STANAG 2920
Definition
NATO Standardization Agreement 2920, defining the fragmentation injury threshold for ballistic protection standards. Relevant in blast forensic pathology for relating fragment mass and velocity (inferred from wound tracks) to injury severity and device design.
- Issuing body
- NATO, ratified by member nations
- Subject
- Fragmentation injury threshold for ballistic protection
- Application
- Relates fragment mass and velocity to injury severity
- Forensic use
- Blast pathology, device design inference from wound tracks
Common questions
How is STANAG 2920 used in a blast injury investigation?+
Fragment mass and residual velocity are estimated from wound tract depth, entry size, and recovered fragments, then compared against the injury thresholds the standard defines to help reconstruct fragment characteristics and, by extension, device construction.
Is STANAG 2920 a legal or a technical standard?+
It is a technical military standard developed for testing personal ballistic protection equipment, not a courtroom admissibility rule. Forensic pathologists use its injury-threshold data as a reference point, not as a binding legal criterion.
Related terms
- Blast Lung Injury
- Bilateral pulmonary contusion and alveolar tear from primary blast overpressure. The most lethal primary blast mechanism. Characterised at autopsy by bilateral 'butterfly'...
- Primary Blast Injury
- Injury caused directly by the overpressure (blast) wave. Preferentially affects gas-containing organs (lungs, tympanic membranes, bowel). Blast lung (alveolar haemorrhage, barotrauma) is...
- Quaternary Blast Injury
- All blast-related injury not in primary/secondary/tertiary classes: burns (flash fireball + secondary fire), crush (structural collapse), and inhalation injury (CO, HCN, particulate)....
- Secondary Blast Injury
- Penetrating injury from fragments: device casing metal, pre-formed projectiles (nails, bolts, BBs), or environmental debris accelerated by the blast wave. The most...
- Tertiary Blast Injury
- Blunt-force injury caused by physical displacement of the victim's body by the blast wind, followed by impact against surfaces. Morphologically identical to...
- Tympanic Membrane Perforation (TMP)
- Rupture of the eardrum by blast overpressure, occurring at 35-103 kPa, well below the threshold for blast lung injury. The most sensitive...