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04 Dec 2008  -  Netherlands

Indian army vehicles protected against mines by unidirectional composite

In the first large public tender of its type in South Asia, Ordnance Factory, India, has chosen and specified Dyneema® HB26 unidirectional (UD) composite from DSM Dyneema for armoring mine protected vehicles for the Indian Army. Ultra-strong, lightweight Dyneema HB26 was selected due to its robust ballistic performance combined with additional advantages, such as high stiffness, excellent acoustic and flame-retardant properties, to ensure superior quality and protection. The DSM material is being used by Anjani Technoplast Limited, a leading manufacturer based in Delhi, India, to supply protective, rigid panels to Ordnance Factory, India.

Dyneema HB26 will help to protect Indian Army troops from ballistics and fragments. The material’s light weight will enhance vehicle speed, maneuverability and enable higher payloads, while minimizing the negative effect armor can have on a vehicle’s center of gravity. In addition, Dyneema HB26 provides high performance over a wide temperature range, UV protection, and noise reduction through acoustic absorption.

Dyneema HB26 also offers design and efficiency advantages to fabricators, including the ability to be formed into complex shapes and to be easily cut and drilled using standard equipment.

“We have received much-valued support from DSM Dyneema in our endeavor to meet the evolving needs of Indian end-users’’, said R.K. Gupta, CMD of Anjani Technoplast Limited. ‘’Consistent quality and accurate profile cutting of panels supplied for MPVs using Dyneema HB26 is ensured by high quality cnc presses and a water-jet cutting machine, innovated and developed by Anjani’’.

Dyneema HB26 is based on Dyneema, the world’s strongest fiber. Panels made from Dyneema are made of several layers, with the direction of fibers in each layer placed perpendicular to the direction of the fibers in the adjacent layers. Dyneema HB26 offers varying degrees of protection in combination with steel or ceramic for higher protection levels including against armor-piercing ammunition and, shaped charges. Armoring solutions using Dyneema HB26 are particularly useful against emerging threats such as improvised explosive devices (IEDs) including explosively formed penetrators (EFPs).

“Thanks to its outstanding ballistic performance and light weight, Dyneema HB26 is widely used in armoring military vehicles including infantry fighting vehicles such as armoured personnel carriers and battle tanks. This major initiative to support the Indian Army attests to the global demand for our material in thwarting today’s military threats. The selection of Dyneema HB26 will enable Ordnance Factory, India to ensure the highest level of protection and performance for the army’s mine-protected vehicles,” said Govind Khetan, Country Manager for DSM Dyneema.

Source : Dyneema