The US body-armour standard has moved. NIJ Standard 0101.07 — the replacement for 2008's 0101.06 — is now in force with its initial Compliant Products List published, so you can specify armour actually certified to it rather than to the outgoing standard (NIJ).
Three things matter for anyone buying or wearing armour on the job.
The naming has changed to plain descriptors. Handgun protection is now HG1 (old Level II) and HG2 (old IIIA); rifle protection is RF1 (old Level III) and RF3 (old Level IV). Between them sits a genuinely new level, RF2 — an intermediate rifle class covering everything RF1 does plus an additional threat (NIJ). For close protection, RF2 is the interesting one: a middle option to weigh against the weight-and-concealment cost of stepping all the way up to hard rifle plates.
The threat definitions have moved out of the armour standard into a companion, NIJ Standard 0123.00, which sets the projectiles and velocities — so the level you quote and the threat behind it now live in two linked documents (NIJ).
And the standard adds improved test methods for armour designed for women, which matters for fit and coverage on mixed-gender details (NIJ).
The buyer's caution: 0101.07 is not a reason to scrap serviceable kit. NIJ will maintain the 0101.06 Compliant Products List through at least the end of 2029, and its own guidance is to keep wearing the armour you have during the transition (NIJ). Anyone pitching 0101.07 as an urgent reason to re-buy the fleet is selling, not advising. Specify new purchases to 0101.07, understand where RF2 fits, and retire existing armour on its normal service life.
