Equipment attachment rings for the Tactical Assault Panel (TAP), which has replaced the older Fighting Load Carrier vest (FLC), have been in all IOTV models since the Gen II, which was introduced in the early 2010s.

Army soldiers found that women's movement was restricted, in ways such as bending over, getting in and out of tight spaces, or positioning their rifles against their shoulders.

After much testing and measurements, the Army came up with a vest that is shorter to accommodate smaller torsos and has tailoring to fit closer to women's chests.

The new vest eliminates gaps between the material and the body and can be fitted with smaller side ballistic inserts for small waist sizes.

Typically this is accomplished through both highly durable woven synthetic fibers such as Kevlar or Dyneema, and either metal or ceramic ballistic plates.

The IOTV is designed to take the weight of the vest off the shoulders and move it to the lower torso, and made to permit maximum freedom of movement.

The vest can withstand a direct impact from a 7.62 millimeter (both NATO and ex-Soviet types) on the front or rear if using the older SAPI plates (NIJ standard III).

The soft kevlar panels have been tested to stop 9 mm 124 grain full metal jacket bullets at 1,400 ft/s (426 m/s) with minimal deformation and has a V-50 of roughly 1,525 ft/s (465 m/s).

A US Army medical research report concluded that greater modular design leads to the ability to find a more effective balance between projectile protection and the physical endurance of the soldier, preventing losses in agility and mobility, and therefore reducing potential injuries or casualties.

Backing the plate is a layer of Spectra, a woven polymer material with extremely high tensile strength meant to stop any projectile that manages to pass through the ceramic strikeface.

[12] When a bullet strikes the E-SAPI plate, the kinetic energy is dispersed throughout the ceramic layer, and the majority of military rounds in common use are stopped or broken up.

[19] In the text "7.62mm AP/WC Protection" displayed on the back of the plate, "WC" is the chemical formula for tungsten carbide, the penetrator material of the M993 projectile.

In response to this, the U.S. Army is looking into supplementing the heavy IOTV with the newer Modular Body Armor Vest (MBAV) and Soldier Plate Carrier System (SPCS) already in service in Ranger and Airborne units.

[21] The Army plans to introduce the torso and extremity protection (TEP) system beginning in 2018, which includes a modular scalable vest, ballistic combat shirt, blast pelvic protection system, and battle belt to reduce overall weight from 26 to 21 lb (11.8 to 9.5 kg) while maintaining coverage by reducing excess bulk.