NIJ III+ level protection

The NIJ 101.06 standard level III is tested with six hits from a 7.62 NATO rifle. In short, it offers protection from common non-AP rifle rounds.

The suffix + is used by many manufacturers to market plates that offer more protection than just the standard it exceeds. In this case, the extra protection you get is against light AP rounds, which would normally punch through NIJ III plates.

The Hesco 3810 in size Large is tested to stop the following rounds and hit counts:

Caliber | Velocity | Hits

5.56x45 - M193 | 3150 fps | 6 hits

7.62x39 - M67 | 2390 fps | 6 hits

5.56x45 - M855/SS109 | 3150 fps | 6 hits

7.62x39 - M43 (Mild Steel Core) | 2390 fps | 3 hits

7.62x54R - LPS (Mild Steel Core) | 2850 fps | 3 hits

If you are unfamiliar with the NIJ rating system check out this chart for further reference.

Caliber | NIJ IIA | NIJ II | NIJ IIIA | NIJ III | NIJ IV

.22 LR LRN | OK | OK | OK | OK | OK

.380 ACP FMJ RN | OK | OK | OK | OK | OK

9x19 mm FMJ RN | OK (341 m/s) | OK (367 m/s) | OK (436 m/s) | OK | OK

.357 Mag JSP | FAIL | OK | OK | OK | OK

.44 Mag SJHP | FAIL | FAIL | OK | OK | OK

7.62 NATO FMJ | FAIL | FAIL | FAIL | OK | OK

.30-06 AP | FAIL | FAIL | FAIL | FAIL | OK

LRN | Lead Round Nose

FMJ | Full Metal Jacket

RN | Round Nose

JSP | Jacketed Soft Point

SJHP | Semi-Jacketed Hollow Point

AP | Armour-Piercing