The threat
IEDs and blast fragments threaten crews in light vehicles. Steel add-on armor works but costs weight, fuel and payload.
How polyurea helps
After the USS Cole attack, Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock developed an explosion-resistant elastomeric coating that led to U.S. Patent 7,300,893, "Armor Including a Strain Rate Hardening Elastomer"6. After testing at Aberdeen Proving Ground it was deployed as spray-on up-armor for Marine Corps vehicles in Iraq, and it was lighter than equivalent steel add-on armor, saving 2,000 pounds per vehicle6. The program became known as "Dragon Shield"7.
Where it goes
- Interior spall liners
- Floor pans and blast mats
- Armored SUVs and cash-in-transit trucks
- Police tactical vehicles
- Patrol boats and trailers
Details that matter
- Placement matters on steel. ONR-funded research found polyurea on the back face improved performance, while a layer on the blast face amplified the initial shock8.
- Vehicle armor is an engineered system. Follow the armor designer's layup and weight budget.
- ArmorThane also sprays blast material over polypropylene and polystyrene foam to make lightweight, portable mats for floorboards and barricades16.
Who buys the work
Armored vehicle upfitters, OEMs, police and sheriff departments, government fleets and security companies.
These are the customers an ArmorThane blast mitigation applicator sells to. See the business path.
Blast protection is an engineered system. Coatings complement standoff, glazing and structural design, and the engineer of record sets the design.