Ballistic shields today are not what they used to be decades ago. In fact, many of the early ballistic designs have undergone some important modifications to offer better performance in specific applications. Due to the peculiarity of its use, it is very essential for ballistic shields to be able to remain carriable, useable, and reliable when it comes to offering ultimate ballistic protection for soldiers and law enforcement.
Ballistic shields have developed in terms of size, design, shape, weight, and protection. A key example is the introduction of viewing ports. Unlike riot shields, which are usually clear, ballistic shields traditionally have a black exterior built in a rectangular shape. Its thick material makes it hard for the bearer to look at incoming danger. Owing to their size and design, bearers might have to look out and expose themselves before they can have a look out. To remedy this, most manufacturers began to introduce a viewing port into large ballistic shields.
Today, ballistic shields are available in a variety of sizes and shapes to best protect against specific threats. Although these factors largely depend on the manufacturer, shields can come in a variety of sizes. Some ballistic shields are as small as 16 x 20 inches (41 x 53 cm) for use when there is additional ballistic protection nearby such as trees or walls. These are designed to protect the torso, the vital organs, face, and neck while being easy and fast to deploy. They make a lot of sense for patrol officers to have in their car for establishing and maintaining perimeters or entering questionable scenes.
There are also some significantly larger options with their sizes at 24 x 48 inches (61 x 122 cm) to offer full body protection. The most common shield sizes tend to be between 20 x 30 inches (51 x 76 cm) and 24 x 36 inches (61 x 91 cm). These offer a combination of protection and mobility.
Finally, there are large Level IV rolling shield systems that bring maximum ballistic protection. These provide overhead protection and can protect multiple officers at the same time. The tradeoff here is increased protection for increased weight along with decreased mobility and speed.
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