Ranger Body Armor Ranger Body Armor ( RBA ) is a U . S . military - issue ballistic vest that was designed for , and used chiefly by , Soldiers of the United States Army 75th Ranger Regiment ( “ Rangers ” ) in the 1990s and 2000s . The RBA system has since been replaced by other specialized body armor systems adopted by the United States Special Operations Command ( USSOCOM ) . RBA was first manufactured by Protective Materials Company , then HS Manufacturing , and then Ceradyne . At least two major variations of RBA were produced . The first variant used only a front rigid ballistic armor plate and an unmodified nylon fabric carrier . The second variant used both a front and a back ballistic armor plate , added a small storage pocket to the front ballistic plate storage pocket , and featured nylon equipment retention straps on each shoulder . Early versions of RBA ( the first variant , which featured only the front ballistic armor plate and no rear armor plate ) first saw active frontline service in 1993 , being used in combat in Operation Gothic Serpent ( 22 August 1993 to 13 October 1993 ) , when Rangers of Task Force Ranger first arrived in Mogadishu , Somalia . There , it was used by the Rangers of C Company and Command and Control , 3rd Battalion , 75th Ranger Regiment . As the early RBA used only a front ballistic plate , it offered only frontal protection from small arms ( rifle ) fire . This limited protection resulted in serious injury and / or death for some of the Rangers in Somalia , such as SGT James Joyce , who was killed due to receiving a gunshot wound to his back . During the 1990s , RBA was used by Rangers in the Balkans and in Haiti . In 1996 , around 350 vests were sent to Soldiers deployed in the former Yugoslavia . RBA was worn by some U . S . Army Soldiers who served in Kosovo , including Soldiers from C Company , 1 - 187th Infantry , 101st Airborne Division ; 3 - 504th PIR , 82nd Airborne Division ; and A Company , 1 - 26th Infantry , 1st Infantry Division . In 1998 , 1st Squadron , 1st Cavalry Regiment ( 1 - 1 CAV ) , 1st Armored Division ' s Soldiers were equipped with RBA during SFOR ’ s Operation Joint Guard and Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia and Herzegovina . Due to the heavy weight , RBA vests were always kept in the back compartment of vehicles and Soldiers always used PASGT vests during their peacekeeping duty . More recently , some Soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade used RBA protection during Operation Northern Delay ( 26 March 2003 ) in Kurdistan . About 1 , 000 parachutists from the 173rd AB Bde jumped into the Kurdish - controlled area in northern Iraq to open a northern front for U . S . forces after the refusal by Turkey . Ranger Body Armor ( RBA ) was designed by the United States Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick , Massachusetts to meet the operational needs of the 75th Ranger Regiment . RBA consists of two main components : flexible soft armor vest panels , and , one or two rigid ceramic plates , both of which provide some ballistic protection to the upper torso . The flexible soft armor vest panels consist of an aramid ( Kevlar KM2 ) filler encased in a nylon M81 Woodland camouflage - printed carrier . The vest weighs approximately 8 pounds in size medium , and provides ballistic protection to Threat Level IIIA according to the NIJ Body Armor Classification . It also provides fragmentation protection similar to that of the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops ( PASGT ) vest . The 8 pound Ceramic Upgrade Plates are fabricated of 2 " x 2 " aluminium oxide ceramic tiles . When the upgrade plates are inserted into the pockets of the vest , it protects an approximate 10 " x 12 " area from 5 . 56×45mm NATO and 7 . 62×51mm NATO full metal jacket rounds . When using the two standard aluminium oxide ceramic plates , a RBA vest weighs 11 . 4 kg ( 25 . 1 lbs ) . Fielding . RBA was type classification ( TC ) limited procurement - urgent ( LPU ) . RBA is available for purchase through General Services Administration ( GSA ) contract GS - 07F - 6041A , Protective Materials , Inc . The flexible soft armor vest is available in three sizes : medium , large , and extra - large . The negotiated cost through the GSA contract for a size medium vest and plate set is $ 738 .