Researchers say they’ve created new lightweight, yet efficient ballistic armour for police officers. The armour weighs just two kilograms, but it can protect against a direct shot from an assault rifle.

The vest, called ‘Ricochet’, solves the problem shared by all body armour designs that use ceramic or metal plates for protection. Regular plating can be pierced relatively easy if a bullet hits it at an angle close to 90 degrees. The new jacket uses a large number of small balls made from a special alloy. An incoming bullet is almost guaranteed to ricochet from them, helping the armour absorb its energy or deflect it completely, reports Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper.

The jacket can stop a close range shot from a Kalashnikov assault rifle or a Dragunov sniper rifle, says chief designer, Colonel Andrey Kochubei from a police academy in the city of Volgograd in Russia’s south.

Thanks to the novel design the ‘Ricochet’ vest is very light. It weights just two kilograms as opposed to the standard issue for the Russian police, which weights ten kilograms.

The design is now undergoing laboratory tests. Its biggest drawback, according to the police, is its cost. The vest is estimated to have a price tag of $US 5,000.