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“A company called BAE Systems is using a liquid technology that, theoretically, would make any Kevlar vest stronger,” kpho.com reports, following-up on a story about a Phoenix police officer whose Custom Armor Technologies model QVA-3A-1 ballistic vest failed to stop a round. “You would treat the Kevlar with the liquid armor; when you add force, the particles in the liquid collide, forming a solid barrier that absorbs the impact . . . You can use corn starch and water to get a similar effect. Once you stir completely, the solution retains a liquid form. But if you apply force, by hitting the solution with a spoon, for example, it becomes a solid, much like the liquid armor would.” Spock! Benefits . . .
[Phoenix Law Enforcement Association spokesman Joe] Clure tells us Kevlar vests are very stiff and hard to move in.
“That’s where I think this new technology will be benefit, it makes it lighter and certainly more pliable,” Clure said. The liquid armor is supposed to be 45 percent thinner than your average Kevlar vest, which would come in handy in our grueling summers. But Clure says he’s not getting too excited yet until he sees some field tests.
“I’m sure all law enforcement will be watching to see what happens with this,” he said.
As will BAE shareholders and anyone else whose job involves facing armed antagonists. Of course, some states (and Canada) are bound to ban the new technology for civilian use. [Click here for a look at BAE’s current lineup of special operations/low visibilty [body] armor.]