thedrifter
05-02-06, 11:51 AM
May 08, 2006
More comfort, protection from new moldable armor
By Bruce Rolfsen
Times staff writer
Body armor is designed for protection, not comfort.
Now, the Air Force Research Laboratory is helping develop a moldable ceramic-plate material that would allow body armor to fit better, making the armor more comfortable and providing better protection, said 1st Lt. Mark Mallory, a program manager for the project.
The same material can also be molded to protect oddly sized aircraft and vehicle parts.
“We can make almost any shape you can think of,” said Mallory, who works at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
The body armor worn by most troops features large ceramic plates that cover the chest and back. The plates, which protect against larger-caliber small-arms rounds, slide into pouches on a fabric vest that protects against 9mm rounds and shrapnel.
Flexible ballistic material inside the vest often covers the wearer’s sides and shoulders.
To get a good fit, troops can choose from a handful of sizes and then adjust their gear by tugging on buckles and straps.
The new fitted plates should be more comfortable than the armor now in use because the weight of the plates would be better distributed and closer to the wearer’s center of gravity, Mallory said.
The plates could also be shaped to fit men or women.
Another advantage to fitted plates is they should offer more protection by shrinking or eliminating gaps between the plate’s surface and the wearer. Essentially, the user’s body would reinforce the plate, Mallory said.
Officials at the Air Force lab believe the plates are also less likely than current armor to crack if dropped.
The body armor should weigh about the same as armor now in use, Mallory said. Today, a medium-size vest weighs about 20 pounds.
The lab is working in partnership with the private firm Excera Materials Group of Columbus, Ohio. The Navy is also part of the project, with the Office of Naval Research looking at how the material can protect aircraft. And the Army’s Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass., is interested in the plates for its 2010 Future Force Warrior system, Mallory said.
The plate material developed by Excera is called Blue Star. It’s a mixture of ceramic powder and molten aluminum combined at high temperatures. Mallory hopes to have a prototype available in four to six months.
Before the plates are used in real-world operations, the equipment will have to be certified as meeting the military’s “enhanced small-arms protective insert” standards for protecting airmen from small-arms fire and shrapnel.
An earlier version of the Blue Star plate was tested in August 2003 and passed the existing standards, Mallory said.
Bruce Rolfsen covers the Air Force.
Ellie
More comfort, protection from new moldable armor
By Bruce Rolfsen
Times staff writer
Body armor is designed for protection, not comfort.
Now, the Air Force Research Laboratory is helping develop a moldable ceramic-plate material that would allow body armor to fit better, making the armor more comfortable and providing better protection, said 1st Lt. Mark Mallory, a program manager for the project.
The same material can also be molded to protect oddly sized aircraft and vehicle parts.
“We can make almost any shape you can think of,” said Mallory, who works at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
The body armor worn by most troops features large ceramic plates that cover the chest and back. The plates, which protect against larger-caliber small-arms rounds, slide into pouches on a fabric vest that protects against 9mm rounds and shrapnel.
Flexible ballistic material inside the vest often covers the wearer’s sides and shoulders.
To get a good fit, troops can choose from a handful of sizes and then adjust their gear by tugging on buckles and straps.
The new fitted plates should be more comfortable than the armor now in use because the weight of the plates would be better distributed and closer to the wearer’s center of gravity, Mallory said.
The plates could also be shaped to fit men or women.
Another advantage to fitted plates is they should offer more protection by shrinking or eliminating gaps between the plate’s surface and the wearer. Essentially, the user’s body would reinforce the plate, Mallory said.
Officials at the Air Force lab believe the plates are also less likely than current armor to crack if dropped.
The body armor should weigh about the same as armor now in use, Mallory said. Today, a medium-size vest weighs about 20 pounds.
The lab is working in partnership with the private firm Excera Materials Group of Columbus, Ohio. The Navy is also part of the project, with the Office of Naval Research looking at how the material can protect aircraft. And the Army’s Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass., is interested in the plates for its 2010 Future Force Warrior system, Mallory said.
The plate material developed by Excera is called Blue Star. It’s a mixture of ceramic powder and molten aluminum combined at high temperatures. Mallory hopes to have a prototype available in four to six months.
Before the plates are used in real-world operations, the equipment will have to be certified as meeting the military’s “enhanced small-arms protective insert” standards for protecting airmen from small-arms fire and shrapnel.
An earlier version of the Blue Star plate was tested in August 2003 and passed the existing standards, Mallory said.
Bruce Rolfsen covers the Air Force.
Ellie