A ballistic body armor damage sensing system having a body armor ballistic plate including at least one ballistic layer and at least one damage sensing layer coupled to the at least one ballistic layer and including a plurality of electrically conductive members which are positioned throughout said damage sensing layer, wherein when a fired projectile impacts the body armor ballistic plate and damages one or more of the electrically conductive members, the damaged electrically conductive members exhibit a measurable change in electrical resistance.