Compendium-2 April13.qxp:Armada
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the necessary strength to be integrated into the vehicle structure, while their ballistic performances allow to deal with high threat requirements, with potential for weight savings. Their application can follow two different approaches. The straightforward approach is to use them as add-on armour for mine and IED protection in wheel houses, on fenders, as mine plates and decoupled inner floors. When formed as 3D-parts they can replace other solutions that need to be assembled by welding or bolting. A new type of application is the integration of the composite parts as roof hatches, engine hatches and rear doors and ramps. These add up to a large portion of the total vehicle surface, therefore the absolute weight reduction is significant. For STANAG 4569 Level 4 this saving reaches 1500 kg on an 8x8 vehicle as shown in the table. As for production cost, the processes developed by IBD allow manufacturing composite parts without using autoclaves, ensuring considerable cost savings especially for large dimensions components, costs being comparable to those of elements manufactured with standard technologies. Those elements are now being produced by Rheinmetall Chempro, whose role is to take IBD Deisenroth Engineering technologies, develop them into the production process to obtain competitive prices, and then develop customers’ tailored solutions, following the process down to vehicle qualification. Delivery of elements produced with the latest advanced technologies will start in early 2013, to the benefit of vehicles like the KMWRheinmetall AMPV and the Iveco DVKMW Medium Protected Vehicle. According to Rheinmetall’s Business Unit Protection Systems over 10 OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) around the world will soon get components that will allow them to truly decrease the curb weight of their vehicles, thus increasing payload capacity and decreasing life cycle costs. Rheinmetall Chempro passive protection catalogue includes numerous versions of the Amap (Advanced Modular Armour Protection) family that exploit the latest technologies developed by IBD. Amap products are normally combined to obtain the desired protection against various threats. Among the various opaque products we find the Amap-B ballistic solution providing protection from small arms to medium calibre rounds, the AmapM blast protection against mines, Amap-
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A new bonding technology developed by Lockheed Martin UK and the University of Surrey may considerably improve the protection level of armoured vehicles, like this Warrior. (Lockheed Martin UK)
IED developed when improvised devices became a major threat, Amap-L liners that protect the fighting compartment absorbing secondary fragments, the blast wave, the fireball and reduce acoustic pressure, Amap-SC against shaped charge rounds, and Amap-X protecting against threats
typical to the urban environment. It is to note that within the Rheinmetall Group another company deals with passive protections, Rheinmetall Ballistic Protection GmbH, that acquired that name on 1 January 2013 being formerly known as Rheinmetall Verseidag Ballistic Protection GmbH. Based
Compendium Armoured Vehicles Protection 2013
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