Ballistic protection has come a long way since the advent of Kevlar and organizing a system to tell us what level of protection each option offers has fallen to the NIJ. For years, the law enforcement and 2A enthusiast community has come to know and understand these ratings so as to ensure what they purchase will provide protection sufficient for the task at hand.
Grab some NIJ level ii armor when you are facing off with a bad guy equipped with armor piercing rounds and you're in for a bad day. Just when you thought you finally thought you understood their system, the NIJ went and changed it all.
Thankfully, the changes come with easy to understand indicators and more rigorous testing which should be a net positive for the LEO community. However, it will require a little research to understand the changes and the team here at MIRA Safety is here to help.
What Are NIJ Body Armor Protection Levels and How Did They Change?
First, let's talk about the old standards as you know them. You would recognize the lower end of the spectrum as NIJ Level 2 which provided basic handgun protection. At the higher end of the spectrum, you would recognize NIJ Level 3 as the top tier which provided rifle protection. Everything in between had to do with testing on the various ballistic resistance of body armor.
What the new standards put into place is add the nomenclature of HG (handgun) and RF (rifle) before each rating as well as create new tiers of ratings in order to offer the rated protection with more specificity. As such, NIJ Level ii is now HG Level 1. NIJ level iii body armor is now RF Level 1. Don't worry, we're going to break it down Barney style for you later, but for now we want you to just be able to identify the different body armor types and which is rated for handgun or rifle protection as a result.
The National Institute of Justice Standards for Body Armor
The NIJ standards are an essential element to law enforcement safety as they are the only nationally accepted measure of body armor ballistic levels. Anyone selling armor can make any claim that they want, but the NIJ is the standard by which they are judged.
That's because it has been a proven fact that gunfights tend to be notoriously unkind to the 2nd place finisher. An officer may go their entire career without receiving fire, but the one round that hits center mass in the chest is the only round that matters.
Moreover, the NIJ protection levels give LEO and military the confidence in a fight that their armor will hold up. They need to be focusing on returning fire and aiming true rather than worrying whether or not they grabbed the right caliber armor.
Ballistic protection levels must be consistent and reliable for the one single day where it matters most. The team here at MIRA sells level IV body armor and we wouldn't dare put it on the market if we didn't know for sure exactly what that meant
How NIJ Certification Ensures Proper Protection Levels
The NIJ Standard for Body Armor is a massive document that, unless you are into the science of ballistics, would be difficult for the average Joe to process. The NIJ does all the research and breaks it down into the aforementioned categories that the average Joe can understand, such as information about different levels of body armor. For instance, level 4 body armor is quite different from standard armor. Behind the scenes, the NIJ conducts rigorous testing to ensure what they put out is accurate.
In the past, if a new threat was added then the entire standard would need to be updated. Now, they have streamlined the process where updates can be added more readily which specify the ballistic that the body armor should be able to stop.
This means more real time updates translated into a manner that anyone can understand. NIJ tests are widely accepted and trusted as the highest level of ballistic research available. Go your own way and do your own testing if you want, but we have confidence in these standards.
What’s the Difference Between the Old Ratings and the New by Ballistic Level
While it is helpful to understand the old rating system in order to find its peer under the new system, it is truly not necessary. Give it ten years and all anyone will remember are the new standards. The NIJ has not quite certified products that use the old standard and plan to do so until at least 2027. However, the new language is the order of the day moving forward and so it's best for newcomers to the personal protection universe to just learn what the new standards mean.
Level II, Level IIIA and the New HG1, HG2
When you are looking at Level II and Level IIIA body armor, what you are primarily talking about is soft armor. This means it is rated to take on smaller caliber pistols. Note that the NIJ left out level iia in its standards as this is primarily concerned with stab and slashing attacks. However, Level II can take on hits from rounds like the 9mm or .357 magnum. This is now HG1. That is the first level of soft body armor designed and tested to stop a bullet.
Level IIIA can take on higher caliber rounds like the .357 sig or the 44 magnum. This increased protection raises the bar to what has become the HG2 rating. So what you are trying to decide here is just how much protection from handguns do you need to accomplish the mission of the day. Such armor is routinely provided by law enforcement agencies around the world as they are more likely to encounter a handgun threat than any other firearm.
Level III vs. Level IV: Hard Armor Plates for Rifle Rounds
Now, this is where the new rating system demonstrates some good logic that should help the novice make a good decision regarding the right protection. Once we leave the HG nomenclature, it changes to RF which stands for rifle. Do you need handgun protection or do you need rifle rated protection? It is hard to confuse the HG and RF in the matter.
What used to be known as NIJ Level III is now RF1 and is the first level rated to take a hit from a rifle and keep you breathing. RF1 covers rounds such as the 7.62x51 M80 ball and offers protection for standard AR and AK platforms. However, the new standards created a new RF 2 rating that covers an intermediate threat before reaching the old Level 4 status. RF2 offers the same protection as RF1 in addition to steel core bullets like the 5.56mm M855 "green tip."
Finally we reach the pinnacle of protection which was formerly the Level IV and is now known as RF3. This offers protection against armor piercing rounds to include the .30-06 and is the highest level under the new standards. Just because we went from the IV, a higher number, to the number 3 in the system doesn't mean we've lost any level of protection. It is simply new nomenclature for easier understanding.
How to Choose the Right Body Armor Level for Your Needs?
MIRA Tactical Level 4 armor plate beside loaded police tactical vest.
Under the new standards or the old standards, in order to assess which body armor plate is right for you, the threat level you are likely to face must be assessed. If you are a prison guard, soft armor that merely protects against knives and shanks may very well do. However, if law enforcement officers are getting to serve a warrant on a dangerous suspect, we may want to think of kicking it up to something rifle rated.
What Level of Protection Should I Pursue?
As you assess the threat, we would be encouraged to understand the difference between probability and possibility. It's really no different than fire insurance on a house. You don't purchase insurance because it is probable that your house will catch on fire.
Given the number of homes in the United States, the probability is actually quite low. Rather, you purchase fire insurance because the possibility of a fire exists and the consequences of that fire are so damning, that you pay insurance for 50 years simply because it could happen.
There are over 800,000 sworn law enforcement officers in the nation. In 2024, less than 50 were killed in the line of duty. Hundreds have been shot, which is more, but the probability compared to the total number of officers is quite low.
Yet, LEO in large numbers are purchasing rifle rated body armor based on the possibility and not the probability. Assess your threat and ask not only what is likely or probable, but what is possible. Again, no second place finish in a gunfight.
Body Armor Ballistic Levels are Merely a Guide
The NIJ stops short of telling LEO agencies or other entities what they should get for any given mission. They merely lay out in plain language the information you need to make the right decision for yourself or your agency.
The armor standard for NIJ certified protection is just that, a standard rating system. You still have to display the discernment and judgement necessary to make the right call. For instance, you’d want armor that doesn’t get in the way of donning or doffing PPE.
Rifle rated armor is not necessary for every mission, but it sure is good to have on hand when you need it. It is a shame that officers have to do so, but many departments will not equip their officers with RF rated armor solutions.
This leaves officers to purchase it themselves and keep on hand. It is a shame that it has to be so, but we say do whatever it takes to go home to your family at the end of the watch.
A Summary of NIJ Protection Levels
As we wrap this article, our view that the new rating system as a positive is reinforced. Not every 2A enthusiast or even LEO is the type of person who can tell you the grain count of every round of ammunition. They know guns and are proficient with them, but they spend their time elsewhere and God bless them for it.
As such, knowing if the armor is rated for handguns or rifles is all they need to know. HG and RF accomplish that in quick order. Deciding if you want more or less protection in each category is accomplished by the number beside the nomenclature. The number 3 is higher than 2 and the number 2 is higher than 1. Decide your threat level and choose accordingly.
The NIJ rating system is a trusted and respected method that delivers the latest ballistic science and research available to us. If they say that RF offers protection against rifle ammunition, you have good reason to believe them. If you want to dig into the ballistics yourself and do your own testing, we won't stop you. However, keeping up with the latest changes at NIJ will be sufficient for most.
Again, it will be a couple of years before you see the old rating system fade away into the past as HG and RF will become as commonplace in the 2A community as AK and AR. We've got a great deal of updating to do on our website ourselves and that will take time.
So bear with us while we make the switch in nomenclature and if we can be of any assistance to you as you prepare for the day that most people dread, please don't hesitate to reach. Stay frosty friends and keep preparing, training, and preparing some more. God bless from the team here at MIRA Safety.