They live!
Recent developments associated with the latest NIJ rating (NIJ 07RF2 - formerly III+) bring new considerations to the discussion.
III+ formerly had a bunch of wiggle room in the rating (as I understand it) but the NIJ 07 ratings require stopping 3 hits per plate.
RMA says it's stepped up and their III+/RF2 rated plates will stop M855A1 at 30 yards.
Hesco doesn't show any mention of the '07 standards yet.
Hesco 3600 series III+ plates weigh in at #4.9 and RMA's at a whopping #6.4.
Hesco also carries a price tag of 2x -ish of the RMA plates.
EDIT: From RMA website:
"What is RF2?
The upcoming standard set forth from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) will implement a new ballistic rating system for hard and soft armor. When the new standards for armor are officially released, RF1 (Level III), RF2 (Level III+) and RF3 (Level IV) will be the hard armor names to replace the current ratings of Level III, Level IV, etc. (Level III+ was never an official compliance standard, previously).
But the differences in the ratings go far beyond the nomenclature. Under the current level III standard, a plate must defeat 6 rounds of M80 Steel while also boasting a back face deformation of less than 44mm. Because of that, many companies would rate their armor plates as Level III+ simply because it defeated what they personally deemed was a more threatening round than a M80 NATO Steel projectile. Many companies would say their plate could defeat a single round of m193, 7.62×39 msc or m855 and boast that their plate was a Level III+ or Level III++ despite the fact that their plates haven’t even been tested to defeat six (6) M80 NATO projectiles – the level III requirement.
However, under the new standard, RF1 plates (previously Level III) must now defeat three (3) M80 NATO Steel rounds, three (3) 7.62 x 39 msc AND three (3) m193 BT to earn its rating. If a plate cannot defeat those rounds while also boasting a BFD of less than 44mm, they will not even be considered for the RF2 rating (previously Level III+). So you MUST pass RF1 to have a chance to become an RF2 plate. Once the plate passes the RF1 testing, more plates must be submitted for further testing, which will also include defeating three (3) rounds of m855 as well.
At RMA, we have created this next generation plate that has not only passed RF1 and RF2 testing, but additionally defeats the m855a1 round. Here is the official RF1 and RF2 testing report for this plate. Going forward, a company will have to prove that they can defeat all of those rounds. And RMA is the first company to do so."
I wonder what conformance to the '07 standards will do to the weight and cost of the Hesco plates.