Combat armor

Combat armor is a general term for any suit of personal body armor employed before the Great War by the United States Armed Forces.

Background
A diverse family of personal body armor with varying degrees of sophistication, providing balanced protection against both energy and ballistic damage. A wide variety of such armor can be found throughout the wastelands, ranging from the early iterations developed by the United States Army to the cutting-edge riot gear that came into use prior to the Great War.

Pre-War
The United States Armed Forces were the principal operator of the entire family of combat armors before the Great War, although some were provided to law enforcement agencies. It was not available to civilians without a special permit provided by the BADTFL.
 * United States Army: The main operator of the entire family of combat armor: starting with the US Army combat armor and its specialized variants, the winterized combat armor and winterized medic armor, through the standard combat armor, to the most advanced suits such as the advanced combat armor, combat armor Mk II, riot gear, advanced riot gear, and elite riot gear.
 * US Marines: Honest Hearts Desert Ranger armor.
 * Canada: At least one Canadian used the advanced combat armor for personal protection, before his capture and execution on national television. The source of the suit is not known.
 * Charleston Police Department: Utilized various forms of riot gear during the automation riots, including advanced and elite armor variants.

Post-War

 * Brotherhood of Steel: The largest operator of combat armors, principally the Army, standard, and advanced combat armor. Basic combat armor was usually used with the standard woodland camouflage, while standard armor was deployed with a custom, copper-colored finish providing additional resistance to radiation. The most advanced armor of this family was the Brotherhood armor, an upgraded variant of the basic version. Manufactured by Brotherhood knights, it looks like normal combat Armor, but is made of substantially improved materials and is designed better.
 * Enclave used advanced combat armor as standard equipment for its light infantry stationed on the mainland.
 * Vault City provided suits of advanced combat armor to its patrols operating away from the City itself.
 * New California Republic Rangers used advanced combat armor in 2241, but by 2281, after being folded into the NCR military command, switched to hand-made combat armor pattern suits, with LAPD riot gears provided to its veteran members.
 * Rivet City's security guard all used Army combat armor painted black with riot helmets as its security uniform in 2277.
 * The wealthy merchant houses of the Hub provided full suits of advanced combat armor to the Hub police in 2161.
 * Some wealthy merchants would continue the practices of providing their security detail with combat armor, such as Duppo in 2242, with advanced combat armor, or Allistair Tenpenny in 2277, who provided his security with security uniforms in characteristic beige. Van Graffs also wore black combat armor for brand recognition.
 * The Gun Runners provided combat armor for all of its security between 2161 and 2281.
 * Various mercenary units and other groups throughout the centuries made use of combat armor of all types. Notable examples include Bishop's mercenaries, Darion's elite New Khans, and the Hubologists of 2241, Talon Company and Reilly's Rangers of 2277, as well as Gunners of 2287. Individuals would also be able to purchase an intact suit with increasing ease, due to the increased availability of suits on the market (although prices are typically high).

Combat armor


Even with the widespread deployment of standard combat armor, work continued on more advanced suits of combat armor. The largest and most successful model was a high-tech armor using advanced defensive polymers to provide a high degree of protection. The advanced model represented a new approach to design, doing away with the modular construction of its predecessors, and was hailed as an advanced personal armor for the 22nd-century police officer or soldier. Highly effective against most types of damage and lightweight. Unlike older models, materials used in the advanced combat armor also provided limited protection from radiation by default. Some variants incorporated forms of camouflage.
 * New California

The basic component of this advanced armor is a long-sleeve jumpsuit, incorporating thermal dissipators and general-purpose dissipative membranes. It is worn underneath the actual combat armor, manufactured from polymer impact plates providing concussive protection and incorporating additional dissipation cells and membranes. The Brotherhood of Steel also fashioned its own variant, recognizable due to polished rivets incorporated into its pauldrons and blue trim on the edges.

An early type of combat armor developed by the United States Army, the combat armor consisted of individual armored plates attached to standard load-carrying equipment of the infantryman. The individual components included a combat helmet issued with matching goggles in hazardous environs, front and back ballistic plates, and a pair of axillary protectors. Additional forearm protectors were issued to frontline troops. The lower body was protected by a pair of thigh plates, worn together with a groin and kidney protector. The shins, knees, and feet were covered by frontal plates worn over standard combat boots.
 * Capital/Mojave Wastelands

The armor was typically worn in conjunction with standard Army fatigues, as seen in the Commonwealth, or specialized uniforms. It was manufactured in various solid color camouflage patterns including arctic white, coyote brown, and olive drab. Rank indicators were typically painted about the shoulders, with the Army insignia and identification numbers printed on the back plate. 

The success of the Army combat armor paved the way for superior models such as a standard-issue variant combat armor issued to military units nationwide. The new combat armor was manufactured in three different variants, for wearing with the standard armed services uniform: Light, medium (sturdy), and heavy. The modular suit of armor was manufactured from alloys that offer balanced protection from conventional firearms and energy weapons and provide load-bearing functionality in combat.
 * Boston

The armor was at times provided to servicemembers relegated to domestic and garrison duties.
 * Appalachia

Combat armor, reinforced


Advanced combat armor was manufactured alongside standard combat armor, providing additional variants. The combat armor mark II is a heavier set designed for use by shock troops and Special Forces, incorporating additional armor plating and increasing its protective qualities.

Marine armor


An advanced model of combat armor designed for marines, the marine armor serves to completely protect users, levels above even that of the heavy combat armor. Outclassed only by Power Armor, every piece of was designed to provide exceptional protection in nearly every battlefield scenario. 

Riot gear

 * Gameplay articles: NCR Ranger combat armor, Desert Ranger combat armor, Riot gear, Advanced riot gear, Elite riot gear, Ranger armor outfit, Advanced ranger armor outfit, Elite ranger armor outfit

Another advanced design fielded before the Great War, riot gear was a specialized model of combat armor used by the US Marines, Army units in the American West, and select law enforcement agencies, such as the Los Angeles Police Department.

The helmet is a rounded shell that protects the head from incoming gunfire, while the lamps on the right side of the helmet. The armored mask designed to be worn with the helmet is necessary to use the IR lamp, due to the low-light optics integrated into the lenses. Some upgraded models also include communications gear and upgraded filtering apparatus. 

Gallery

 * Concept art