August 16, 2018 | International, Land
By: Shawn Snow
The Corps wants new lighter body armor to give commanders more flexibility in low-intensity conflicts on the battlefields of places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Marines posted a request for information, or RFI, Wednesday to seek out industry support in fielding a new, lighter body armor that will complement the Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert, or ESAPI, plates already fielded by Marines.
According to the RFI, the Corps is seeking new armor to provide “protection from non-armor piercing rounds that are currently prevalent in counterinsurgency operations and other low intensity threat environments.”
“Our current ESAPI plates do an amazing job of protecting Marines and have saved many lives,” Nick Pierce, Individual Armor team lead, program manager of Infantry Combat Equipment at Marine Corps Systems Command, said in a command release. “The only problem is Marines are currently given a binary choice between taking on 15 pounds to be protected or zero pounds and very little protection. This new lightweight plate would protect Marines and give commanders the choice of what plate to use based on the specific mission.”
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