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17 May 2006  -  United States

S-2 Glass reinforcement use in armour continues growth

New applications for composite armour systems in military vehicles and vessels are continuing to drive the growth of S-2 Glass® reinforcements from AGY. The company said it shipped a record amount of the material in 2005 and expects to break that record in 2006.

New applications recently introduced or announced include:
• M1151/1152 High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV), commonly referred to as Humvees – US Army vehicles that use a lighter, more-flexible and modular armour system that can be installed in the factory or added in the field 

• Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) vessels – US Navy ships for coastal and shallow-water missions, focusing on high-speed maneuverability, agility and sprint speed 

• Humvee Helmet Hardtop® – a field-installable composite cover providing ballistic protection for personnel and equipment in the back of a Humvee

“All of these applications have been successful in part because of the contribution of S 2 Glass reinforcements,” said Drew Walker, AGY Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

The M1151 and M1152 model Humvees will be capable of using a much lighter protection kit than has traditionally been available for the vehicle. Up-armouring vehicles not originally manufactured with armour can be a time-consuming process requiring a lot of manpower and special equipment, but the new lightweight armour for the M1151 and M1152 – employing the same HJ1 composite armor system with S 2 Glass roving as the original vehicles – can be added by two people in about two hours.

The new vehicles will give the military greater flexibility in using Humvees for a variety of combat and non-combat missions. When the situation requires it, military leaders having the M1151 or M1152 will be able to get more armored tactical vehicles in the field rapidly by armouring and re-deploying vehicles from other areas.

Two developmental LCS ships being built by Lockheed Martin Corp. will employ the HJ1 armour system for deckhouse protection. In addition to its ability to stop projectiles, the HJ1 armour system is known for excellent flame, smoke and toxicity performance.

The Helmet Hardtop for the Humvee is made by the Yakima Division of Amtech Corp., headquartered in Yelm, Wash., which had for several years produced a lightly reinforced cover for the Humvee and its trailers. The new composite cover offers ballistic protection for personnel and the sensitive electronic equipment often transported in the back of a Humvee or a trailer.

The Helmet Hardtop is moulded in the vacuum assisted resin transfer molding process (VARTM) using an innovative fabric made with S 2 Glass reinforcements. The product was developed by a consortium of five entities: Amtech Corp., manufacturing; University of Delaware, Center for Composite Materials, design and tooling; Sioux Manufacturing Company, Fort Totten, N.D., production of HJ1 panels incorporated into the Helmet Hardtop; 3Tex, Inc., Cary, N.C., three-dimensional fabric; and AGY, S-2 Glass roving and reinforcement technology.

Source : AGY