Composite armour is a type of vehicle armour consisting of layers of different material such as metals, plastics, ceramics or air. Most composite armours are lighter than their all-metal equivalent, but instead occupy a larger volume for the same resistance to penetration. It is possible to design composite armour stronger, lighter and less voluminous than traditional armour, but the cost is often prohibitively high, restricting its use to especially vulnerable parts of a vehicle. Military vehicles are commonly armoured to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets or shells, protecting the soldiers inside from enemy fire. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith Look up Metal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The term plastics covers a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic condensation or polymerization products that can be molded or extruded into objects or films or fibers. ... Ceramics can refer to: Ceramic, a type of material Ceramics (art), a fine art. ... Look up air in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The most common type of composite armour today is Chobham armour, first developed and used by the British in the experimental FV 4211 tank, which was based on Chieftain tank components. Chobham sandwiches a layer of ceramic between two plates of steel armour, which was shown to dramatically increase the resistance to high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds. HEAT had posed a serious threat to armoured vehicles since its introduction in WWII, and Chobham was such an improvement that it was soon used on the new U.S. M1 Abrams main battle tank (MBT) as well. It is the fabrication of the ceramic in large tiles that gives the Challenger and Abrams their "slab sided" look. Composite materials (or composites for short) are engineered materials made from two or more constituent materials that remain separate and distinct on a macroscopic level while forming a single component. ... Chobham armour is a composite armour developed at the British tank research centre on Chobham Common. ... The Chieftain was the Main battle tank of the United Kindom during the 1960s and 1970s. ... High explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds are made of an explosive shaped charge that uses the Neumann effect (a development of the Munroe effect) to create a very high-velocity jet of metal in a state of superplasticity that can punch through solid armor. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... Motto: (1789 to 1956) (Latin for Out of many, one) In God We Trust (1956 to present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at federal level; English (de facto) Government Federal Republic  - President George W. Bush (R)  - Vice... The M1 Abrams main battle tank is the principal combat tank of the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps, with three main versions being deployed starting in 1980: the M1, M1A1, and M1A2. ... The US M1A1 Abrams tank is a typical modern main battle tank. ...

Chobham's precise mechanism for defeating HEAT was something of a mystery until the 1980s. High speed photography showed that the ceramic material shatters as the HEAT round penetrates, blowing up to a huge volume which then expands back out the hole and pushes the metal jet of the HEAT with it. The effectiveness of the system was amply demonstrated in Desert Storm, where not a single British Army Challenger tank was lost to enemy tank fire. Chobham-type armor is currently in its third generation and is used on modern western tanks such as the British Challenger 2E and the American M1A2 SEP Abrams. MacGyver - 1980s hero The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... See also: 2003 invasion of Iraq and Gulf War (disambiguation) C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

The first widespread use of a composite armour appears to be on the Soviet T-64. It used an armour known as Combination K, which apparently is glass reinforced plastic sandwiched between inner and outer steel layers. Through a mechanism called thixotropy, the resin changes to a fluid under constant pressure, allowing the armour to be moulded into curved shapes. Later models of the T-64, along with newer designs, used a boron carbide-filled resin aggregate for greatly improved protection. However the quality of the tanks produced during this era varied widely; if the boron carbide was not available in time to meet production quotas, the tank would be shipped with any filler that could be found, and sometimes nothing at all. In order to deal with these problems, the Soviets invested heavily in reactive armour, which allowed them some ability to control quality. Soviet redirects here. ... The T-64, a Soviet main battle tank, was introduced in the late 1960s. ... This article or section should be merged with Fiberglass Glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), is a composite material made of a plastic reinforced by fine fibers made of glass. ... Thixotropy is the property of some non-newtonian pseudoplastic fluids to show a time-dependent change in viscosity; the longer the fluid undergoes shear, the lower its viscosity. ... Boron Carbide (chemical formula B4C) is an extremely hard ceramic material used in tank armor, bulletproof vests, and numerous industrial applications. ... M60A1 Patton tank with Israeli Blazer ERA. Reactive armor is a type of vehicle armor that reacts in some way to the impact of a weapon to reduce the damage done to the vehicle being protected. ...

Composite armour has since been applied to smaller vehicles, right down to jeep-sized. Many of these systems are applied as upgrades to existing armour, which makes them difficult to place around the entire vehicle. Nevertheless they are often surprisingly effective; ceramic upgrades to Canadian M-113s were carried out in the 1990s, after it was realized that it would offer more protection than newly built APCs like the M2 Bradley. Jeep is an automobile marque (and registered trademark) of DaimlerChrysler. ... The M113 during the Vietnam War The M113 is an armored personnel carrier family. ... The M2 Bradley and M3 Bradley are American infantry fighting vehicles. ...

External link

• Defense Update/Advanced Armor Concepts