipped with RBA during SFOR's Operation Joint Guard and Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to the heavy weight, however, RBA vests were always kept in the back compartment of vehicles and soldiers always used PASGT vests during their peacekeeping duty.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
Some soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade used RBA vests during Operation Northern Delay (26 March 2003) in Kurdistan. About 1,000 parachutists from the 173rd AB Bde jumped into the Kurdish-controlled area in northern Iraq to open a northern front for US forces after the refusal by Turkey.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}
==Users==