Advanced Body Armor
Abstract
While current body armor is effective, it is too heavy for some threats, environments, and operations. Even a 10% reduction in system weight would significantly increase warfighter acceptance, mobility, agility, and endurance. This effort will leverage prior DoD investments to mature three complimentary manufacturing technologies that will reduce body armor weight by 10% - 20% while improving ballistic performance and flexibility. Cost will be reduced 5% - 30% and cycle time will be reduced by 10X-100X. Program Outputs: The project will mature three manufacturing technologies for lighter weight armor from a capability to produce the technologies in a laboratory to a capability to produce them in an environment representative of a production facility. The three technologies are: 1) Incremental Pressure Application System (IPAS), which allows production of highly flexible “hard” and “soft” composite armor in same host material with no loss of ballistic and structural continuity in fibers. 2) Hotblox processing, which will reduce cost and cycle time for production of a composite material that will reduce armor weight by 10% while maintaining ballistic performance. 3) Verco processing, which will allow production of extremely hard boron carbide ceramic armor that conforms to soldier body shapes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2012
- Source ID
- 51a7ca2bbea3cf221c758bf47ac427dc