>>64103402
Sorry to hear that. Unfortunately armor only covers so much. For a historical anecdote, the IDF and some Euro counterterrorist units use massive 15x16" plates for this exact kind of situation. One, a LIBA ceramic-pellet-array plate, successfully stopped fifteen hits of 7.62x39mm in 2002. The IDF soldier wearing it suffered no injuries. Obviously this was an edge case. If you're getting hosed this badly rounds will likely still be hitting outside the plate's coverage. It's a constant, very situational, battle between weight / bulk / heat and coverage.
For what it's worth, newer "VTP" ESAPI / XSAPI plates compromise coverage further by switching to a swimmer cut in order to save weight / reduce bulk.
>>64103476
>at least showcased why IVs are viable
They technically weren't IVs. His plates of choice were either Ceradyne 93765s, rated to defeat 7.62x51mm M61 AP twice (GEN-2 SPEAR), Ceradyne 83608s, the GEN-2 Tac. Standalone rated to defeat .30-06 M2AP twice - which is like a IV but the shot spacing is extra wide at 4", or much more likely Ceradyne MH3 CQBs, which are specialty III++ plates rated to defeat 6x BZ API, 12x 5.56 M995, 6x 7.62x51mm M80, or at least 1-2 .30-06 M2AP (4" spacing on M2AP).
I'm being very technical, but the only reason why the 83608 or MH3 CQB aren't IVs are because if you say the "Level IV" plate can stop multiple .30-06 M2AP, NIJ sections 7.6.2 and 7.8.5 simultaneously trigger and shot spacing needs to be 2", not 4" - so the plates are slightly weaker than a good multi-hit Level IV.
Since Mike Day was engaged with sub-IV threats, if you rerun his situation you'd be better served by a strong III+ like the LTC 19513 since IIIs by default have superior multi-hit to IVs.
SOCOM has since decided .30-06 M2AP is excessive for most cases and doesn't proxy well for sandbox threats, so the latest overt tac. standalone plates are 7.62x54R B-32 API 1x or 2x 7.62x39 BZ API. Extreme multi-hit plates like the MH3 CQB are an early-2000s curiosity.
