Armour

Armorworks exhibited their newly developed Turret Blanket for the BRADLEY, their Containment Bay and Stowage system for a STRYKER prototype, their BLASTMAT Floor Mat, and their SHOCKRIDE bag for the outside with new materials and fastened by the (EO)2 mounting system.

Armorworks exhibited their ewly developed Turret Blanket for the BRADLEY amongst other innovation.

Honeywell at the show announced that its SPECTRA SHIELD ballistic material will be used to improve armour protection on US Army helicopters.

The Protective Group (TPG), a leading developer and integrator of lightweight composite armour for military aircraft, is incorporating SPECTRA SHIELD material into armour upgrades for US Army UH-60 BLACK HAWK and CH-47 CHINOOK helicopters. TPG expects to upgrade armour on approximately 200 CHINOOK helicopters over the next four years under a contract from the US Army, and is also working to meet the needs of the BLACK HAWK community.

SPECTRA SHIELD is a composite material made with SPECTRA fibre, an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene fibre that, pound for pound, is 15 times stronger than steel, yet light enough to float. Honeywell’s patented SHIELD technology lays parallel strands of synthetic fibre side by side and holds them in place with a resin system. Layers of the material are then cross-plied at right angles and fused into a composite structure under heat and pressure.

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) displayed its active close-in protection system for armoured vehicles, consisting of a series of 30cm-wide elements arranged in a crown around a vehicle's roof that would be integrated with a number of sensors. As an incoming rocket and missile is detected, the appropriate elements are detonated three at a time to direct a blast downward to defeat the incoming round. The blast from these elements is effective from 4cm to 2.5m and, since there is no metal in the charge and the charge content itself is small, any dismounted infantry in the vicinity under attack are likely to be safe from injury if 3m or more from the vehicle under attack.

Plasan’s FLEXFENCE is a new protection system is designed to protect vehicles from RPGs. Already presented at this year's Eurosatory, FLEXFENCE weighs about 2lbs per square foot, and according to the company, "is lighter than existing RPG protection systems; it attaches more elegantly and closer to the vehicle’s body, providing better coverage."

Polaris Defense, a division of Polaris Industries showcased two advanced vehicle technologies, designed to address the US military’s need for increased vehicle survivability, a lightweight, advanced armour solution and non-pneumatic tires (NPT).

Polaris Defense has developed a lightweight armour technology for the US Armed Forces. This was showcased as a concept demonstrator HMMWV at AUSA.

Polaris Defense, partnered with M9 Defense, has developed a lightweight armour technology for the US Armed Forces. This was showcased as a concept demonstrator HMMWV at AUSA. While displayed on a light tactical vehicle, the armour is applicable to any tactical wheeled vehicle or combat vehicle platform. This new armour is produced with certified military materials using a proprietary ballistic resistant formulation and manufacturing process and it “has the lowest pounds per square foot of any armour available in today’s market,” according to the company. The steel-hybrid composite armour, in conjunction with a high-speed production process, allows the Polaris/M9 team to form this armour into capsules and other ballistic vehicle components at speeds comparable to that of sheet metal processing, greatly reducing the overall cost.

The acquisition of Resilient Technologies enables Polaris Defense to harness its non-pneumatic, never-flat tire technology towards increasing the survivability and handling of both currently fielded and future vehicles, either as a block upgrade or an integrated component. The NPT is composed of a central polymeric web surrounded by a rubber tread band which allows continuous operation, even if up to 30% of the web is damaged. LINK