Considerations for increasing the ballistic protection levels of military vehicles

Abstract

There is an increasing trend toward reducing the weight of military vehicles, both to enable rapid air transport, which is now becoming a tactical requirement, and to improve vehicle traction parameters, such as range. This also creates the potential for rapid transport of heavy equipment during military missions in different parts of the world. As a result, thick, monolithic steel armor is slowly becoming a thing of the past, and significant attention is currently being paid to the potential use of composite materials. Composite armor should be resistant to impact, penetration by projectiles, mine and grenade fragments, and shockwaves. To assess armor’s resistance to these factors, tests are being conducted, including projectile impact resistance and resistance to penetration by fragments.
The best way to define requirements is to reference relevant normative documents. The standards currently in force in Poland do not cover testing entire objects such as vehicles; they focus on testing material samples or, to a narrow extent, selected structural elements. Currently, NATO has a document that can serve as a basis for defining appropriate requirements for vehicle ballistic protection. This document is STANAG 4569: Levels of protection for occupants of logistic and light armored vehicles.