Point Blank Enterprises announced today that the New York Police Department’s Emergency Service Unit (ESU), after roughly two years of evaluating and testing body armor systems from various manufacturers, awarded Point Blank Enterprises a multi-year contract to outfit all ESU officers with the company's Alpha Elite body armor system.

The NYPD ESU provides specialized support and advanced equipment to other NYPD units and also functions as a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit and NYPD hostage negotiation and rescue team. The largest SWAT unit in the United States, ESU was looking for a ballistic system that was lightweight and flexible, providing optimum coverage without sacrificing mobility and comfort. The Alpha Elite AXIIIA package was chosen based on these criteria and the  company has begun shipments and measurements for the more than 500 officers who serve in the elite tactical unit.

“This is a major win for Point Blank and it truly is our honor to be associated with one of the most prestigious and effective tactical agencies in the world,” stated Michael Foreman, Point Blank’s executive vice president of international business development, federal sales and marketing. “We have been working with the NYPD for years, supplying a variety of concealable and tactical ballistic systems and have been collaborating with ESU specifically for the past two years, going through stringent testing and evaluation to ensure they had the best and safest system in the world. Introduced less than one year ago, over 40 different law enforcement tactical units now wear Alpha Elite; the demand for this system has been extraordinary. We look forward to working with the NYPD ESU and their agency counterparts and continuing to protect those who protect our freedoms and lives each and every day.”

The Alpha Elite system is the first and most advanced body armor ever to be designed around the revolutionary Dyneema Force Multiplier Technology by DSM. The AXIIIA ballistic package, chosen by the NYPD ESU, has exceeded all performance requirements, including tests for maximum velocity approaching or exceeding 2,000 fps. Made possible through the fusion of polymer science, fiber technology and uni-directional engineering, key features include:

• NIJ Standard 0101.06 compliance in IIIA configurations 

• Lightest NIJ .06 Level IIIA product (nearly 25 percent lighter than the average of the best models in the industry)

• Thinnest NIJ .06 Level IIIA product (over 30 percent thinner than the average of the best Level IIIA packages in the industry)

• Multi-hit and special-threat performance exceeding FBI protocol

• Extremely high effectiveness against fragmentation

• Extraordinarily efficient absorption of impact energy

According to the NYPD ESU, the Alpha Elite package was selected after two years of testing and assessing various body armor systems, due to the performance and safety features of the ballistics, along with a customized carrier that meets the NYPD’s requirements for mobility, flexibility and coverage. The added benefits of special-threat protection and weight reduction also played into the agency’s decision.