Lightweight and high-tech protective materials. Part of 1

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Lightweight and high-tech protective materials. Part of 1


The sphere of protective materials is immense and rapidly developing. New materials are expanding the technological basis for the protection of personnel and weapons platforms. At the same time, business forms are changing, which are moving away from exclusive suppliers and other traditional schemes common to such industries as defense and security.



The industry is trying to respond quickly to the expanding needs of military customers not only with the aim of “lightening the load”, but also developing the equally important characteristics of new protective materials and armor protection systems.


RUAG protection kits are installed on a wide variety of machines, from light cars 4x4 to MBT, for example, like this LEOPARD 2. Digital tank LEOPARD 2A4 has enhanced protection of the roof, sides, not to mention the mine protection

In confirmation, one can cite the words of Marco Manica, head of DSM Dyneema’s protection business, who said in an interview: “We produce the most durable man-made fiber, and this is DYNEEMA fiber”.

An industry expert has classified DSM's protection solutions as a “new wave or ballistic protection generation”. The company's offerings, which he called "uncompromising technological tops," combine lightweight materials and superior performance, provide comfort along with other quality features, and provide customers with "everything they need to perform critical tasks."

Manik highlighted the laminated composite material HB based on DYNEEMA fibers as one example of a technological breakthrough in the field of ballistic protection systems. Indeed, “DYNEEMA HB fiber is not only 15 times stronger than steel, but has a number of properties that are in great demand, to which we pay the closest attention,” he stressed, but to the question what customers first of all want in this area, he answered that "they want to have all the lighter options for their equipment."

Cheryl Ingstad, head of prospective ceramics at ZM, agrees with him: “We see a great demand in the USA and other countries for light protection systems and it is here that our efforts are concentrated today. We strive to thoroughly reconcile every aspect of our work - from proprietary technology and research activities to the coherence of our staff and the refinement of production processes - to provide lightweight systems that reduce the burden on the military, but at the same time provide the required level of protection. "

As a representative of Ceradyne (part of the company ZM), Ingstad reported that to date, the US armed forces have supplied more than two million liners for body armor and more than 100000 enhanced enhanced combat helmet.

Despite its relatively small mass, the UST "provides a higher level of anti-bullet and splinter protection than any other combat helmet in stories- said Ingstad. “Compared to other helmets of the same weight, the UST increases the level of anti-bullet and anti-splinter protection by more than 35%.”

The first ECH helmets entered service with the US military in 2014 year.

The Ceradyne portfolio of personal protection systems also includes lightweight, enhanced inserts to protect against small arms. weapons ESAPI (enhanced small arms protective insert), protecting the body from small arms fire. Available inserts of different sizes, they are inserted into the special internal divisions of body armor for servicemen of both sexes. “We supply liners for body armor to the Logistics Department of the Ministry of Defense, which then executes the orders of each individual unit,” said a representative of Ceradyne.

The company supplies modern protective inserts ESAPI of different weights. The current contract of the US Department of Defense provides for the supply of ultra-small, small and medium inserts, the mass of which varies from less than 2 kg to almost 2,5 kg. Ceradyne also offers large and extra-large inserts for body armor, which have a slightly larger mass.

Ceradyne began shipping inserts a month ahead of schedule last June. According to him, the company must complete deliveries on this order at the end of 2017.

Protection of vehicles and their crews

The representative of the company RUAG Defense gave his assessment of the problems and tasks in the field of protective materials for vehicles, which, in fact, boil down to finding a compromise between economic profitability and the maximum possible weight loss (off-road maneuverability, airborne transfer, etc.), also solutions that protect the crews and the cars themselves from a variety of threats, more and more dynamic and more deadly. The representative of RUAG Defense also noted: “Obviously, the specific needs differ from scenario to scenario, but you always try to find the perfect balance between levels of protection and mobility. Those who speak about the variability of threats are right, but we are constantly exploring new ideas in the field of materials and constructive solutions. ”

Further, the representative of RUAG noted the blurring of the boundaries between the scenarios of modern threats and the challenges that these scenarios pose to suppliers of materials and protection systems. “Threat scenarios are no longer so certain as they were before. The distinction between symmetrical and asymmetrical military actions is being erased before our eyes; nowadays, hybrid solutions are needed that can cover a much larger range of threats. ”

RUAG strives to meet current global challenges and develops protection kits that can be installed on a wide variety of vehicles, ranging from light 4x4 armored vehicles to basic combat vehicles. tanks, for example LEOPARD 2, and in this regard, the portfolio of the company in this sector is constantly expanding.

Then the representative of the Swiss company continued: “For the German PUMA BMP, we supply mine protection along with other defense components. RUAG undertook the development of integrated anti-mine protection, protection against IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and armor-piercing shells for the Austrian and Belgian PANDUR I armored vehicles. Production and supply of our Roof PRO ballistic kits for the leading manufacturer are in full swing. ”


High-tech aramid fibers were first produced in the 70s of the last century. The molecules of this artificial fiber are characterized by relatively strong polymer chains. These molecules are bound by strong hydrogen bonds that transfer mechanical loads very efficiently, which makes it possible to use chains with a relatively small molecular weight. Tejin is always looking for new ways to optimize its solutions and is sensitive to the needs of its customers, developing new brands of aramid fiber. Each brand, from Тwaron to Technora and from Teijinconex to Sulfron, has its own unique properties and fields of application so that consumers receive equipment that meets modern requirements to the maximum

Vice President Alcoa Defense Margaret Cosentino noted another parallel and to some extent competing trend in the field of vehicle protection. According to her, earlier, much attention was paid to additional armoring of vehicles involved in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now there is a return to speed, maneuverability and maneuverability as functions of increasing combat survivability. “For example, in special operations, ultra-light vehicles are deployed for combat groups. Alcoa is working with the scientific community of the US Army as part of its Mobile Protected Firepower program in order to get as much information as possible about innovative materials and select technologies for a high-precision, high-precision direct-fire system. ”

Production company Alcoa Defense enhances the life cycle of military vehicles in its portfolio includes products for both existing and new vehicles. Indeed, multi-component Alcoa products, including those obtained by extrusion, stamping, casting, as well as a full range of rolled products, are found on tactical wheeled vehicles and ground combat vehicles, ranging from aluminum armor on HMWWV jeeps (as a reaction to IEDs) and heavy off-road trucks NEMTT, and ending with aluminum components for new platforms, such as the JLTV armored car.

“First, Alcoa Defense uses a very wide range of materials in its activities, because our business is divided equally between aluminum, titanium and nickel products, which allows us to work with military and leading manufacturers of final products in order to obtain the necessary material, alloy and heat treatment to meet requirements for special tasks, ”Corentino explained. - Second, we focus on the complete vertical integration, from the material to the shape of the product, to the mechanical working and the final assembly. Increasing Alcoa's efficiency contributes to our customers' efficiency and competitiveness. ”

Another supplier of defense systems in the field of military machines is QinetiQ North America (QNA). The anti-splintering blasts of this company LAST Armor Spall Liner are installed on various American-made MRAP category machines, and its energy-absorbing BlastRide seats are installed in infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers from different countries. Jeff Riu, head of survivability systems at this company, said: “In addition, our Q-NET passive RPG protection solutions are installed on more than 13000 machines around the world, for example, they provide protection for machines like MAXXPRO, PL-ATU, NEMT and STRYKER, as well as platforms from other countries. The Q-NET protection system has the potential to install US Army and Marine Corps on some JLTV armored car variants. ”

QNA also develops individual protection systems for airplanes and helicopters, while Mr. Riu also shared some of the company's “secret sauce” recipes, which are to fully take into account the needs of its customers regarding the cost, weight and characteristics of the final product in order to provide them with the best solution. “We achieved this by working with a variety of materials with excellent characteristics, including rolled armored steel, various ceramics and the latest ballistic fibers of the highest quality. We also work tirelessly to develop new innovative solutions, such as our energy-absorbing seats and our BlastPro blast wave attenuation technology. ”

Cooperation and partnership

One of the hot topics touched upon in the discussion of representatives of the business of protective materials relates to the conclusion of agreements with many suppliers and other partners (in some cases we are talking about hundreds of organizations) in addition to agreements on exclusive partnership, which are common in other segments of the defense market.

Using the example of his company, Marco Manik spoke about DSM's desire to innovate and optimize new technologies in its partner network and about domestic investment in research and development.

DSM prefers partners in the defense and related security field, and some of these partners have stronger connections with it due to their ability to introduce technical innovations. “If we have a partner who has the ability to innovate faster than anyone, then he has an advantage, because in addition to our products, there are after all the final products. That is why we need to work with partners who to some extent correspond to our speed of innovation, ”said Manik.

The latest business partner at DSM Dyneema at the moment is First Armor, a subsidiary of KADDB Investment Group. In June, First Armory's 2016 showed a lightweight panel insert, worn in combination with a protective vest. New liner from First Armor made of Dyneema HB212 material. This layered composite material based on ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene is excellent for lightweight durable protection systems, which are created using the DYNEEMA Force Multiplier technology.


Lightweight protective inserts manufactured by ZM Ceradyne provide protection of the body against small arms fire. Ceradyne began shipping liners for body armor in June 2016 a year ahead of schedule. The company is scheduled to complete deliveries for this order by the end of 2017.

First Armour company will soon offer system protection underwear several types based on various materials with high performance DYNEEMA development company.

At the beginning of last year, another DSM partner, Point Blank Enterprises, introduced its ALPHA ELITE Black body protection system, an expanding ALPHA ELITE product line. "The newest model ALPHA ELITE Black, which protects against small arms bullets, is an improvement on the previous product, because it reduces weight by 17% with the same level of protection," the company said in a press release. The ALPHA ELITE Black body armor uses the new generation DYNEEMA Force Multiplier technology from DSM.

RUAG also does not bypass any organization in this area, striving for mutually beneficial cooperation. The representative of RUAG explained that the company “regularly studies the market for new developments and materials; and we are proud of the quality of our tests and tests that we conduct in order to accurately determine the protective properties of materials. This allows RUAG to tailor protection solutions to any vehicle and threat at an optimal mass and cost. ”

Mr. Riu from QNA noted: “We have established strong ties with some of the leading manufacturers of advanced ceramics, ballistic materials and composite fibers. The use of these links allows us to develop and deliver products that are superior to our competitors' products. ”

DuPont is another supplier who has taken a “strong position” in the supply of materials used in various applications. For example, the technology of synthetic fiber Kevlar finds a very different application - various body armor, inserts, helmets, protection of limbs and booking vehicles. All these products increase levels of survivability of personnel, while consumers receive protective material of varying degrees of "softness" or "hardness" (common terms in this sector). “Soft protection is called jackets and other items of equipment, which are often made of fabric-fiber materials and other flexible structures to improve the fit, comfort and mobility of the owners,” said DuPont Protection Solutions chief technologist Joseph Hovanek. “Solid protection refers to tougher composite structures, such as inserts, helmets, and vehicle protection components, for which DuPont offers Tensylon plastic sheets in addition to Kevlar.”

Hovanek spoke about one aspect of the DuPont business model, noting that the company supplies fibers, fabrics and other structures from Kevlar to leading manufacturers of vests, helmets and armored vehicles, which use these materials in the design and manufacture of their products. The industry expert added: “We focus on the development of localized solutions, leading manufacturers work with our four major technical centers in different countries.”

In addition to QNA and other companies mentioned earlier and supplying products to various end users, it is worth noting another company operating in several related fields. Combat Clothing Australia (CCA) Protect is a global defense and security provider with extensive experience in creating and manufacturing ballistic protection for people, ground platforms and aviation. Commercial Director Lee O'Schia noted that “CCA Protect operates in the markets of Australia, the United States, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.”

In particular, CCA Protect supplies hard and soft body protection systems up to Level IV, as well as armor for vehicles that can withstand anti-tank missiles. O'Schia continued: “In order to ensure the ballistic protection of the Australian UH-60 BLACKHAWK and CH-47 CHINOOK helicopters, CCA Protect advanced booking solutions were selected. The production capacity of CCA Protect makes it possible to manufacture large single armor panels, which makes them the ideal solution for the Australian Land 400 Phase 2 project. ” As part of this project, Australia will update and modernize its fleet of combat reconnaissance vehicles.

To meet the requirements of its overseas customers, CCA Protect conducts a thorough analysis of solutions in order to achieve a balance between cost, mobility, protection and mass. O'Schia concluded by saying that “the rapidly changing combat space constantly contributes to the promotion of innovation in the ballistic protection industry. Modern production and experienced engineers of CCA Protect can perform these complex tasks. The combination of advanced composite materials and unique methods of combining materials allows you to create ultra-light, durable and thin protective materials. "

The Swiss company Garant develops modern solutions of the ballistic protection FirmLiner and FlexLiner for applications of different types. Along with the use of new materials, which are the result of intensive research and development activities, Garant also has a wealth of experience gained in the implementation of long-term programs together with material suppliers and end-users. Popular and widely used materials include para-aramid, polyethylene, polypropylene and fiberglass.

Transparent spinel ceramics for marine applications


Aluminum-magnesia spinel is one of the candidates for the role of a durable outer layer in transparent armor. The figure lists two types of fine-grained spinel having a nominal average grain size 0,6 microns and 1,6 microns, and a bimodal grain spinel coarse grain size 250 micron fines (5-20 micron) matrix 6 mm thick, which fired armor-piercing bullets caliber 7,62 mm at speeds 850 m / s and 1100 m / s. Also shown is a sheet of oxynitride aluminum (AION) - an advanced transparent polycrystalline ceramics (made of powder) with a cubic crystal spinel structure.

Transparent spinel (MgAl2O4) is currently the preferred material for use in various marine and other defense applications. It is a crystalline material with a cubic lattice, which is increasingly used to protect various ship systems, including sensors, protective and "smart" materials and weapons.

In addition to high strength, spinel ceramics have excellent bandwidth, ranging from ultraviolet rays (0,2 μm) to the mid-infrared region of the spectrum (5 μm). For the optronic masts of nuclear submarines of the US Navy class VIRGINIA, single spinel glass is used, which increases survivability and significantly reduces maintenance and life cycle costs. Previously, an optic mast manufactured by L-3 КЕО was installed on silicon glass and crystalline germanium for transmitting visible light and rays in the mid-infrared region of the spectrum, respectively. Both of these materials, however, were not strong enough and prone to damage, despite the fact that their thickness was 3,8, see. The problem was how to make a window of thick spinel. According to research, spinel ceramics 3,8 cm thick, the manufacturing process of which is based on hot pressing, has very good optical properties.

The American destroyer bridge of the ZUMWALT class (DDG 1000) is also equipped with large windows of high strength, which transmit visible light and IR waves with a wavelength of 5 μm and which must withstand shock waves up to 0,56 kg / cm2. Since the hot-pressing process is scaled to large sizes, the bridge window can be made from one large piece of spinel. Conversely, it can be produced by edge diffusion, connecting two or more small windows into one. The Applied Optics Division of the US Navy Research Laboratory (NRL) has demonstrated the feasibility of both of these approaches.

The Laboratory noted that the traditional method of high-temperature growth from a melt (> 2000 ° C) from single-crystal spinel is difficult to make a sheet larger than a few millimeters. In the process of solving this problem, the NRL determined that the poor quality of commercial spinel ceramics is associated with uneven mixing of the sintering additive (lithium fluoride) with the spinel powder, which leads to porosity and entrapment (residue in the final product) of this sintering additive. Scientists at NRL have developed a patented process for uniformly coating each particle of spinel powder with a sintering additive, which allows the additive to be removed during the hot-pressing process at about 1600 ° C. According to NRL, this allows for the production of fully compacted, uniformly transparent spinel ceramics with high optical properties, while the process is scalable and allows for large windows.

Designed for an aggressive environment

Transparent spinel ceramics are used in other defense applications. Among them are high power lasers developed for directed energy weapons. From an optical point of view, one of the most problematic places is the output lens (window), since glass for such systems does not have sufficiently good thermal, optical, and mechanical properties. The reason is that the windows of glass have a very low thermal conductivity, leading to thermal shock. According to scientists from the NRL, the small strength of the glass also does not allow its use in aggressive environments. On the other hand, the excellent strength of the spinel allows it to be used in adverse conditions, and its high strength allows the use of thinner windows, which reduces weight. NRL laboratory developed the technology of ultra-pure spinel powder, which was used for the manufacture of spinel ceramics with record low absorption loss 6 ppm (particles per million) / cm at a wavelength of 1,06 μm.

Spinel ceramics with high optical properties are also used to make durable heat-transparent fairings for rockets that transmit an infrared signal. As they say in open sources, existing materials, such as crystalline silicon, are fragile and do not provide visible light transmission. Another material, sapphire (a-Al2O3) has limited transmission at a wavelength of 5µm. Sapphire is extremely resistant to mechanical damage because it has a remarkable hardness (9 on the Mohs scale); it is the hardest material after diamond and carborundum (a-SiC). But spinel perfectly passes visible light and has a better transmittance compared with sapphire at a length of 5 μm. In an effort to demonstrate the practical applicability of spinel, scientists from the NRL have changed the process of hot pressing and successfully made fairings of this material.

The availability of spinel ceramics with high optical properties will also allow the manufacture of lightweight anti-explosion screens and goggles for personal protection against IEDs, as well as conformal windows for surveillance systems. Studies conducted in the 2013 year showed that aluminum-magnesia spinel is an excellent candidate for outer reinforced layers of transparent armor. Researchers who conducted systematic studies of the fragmentation of three types of spinel ceramics proved that the fragmentation regime is one of the key parameters affecting the ballistic resistance of ceramics.


Australian company CCA Protect supplies its products to the defense and security sectors, having successful experience in the design and production of ballistic protection for people, vehicles and aviation. The company, in order to meet the requirements of its foreign customers, conducts a thorough analysis of solutions in order to achieve a balance between cost, mobility, protection and mass


QinetiQ North America's LAST Armor anti-splinter boosts increase levels of protection by reducing projectile armor performance.

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  1. +3
    6 February 2017 10: 10
    The topic in the article was touched on interesting, but, forgive me, the author, it was written completely ineptly. The abundance of technical details, incomprehensible to many readers, overloads the article. I do not really believe that the author himself wrote everything.
    1. +2
      7 February 2017 10: 13
      Some kind of advertising brochure
  2. +2
    6 February 2017 15: 16
    It seems that the student’s not very competent summary from the lecture of the doctor of technical sciences .... and so the topic is certainly interesting.
    1. +1
      6 February 2017 17: 59
      Very accurate feature.
  3. +3
    6 February 2017 19: 44
    The article is translated, and the terms are not localized, but left in a free translation ... Hence the freshness and some stupidity of the above! And so, an advertising article of a Western popular science magazine ...
    1. +1
      8 February 2017 11: 10
      All about VO - a review of new materials for the army.
      Describes samples that are either supplied to the army, or
      ordered by the army.
  4. +1
    6 February 2017 19: 52
    Compared to other helmets with the same weight, ESN increases the level of bulletproof and anti-shatter protection by more than 35% ”
    35 is a serious application, but such a helmet is more than 2 times more expensive, although the question of price is not at all appropriate here, because to save on protecting fighters or their armored vehicles is the greatest stupidity. It is the same as saving on the salaries of your employees --- it seems to be easiest, but the return will be appropriate.
  5. 0
    6 February 2017 21: 08
    Quote: Metallurg
    The topic in the article was touched on interesting, but, forgive me, the author, it was written completely ineptly. The abundance of technical details, incomprehensible to many readers, overloads the article. I do not really believe that the author himself wrote everything.

    In my opinion, at the beginning of the article there are just a few technical details, but only blah blah blah sales managers of companies. For example, a helmet is 35% more secure than what? what is his level of protection? How much does it weigh? What model is it? In the middle of the article, one junk, Dainima (UHMWPE) is no longer new, its advertisement already started about 5 years ago, and was developed back in the days of the development of Kevlar, and all this time no one used it ((All of the same armor ceramics sell oxide aluminum, silicon carbide, boron carbide, other ceramics are still only in the labs. Novie is only in the 3rd part of the article, since neither spinel, nor cubic aluminum oxide, nor sapphire, nor diamond has been put into free sale, there are only promises and possible military supplies.
  6. 0
    15 February 2017 00: 00
    There is no separation from the domestic military-industrial complex.
  7. 0
    10 May 2017 11: 03
    The idea of ​​showing the direction of improvement and development of modern protective materials is too "learned". D

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