Kevlar® for vehicle armor

 
 
 

MRAP vehicles—serving the military with Kevlar® protection

 
 
 

Tactical and combat vehicles transport some our country’s greatest assets — the brave men and women of the U.S. military — and products made with DuPont™ Kevlar® help keep them protected. Kevlar® technology brings innovative, proven protection solutions capable of helping to address a wide range of threats. 

Lightweight armor systems made with Kevlar® fiber help optimize the essential properties needed for effective advanced ballistic protection, such as providing multi-hit protection, maintaining ballistic capability through a variety of conditions and superior durability.

Kevlar® has been included in almost all mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) variants and can be found in a wide range of vehicles such as RG-31 and RG-33 MRAP, M-ATV, Stryker, M113, Breacher, Paladin, C-5, C-17, C-30, HMMWV and more.

 
 
 

What Keeps You Safe: Soldiers—DuPont science, history, innovation, and investment help protect those in the armed forces.

 
 
 

Spall liners

 
 
 

Spall liners are composite panels, made with Kevlar® fiber, mounted to the inside of the shell structure of armored vehicles. They protect personnel inside by catching spall fragments of the outer shell blown into the vehicle by the concussion of incoming ordnance before it contacts them. Used alone or in combination with metals or ceramics, spall liners of Kevlar® help increase crew survivability in combat.

Spall liners made with Kevlar® do not melt or shrink when exposed to extreme heat and flame, and only carbonize at very high temperatures (approximately 900ºF in air). They are also extremely resistant to cuts.

Spall liners made with Kevlar® help protect the crew from spall generated by threats like RPGs and EFPs as well as provide self-extinguishing properties in the event the inside of the vehicle becomes engulfed in flames due to a hit. Composites of Kevlar® and other materials are also used to help protect aircraft and helicopter crews from ballistic threats up to .50 caliber machine guns.

 
 
 

MRAP vehicles

 
 
 

Mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles serve a vital role in military ballistic protection in hostile territories. MRAP vehicles with panels made using Kevlar® spall liners help increase crew survivability from IED (improvised explosive device) and EFP (explosively formed penetrator) threats.

 
 
 

Unidirectional structures

 
 
 

Kevlar® is offered in unidirectional (UD) structures. These higher-performing structures with Kevlar® are qualified for the pending unidirectional (UD) MIL spec.

 
 
 

Bradley Fighting Vehicle

 
 
 

Kevlar® has been included in the Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) for the U.S. military since it was originally tested and proven to perform to the required specifications set out by the U.S. military.

 
 
 

RPG nets

 
 
 

RPG nets made with Kevlar® fiber deliver weight savings of thousands of pounds when compared to conventional RPG armor.

 
 
 

Tensylon™

DuPont™ Tensylon™ offers armor solutions providers an unparalleled combination of performance, cost and weight to meet their design needs.

Explore