LIGHT ARMOR

The main challenge when designing armor protection is the combination of minimum weight and maximum protection level (protection against advanced threats).

It is not possible to meet the challenge by using only armor steels. That's why armor designers are in constant pursuit of new materials. For some applications the most promising materials to be used in armor structures are armor materials based on light alloys - aluminum and titanium.

ALUMINUM ARMOR

Aluminum as an armor material has some advantages over the steel armor in terms of protection against 12.7mm and 14.5mm AP bullets as well as small-caliber projectiles. Besides, aluminum features better manufacturability, weldability and offers extraordinary protection against mines and fragments.

As it is known, the USA were the first to use aluminum as an armor material for armored vehicles; in late 1950s they started production of M113 APC with an aluminum hull. The hull armor was made of Alloy 5083 (Al-Mg-Mn) which was a standard medium-hardness structural alloy (UTS 300 MPa); now we can call it the first generation aluminum armor.
The next stage in the aluminum armor development was switching of the USA in their armored vehicle production to a specially designed aluminum armor alloy 7039 (Al-Zn-Mg). It was used in the armored hulls of M551 light tank and XM723 IFV.

In the UK aluminum armor was used in Scorpion light tank and the family of combat vehicles. The hull is made of E74S aluminum alloy with the thickness range of 20 to 60 mm.

France also developed its own aluminum armor: A-Z6-G alloy. It was used for the hull of AMX-10P IFV, which entered service in 1973.

In Russia the first ideas to use aluminum as an armor material arose and were realized in 1950s in aviation; at that time ABA-1 aluminum armor was created (Alloy V-95). It was used in the form of add-on flat screens and offered evident weight reduction as compared to steel armor panels. That alloy could not be used for combat vehicles, as it was completely non-weldable.

The first experience of using aluminum in combat vehicles was design and testing of an aluminum hull of PT-76 amphibious tank made of D20 structural aluminum alloy. The hull was produced in 1961 in NII Stali and put through a complete test cycle, which showed great potential of aluminum armor.

At the same time it became clear that the structural alloys could not offer the desired performance as an armor material, and special aluminum armor alloys had to be designed.

During 1962-1965 NII Stali in cooperation with aviation research institutions (VILS, VIAM, MATI) developed such aluminum armor. As a weldable bulletproof armor a high-strength aluminum alloy Al-Zn-Mg was offered, which when heat-treated featured optimum combination of strength and ductility. The alloy was standardized as ABT-101 alloy (which is the Russian abbreviation of tank aluminum armor), or Grade 1901 alloy.

ABT-101 alloy is a heat-treatable weldable wrought alloy Al-Zn-Mg with the overall content of Zn and Mg up to 9% and their ratio of 2:1 (which is almost twice higher than in foreign aluminum armor alloys).

That alloy became the basis for designing a family of light armored vehicles (BMD-1, BMD-2, BMD-3).

The next step in development of aluminum armor was creation of ABT-102 alloy (Grade 1903) and PAS-1 laminated material.

Creation of these materials made it possible to design and put into full-scale production one of the best infantry fighting vehicle in the world - BMP-3. The aluminum armor of the vehicle ensured at least 1500 kg of weight saving as compared to a steel-armored hull of the same protection level.

Nowadays the potential of aluminum armor is still great. NII Stali is working at more optimal aluminum-based heterogeneous structures; promising results have been gained in using aluminum in body armor (bulletproof vests and ballistic helmets) with Protection Level 2 (GOST standard).

TITANIUM ARMOR

Titanium armor is not as widely used in combat vehicles as aluminum armor, though at early stages of investigation it showed tangible advantages over cannonproof steel armor. But some technological, economic and other aspects prevent embodiment of titanium advantages in particular combat vehicles. Except for a prototype of the titanium hull (so called "Item 219") and some components of light armored vehicles titanium has never been used in the armor. Still, titanium reveals high efficiency as bulletproof armor; it is unrivalled now for protection against steel-core pistol bullets. The main promise of titanium as an armor material lies with heterogeneous protective structures (the same way as aluminum), which can be made either by high frequency hardening or by some other method.

Resistance to ballistic penetration

ARMOR ON THE BASIS OF PRESSED WOVEN AND NON-WOVEN FABRICS

under construction...