Interceptor multi-threat body armor system

Interceptor multi-threat body armor system
The IBA in its various color schemes and camouflage patterns, from left to right, in "M81" U.S. woodland camouflage, coyote tan, desert camouflage, the Universal Camouflage Pattern, and Afghan police grey. These IBA vests are not equipped with the optional deltoid and side panel protectors.
Type	Body armor
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	2000–2020
Used by	United States Navy U.S. Army Reserve U.S. Army (historical) U.S. Marine Corps (historical) U.S. Air Force (historical) See Users for other foreign military/law enforcement users
Wars	Global War on Terrorism War in Afghanistan Iraq War Russo-Ukrainian War[1] Second Chechen War Russo-Georgian War War in Yemen
Production history
Designer	DARPA
Designed	April 1998
Manufacturer	Point Blank Body Armor (inaugural manufacturer), UNICOR (current manufacturer, since 2008)
Produced	July 1998 – April 2020
Specifications
Weight	16.4 lb (7.4 kg) (with SAPI plates used; everything in Interceptor)[2] 8.4 lb (3.8 kg) (outer tactical vest)[2]

The Interceptor multi-threat body armor system (IBA) is a bullet-resistant body armor system that was used by the United States Armed Forces during the 2000s, with some limited usage into the mid-2010s. IBA and its design replaced the older standardized fragmentation protective Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT) body armor system that was designed in the late 1970s and introduced in the early 1980s.

The IBA system consists of its core component: the outer tactical vest (OTV), which can optionally be worn with a throat protector, groin protector, and biceps (or deltoid) protector. The latter three auxiliary protectors are removable from the main vest, which can be worn alone.

IBA was designed in the late 1990s as a replacement for the PASGT vest and the essentially-improvised ISAPO supplemental armor plate carrier, a combination widely criticized by US troops for its immense weight. It comes in a variety of color schemes and camouflage patterns depending on who the vest was produced for. It was used by most of the U.S. military's branches during much of the 2000s, and was even seeing limited use as late as 2015 among some National Guard units.

Beginning in 2007 the Improved Outer Tactical Vest began to replace the OTVs in the United States Army's service and since then it has been mostly replaced in its inventory, with the exception of a few OTVs still in service with the Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve; however, both the OTV and the newer IOTV are being replaced by the Modular Scalable Vest.^[3] The U.S. Marine Corps has replaced the OTV with the Modular Tactical Vest (MTV) and Scalable Plate Carrier (SPC), although IBA is still used by the U.S. Navy for sailors aboard its warships as of 2017 and by the U.S. Army Reserve as of 2018. Though IBA has been mostly replaced in U.S. military service, it is still used by the militaries of some other countries that have diplomatic relations with the U.S., such as Ukraine, Iraq, and Moldova. As such, the OTV, which has been in production since the late 1990s, is scheduled to be produced by the U.S. until 2020, for sale to foreign customers.