Protection from the 'Perceived Threat'

ARMORING A VEHICLE TO MEET PERCEIVED THREATS

The 'perceived threat' which must be met by individuals, security agencies, heads of state or any other user of armored vehicles is generally developed from the knowledge or awareness of the source of the threat - either a subversive organization, political or corporate elements or some other personally motivated origins. Each type of threat will require addressing the means employed in carrying out that threat and is generally centered around the type of weapon which has the greatest probability of being utilized in carrying this out. The region of the world has also developed a general stereotype in weaponry, however, this may not always be the case.

The armored vehicle or armored car, sport utility or money transport needs to be upfitted accordingly. It must also be recognized that if one armors a vehicle to resist 9mm, that if it is impacted by an AK-47, penetration will occur. It is therefore very much the responsibility of the user of the armored vehicle to communicate to the armored vehicle upfitter what these requirements should be. Worldwide Armor Services will assist the client in making the correct armored vehicle determination based upon these requirements. The exchange of information must be very comprehensive since any mistake from either party could have life or death implications.

Responsible installers of armor in vehicles will provide materials which have been properly certified by such recognized agencies as Underwriter's Laboratories, National Institute of Justice, SECOFI (Mexico), or other international standards testing agencies. The requirements put forth by the purchaser of the armored vehicle should be based upon the ballistic standards set forth by these agencies and thus are determined the levels of armoring., The materials used in the armoring process are duly certified by the agencies at some considerably expense, based upon ballistic testing performed on these materials which are under strict testing procedures and guidelines, and duly certified to meet or exceed the particular levels for armor, so established. Worldwide Armor Services provides armoring installed by IAC which uses only certified materials.

Most reputable armoring services providers will also have general liability insurance which provides products hazard insurance in the event of failure of the armor systems. It must be pointed out that to meet the underwriting requirements of most insurance companies these materials must be certified and installed under very strict quality assurance guidelines. Worldwide Armor Services and IAC meet or exceed these guidelines when an armored vehicle is built.