An explosion injures people in several different ways, and body armor is tested against only some of them. The NIJ body armor standards test armor against gunfire. Fragment protection is measured with a different kind of test, and bomb suits for bomb technicians have their own NIJ standard that includes blast overpressure. This article sets out what each record covers, so a reader can see which question a given test answers. It reports what the records show; it never ranks or endorses a product.
How explosions injure people
The CDC groups blast injuries into four types:
- Primary: the direct effect of blast overpressure on tissue. Gas-filled structures are the most susceptible: the lungs, the gastrointestinal tract and the middle ear. Blast lung (pulmonary barotrauma, pressure damage to the lungs) is the most common fatal primary blast injury among initial survivors.
- Secondary: injuries from projectiles such as bomb fragments and flying debris.
- Tertiary: injuries from the person being thrown by the blast wind.
- Quaternary: all other injuries from the blast, such as burns, crush injuries, asphyxia and toxic exposures.
These are medical categories, and treatment belongs to clinicians. They are useful here for one reason: a protective product is tested against a named threat, and each of these is a different threat.
What NIJ body armor is tested against
NIJ Standard 0101.07 sets minimum performance requirements and test methods for body armor used by U.S. law enforcement that is intended to protect the torso against handgun and rifle ammunition. Its levels, HG1 and HG2 for handguns and RF1, RF2 and RF3 for rifles, are defined by named test rounds in NIJ Standard 0123.00.
So a listing on the NIJ Compliant Products List (CPL) records how a model performed against those rounds. In our reading, it does not describe how the model performs against blast overpressure or against fragments, because neither is in the standard's stated scope. NIJ's own Body Armor User Guide says no body armor is bulletproof.
We found no NIJ or CDC source stating that ballistic body armor prevents primary blast injury (checked 29 September 2026).
How fragment protection is measured
Resistance to fragments can be reported as a V50. MIL-STD-662F, a U.S. military test method, measures the velocity at which a projectile has a 50 percent chance of penetrating the armor. It measures; it does not pass or fail anything on its own, and a procurement specification sets the number that counts.
For fragments, the projectile is a fragment-simulating projectile (FSP), a standardized shape fired in place of a real fragment. U.S. Army Research Laboratory reports, such as ARL-TR-8990 (July 2020), determine V50 limits of armor materials against FSPs. A V50 against a named FSP is a different number from an NIJ level, and one does not convert into the other.
Bomb suits have their own standard
NIJ Standard 0117.01, issued in April 2016, is a voluntary performance standard for bomb suits worn by certified public safety bomb technicians during render-safe procedures and bomb disposal. It replaced 0117.00, issued in March 2012 as NIJ's first bomb suit standard.
0117.01 addresses six areas: fragmentation, impact, flame, blast overpressure, optics and ergonomics. NIJ describes it as balancing protection against the technician's need for mobility, clear vision and dexterity. It is the NIJ standard that names blast overpressure as a hazard to test against, and it applies to bomb suits, not to patrol body armor.
What to check
- Which threat is the claim about: gunfire, fragments, or blast overpressure? Each has its own test.
- For ballistic armor, which exact model, which standard (0101.07 or 0101.06) and which level, and its CPL status on the date you read it.
- For a fragment claim, the V50 value, the FSP used, and the test method or specification it was measured under.
- For a bomb suit, whether the claim is made under NIJ Standard 0117.01, for which model, and on what record.
A rating answers the question its test asked. Match the claim to the threat, then find the record for that exact model and note the date you read it.
Sources
- CDC, Explosions and Blast Injuries: A Primer for Clinicians (read 2026-09-29)
- CDC, Blast Injuries: Essential Facts (read 2026-09-29)
- NIJ, Ballistic Resistance of Body Armor, NIJ Standard 0101.07 (read 2026-09-29)
- NIJ, Specification for NIJ Ballistic Protection Levels and Associated Test Threats, NIJ Standard 0123.00 (read 2026-09-25)
- NIJ, Body Armor User Guide (read 2026-09-29)
- MIL-STD-662F, V50 Ballistic Test for Armor (read 2026-09-25)
- U.S. Army Research Laboratory, ARL-TR-8990, Ballistic Evaluation of Magnesium Alloy WE43C (July 2020) (read 2026-09-29)
- NIJ, Public Safety Bomb Suit Standard, NIJ Standard 0117.01 (read 2026-09-29)
- NIJ, NIJ Issues a Revised Bomb Suit Equipment Standard (read 2026-09-29)