Credit to Skyler Martin for her article which interviewed Ben Shephard (Bulletproof Consulting Director)
On February 24, Armored Republic, a Phoenix, Arizona body armor manufacturer company, made its first international trade show debut at Enforce Tac in Nuremberg, Germany. At the show, the company showcased its innovative steel plates made with FragLock™ technology, a trailblazer in the body armor world.
Founded in 2012 by Christian pastor David Reece, with a mission statement to “Honor Christ by Equipping Free Men,” the pro-liberty company markets itself as aligning with pro-Trump, conservative values. By providing products to law-abiding citizens, as well as law enforcement and military personnel, the company is able to “protect the free men of the world against the enemies of Christ as well as the enemies of the state,” says Ben Shepherd, International Sales associate for Armored Republic. The company is able to provide for law enforcement with their in-house manufacturing process in Phoenix, Arizona, where they produce everything from steel shields to polyethylene vests.
At Enforce Tac, the company’s booth held ground in the American section, displaying vests next to the steel plates that Armored Republic is known for, such as the ECHO shield, which is made with polyethylene.
I think we’re quite unique in the body armor world, in that we do everything from steel, soft armor, ceramic, and polyethylene vests,
says Shepherd. As Armored Republic has grown, it has established itself as a force of innovation in the body armor world, with its ballistic steel core body armor taking center stage.
Complete with the pioneered FragLock™ technology that captures fragmentation when hit, the steel plates have become one, if not the most effective and economic option for multi-hit stopping power. The thinness and durability- these steel plates have a shelf life of about 20 years- have led to Armored Republic selling millions of plates into the US market. “There are companies around the world that do steel,” says Shepherd, “but we are by far and away the largest, and we’ve got the heritage there that has allowed us to develop the coatings but also work with the best suppliers of steel.” Armored Republic worked for 12 years to complete the FragLock™ design, which uses French steel and industry-leading fragmentation mitigation coatings, increasing the limits of what’s possible with ballistic steel.
Although Armored Republic creates products out of soft armor, polyethylene and ceramic, steel is what they are most famous for. Their particular unique blend of steel means they can reduce the weight and increase the quality of the shields and plates. According to Shepherd, in the body armor industry, steel has a bad reputation because of fragmentation concerns. “It’s an urban myth that steel is bad for you. The fact is, you can get fragmentation and spalling from ceramic as well.” Steel, he says, is a more cost effective solution, with a 20 year shelf life, survival in any climatic conditions, and edge-to-edge protection. Unlike ceramic or polyethylene, the stopping power is extended to right around the edge of the plate.
This means that for protection, people can wear a smaller plate and still have the same coverage as from a larger plate. As an ex-British Infantry soldier himself, Shepherd has tested out these plates, and says that steel is more reliable. “With a ceramic plate, all it takes is a bad drop and you’re compromised. Then you either need to swap out your plate, or you are combat ineffective. We believe that steel offers a really good cost effective solution and this space.”
The new steel plates are also multi-hit to the max. Even after 20 to 30 rounds in a steel plate, there’s still no back face deformation and it will keep protecting you. “The great thing is if you do take a round to the plate, you can still get back into the fight reliably knowing that you’re going to be protected should anything else happen. And that for a soldier is important.”
As Armored Republic continues to grow and innovate, so does their reception. Although they have been growing steadily since starting out 20 years ago, the company has been focused mostly on the domestic US market, of which they’re the largest direct consumer supplier of body armor in the world. At this first international trade show, they hoped to make connections with more companies in the defense industry space.
Armored Republic has many plans for 2025, but the biggest one is the expansion of their European market. Since the beginning, Armored Republic has been using European materials for their plates, like ceramic from Italy and steel from France and Sweden. This year they have begun manufacturing in Europe, using materials from Europe, to be able to provide to customers other than just the free men of the United States. “With the tariffs that are in place now, with the Trump administration, it makes sense for us to manufacture in a different country other than the US as well as our US production,” says Shepherd. Armored Republic’s manufacturing team in the US is able to turn out over 15,000 plates a day, and as needs for armor increase the company’s reach, they are now catering towards the European market to prevent tariffs reaching their customers.
“We’re still young in this space but we’ve got big plans as far as the European market goes,” says Shepherd. Armored Republic’s US-made products sell well in Africa, the Middle East, South America and Asian markets, where tariffs aren’t as restrictive. At the moment, Taiwan and the Philippines are the biggest markets for the company, and they plan to support dealers at trade shows in South America, the Middle East and Asia over the next coming six to twelve months.
With their growth increasing and more trade shows on the horizon for this year, Armored Republic will continue to make a name for themselves in the body armor world. A lot of their plates have seen action with law enforcement units, and the company regularly gets feedback saying ‘your plates have saved my life, I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for your plates.’ 12 years later, Armored Republic is making true on its promise to protect the Free Men of the world.