Market Trends of Body Armor Industry
Soft and Hard Armors Segment Will Showcase Remarkable Growth During the Forecast Period
The soft and hard armor segment is anticipated to show significant market's growth during the forecast period. The growth is attributed to the increasing defense spending and rising focus on soldier's security. Soft body armor is made of ballistic panels with highly specialized fibers. Body armor up to National Institute of Justice (NIJ) level III is considered soft. NIJ Level III is designed to stop or handle six 7.6251 NATO round shots traveling at a speed of up to 2780 feet per second. A level IIIA bulletproof vest is the most effective soft body armor for protecting against handgun bullets.
Hard body armor is made of ceramic and metal plates. New National Institute of Justice (NIJ) standard NIJ 0101.07 ruled out NIJ IIA protection level soft body armor. The Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) also established test standards for bulletproof vests. HOSDB 2017 standards feature the minimum testing requirement for stab and bulletproof vests. The UK Police have followed the HOSDB standard since it was first established in 1993. Periodic In-Life Monitoring (ILM), Production Quality Testing (PQT), Formed Armor Testing, and others are a few tests in the HOSDB standard.
As per a Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) study, body armor has saved the lives of more than 3,000 police officers since 1990 in the United States alone. Thus, increasing contractual agreements and continuous procurement from regulatory authorities are expected to supplement the demand during the forecast period.
North America Dominates the Market During the Forecast Period
North America held the highest shares in the market and is expected to continue its domination during the forecast period. The growth is due to increasing spending on the defense sector and the presence of a large number of military personnel in the United States. The country was the largest defense spender in the world, with a defense budget of USD 877 billion. The US armed forces have 1,832,000 military personnel, of which 1,390,00 are active and 442,000 are reserved. The US law enforcement agencies had approximately 660,288 full-time federal officers in 2021.
Rising procurement of advanced body armor to improve soldier's security drives the market's growth. For instance, in September 2023, Ace Link Armor (US) partnered with Glágio do Brasil (Brazil) to introduce ballistic protection body armor products to the US market. Ace Link Armor launched its new NIJ Certified hard armor plate, which is expected to protect against shots from high-powered rifle caliber rounds, including 7.6251 M80, 5.56x45mm M855, and 7.62x39MSC. Prominent economies considered under the study scope have increased their helmet procurement for armed forces. Also, in April 2021, Avon Rubber PLC, a British company specializing in engineering and manufacturing protection equipment, gained a contract of USD 18.9 million from the United States. The contract was awarded for modifying the US Special Forces' existing Head Protection System. Thus, growing investment in enhancing defense capabilities and increasing the number of military personnel are anticipated to drive the market's growth during the forecast period.
