Bassfield, Miss. – May 18, 2008 – Provide lighter, stronger vehicle armor and you’ll have DARPA’s ear. That’s why ARES Systems Group, LLC, is participating in the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA) Armor Challenge Program. The program aims to identify revolutionary and promising new armor systems for military vehicles by sponsoring periodic “shoot-outs” of new armor concepts. In particular, the program’s goal is a 50 percent reduction in weight compared to traditional Rolled Homogenous Armor (RHA).

DARPA recently purchased six ARES EXO Scale-LA™ armor coupons for testing as part of its Armor Challenge.

Unlike steel plates piled on top of each other in hope of simply blocking projectiles, ARES’ armor consists of a proprietary composite structure that deforms and redirects incoming projectiles. “We developed our armor solution by approaching the physics of ballistic impacts while keeping in mind everything we know and understand about mechanics and materials,” said Dr. Jerome Holton, ARES chief technology officer. “The result was a new, novel and effective solution.”

ARES’ optimized its EXO Scale armor’s ability to reduce the impact of larger explosively formed projectiles to create EXO Scale-LA, an armor designed to protect against small arms fire (.30 caliber). EXO Scale-LA is a stand-alone product that continues to maintain the same principles of scattering and redirecting energy in a thin, lightweight package.

The right combination of weight and strength is the secret of EXO Scale-LA. “Contemporary, lightweight ballistic materials have poor multiple hit performance,” continued Dr. Holton. “ARES’ armor solutions mitigate that shortcoming by ensuring damage from a ballistic impact doesn't extend over a distance greater than two to three times the projectile caliber.”
As a result, the armor is expected to have superior multi-hit performance compared to standard armor.

In addition to EXO Scale-LA’s multi-hit strength, the armor has two more strengths: the armor’s relatively low density allows for up to 1.5 inches of armor to be used while still realizing weight savings compared to the RHA armor; and the components used in the design are low-cost and readily available.

DARPA is conducting Armor Challenge “shoot outs” periodically. After the shoot outs, performance will be evaluated in two areas: 1) potential to reduce armor weight; and 2) expected cost of the armor in production quantities.