In Washington, D.C., the government corporation “Federal Prison Industries” was given a contract worth over $110 million to manufacture tactical vests and interceptor body armor for the United States Army.
The contract was announced by the Department of Defense on Friday. The locations of the manufacturing work and the financing behind it will all be figured out for every individual order. September 2023 is the estimated date of completion.
Federal Prison Industries has a few other names; FPI and UNICOR. In 1934, the Federal Bureau of Prisons started this correctional work program which is regulated by the Department of Justice.
Over the years, Federal Prison Industries has created numerous tactical items at the request of the Department of Defense. They have also created other items, such as outerwear, underwear, shelving, bins, cabinets, body armor, and lockers.
The Federal government has set sourcing regulations in which the Federal Prisons Industries must follow. However, based on contractual demands, items may be obtained competitively. Currently, there are roughly 18,000 prisoners that are taking part in this program.
Civilian products are manufactured through this program too. These products include radio systems, circuit boards, hangers, and more. No money is allocated toward this program, causing it to occasionally function while losing money.
Kevlar is the main ballistic fabric used for the armor panels inside the interceptor body armor. This interceptor is a tactical vest that also has the option for hard armor ceramic plates. These give the wearer rifle round protection. That is why corrections officers, soldiers and police officers are normally issued interceptor body armor.
There are different varieties of this body armor model. Some models will actually protect the wearer against machine gun and rifles rounds. Others against handgun rounds, shrapnel and knife attacks. There are all sorts of models in which the Federal Prison Industries makes for the federal government.
