Abstract: Provided is a seamless soft body armor capable of withstanding penetration from both blunt missiles, e.g. bullets, and cutting implements, e.g. knives, which is relatively light-weight and flexible. To avoid seams, the body armor is formed from a plurality of layers of metallic material, each of which is formed from titanium foil, with a central portion of each layer rigidly attached to a central portion of an adjacent layer of metallic material with adhesive to form a rigid portion disposed between two flexible side regions. The flexible side regions are provided so that the body armor may conform to a shape of a human torso. The metallic layers are sandwiched between a pair of spaced apart fiber layers, with the periphery of the fiber layers attached to each other. The metal layers form two sections of the armor material: the base and the strike face. The outer edge of the base extends beyond the outer edge of the strike surface to reduce weight while affording greater resistance to penetration.

Abstract: A soft body armor material with enhanced puncture resistance is fabricated from knitted light weight, durable fibers, such as aramid fibers. The knitted portions are joined by interwoven portions providing an integrally formed hinge-like effect for flexibility. A deflection shield formed from a thin mesh of stainless steel or titanium wire or a sheet of light weight metal, such as titanium, with corrugations or dimples on the externally facing surface provides additional penetration resistance for sharp pointed objects. An inner resilient trauma shield and a removable moisture absorbing inner layer are also optionally included. Hollow fibers are employed in some of the layers to provide a ventilation or cooling capability, and fibers having an electrically resistive component can be employed in conjunction with a battery to provide resistance heating for warmth and moisture dissipation.