Ford is now offering improved armor protection for its Police Interceptor duo of law-enforcement vehicles.
The company claims to be the first automaker to offer Type IV hard armor on a pursuit-rated vehicle. The Department of Justice standard requires the armor to protect against armor-piercing .30-06 (.30 caliber, M2) ammunition.
Ford claims shootouts with criminals using high-powered rifles with armor-piercing rounds are becoming more common, though it is unclear if the statement is backed by statistics. Such scenarios are exceedingly rare but, in any case, there appears to be demand for higher levels of protection.
“Officers globally told us they needed protection from armor piercing ammunition and we added increased ballistic protection to an already great product – that’s continuous innovation,” said Ford Police Interceptor Arie Groeneveld chief engineer.
Buyers can still choose lesser Type III ballistic panels, resistant to penetration from all handgun bullets and non-armor piercing rifle founds up to 7.62x51mm NATO M80 ball ammunition.
The Type IV armor is available for both the Explorer-based Interceptor Utility and the Taurus-based Interceptor Sedan.
Leave a Reply