Ceramic plates (also known as trauma plates) are commonly used as inserts in soft body armor. Most ceramic plates used in the body armor industry can protect against a NIJ level III and IV with a IIIA vest supporting. Ceramic plates are a form of composite armor. Insert plates may also be manufactured from steel or PE.
These plates are often worn by personnel needing protection from rifle fire. In Iraq, the soft armor vest with the ceramic plate helps protect troops from small arms fire up to and including 7.62×63 mm steel rifle bullets.
A ceramic plate is usually slipped into the outer layer of a soft armor vest. There may be two plates, one in the front and one in the back, or one universal plate on either front or back.
The United States Military refer to these ceramic plates as Enhanced Small Arms Protective Inserts (ESAPI).
The approximate weight for one NIJ level III plate is 4 to 8 pounds (1.8-3.6 kg) for the typical size of 10" by 12". There are other types of plates that come in different sizes and offer different levels of protection. For example, the MC-Plate (maximum coverage plate) offers 19% more coverage than a standard ceramic plate.
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