Structurally-Integrated Ballistic Protection of Military Aircraft Through ONNEX-Based Lightweight Armor Systems

The proposed program will logically extend the Phase I activity, focusing on Excera’s ONNEX™/BlueStar™ armor technology. Based on a near-net shape process for producing ceramic composite materials, this effort will focus on both enhanced ballistic protection as well as structurally conformal armor for use in aircraft. Efforts focused on the former will leverage the efforts of concurrent DoD programs targeting reduced weight, protection against more aggressive rounds and improved multi-strike performance. Tailoring and optimizing the ceramic composite microstructure to enhance the specific ballistic goals of the program will achieve this. Additionally, Excera will work with armor system integrators to reduce the integrated system weight via novel backing assemblies. Efforts to refine the structurally conformal armor system demonstrated during the Phase I effort will focus on a NAVAIR selected application. Excera, working closely with selected armor/vehicle integrators, will integrate the results from the ballistic performance efforts into a shaped armor system using its proprietary Tool-Free Forming (TFF) process. TFF allows the fabrication of complex/custom armor shapes without application specific tooling. The completed armor system will be subjected to live fire testing and airworthiness requirements (AWR) per the request of NAVAIR.