U.S. body armor plates being replaced

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. military said it would issue replacement body armor plates to troops in the field after the manufacturer issued a recall.

Thousands of armor plates used in body armor issued to U.S. Special Operations personnel were recalled after defects were detected in about 5 percent of them, Special Operations Command told ABCNews.com.

The defects were found in the Generation III armor plates manufactured by California's Ceradyne, Inc. Ceradyne has been replacing the plates with the Generation II model.

The plates are inserted into standard bullet proof vests as an added measure of protection. Special Operations Command said there had been no casualties linked to Generation III plates.