Enhancing Vehicle Survivability with Lightweight Flame-Resistant Solutions

Countering IEDs and EFPs is one of the United States military’s biggest concerns in both Iraq and Afghanistan. IEDs have remained a leading cause of casualty in both theaters, vehicles and convoys and have been primary targets for insurgents. Reducing and minimizing the damage to personnel and equipment from IEDs is of paramount concern in saving Coalition lives.

To help address this issue, the United States Marine Corp’s Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) Program is dedicated to keep Marines safe in all operational environments. They are paving the way in keeping warfighters safe with the advantages provided to them by state of the art lightweight and flame-resistant materials which give our combat troops the tools needed to succeed and survive.

Additionally, leaders in the defense industry are developing cutting edge technologies to combat the deadly strikes on American convoys and to help save time and money on equipment and vehicle repair costs.

Enhancing vehicle survivability requires a balance between the increased weight of more armor and the need to maintain vehicle mobility and payload. Composites made with lightweight, flame-resistant fibers, such as Kevlar® deliver a greater increase in threat protection at a lower weight than thicker metal armor while acting as a spall liner in an overmatch situation. In addition, composite spall liners made with Kevlar® have demonstrated over 20 years of proven performance in the field while maintaining original fragment simulating projectile (FSP) V50 performance specifications. When considering all aspects of vehicle survivability - high mass efficiency, durability and flame resistance properties - composites made with lightweight, flame-resistant fibers can offer a better solution for the soldier.

In this webinar participants will learn:

• The latest improvements and modifications to the USMC’s LAV
• Cost vs. performance comparisons for Flame resistant materials
• Why Spall liners are important to military vehicle survivability
• Why long term durability is so critical in vehicle armoring