Military Vehicle Protected by AGY Glass Fibres
AGY's S-2 Glass fibres were chosen as a base material providing structural and ballistic protection in the Ocelot Light Protected Patrol Vehicle (LPPV) developed by Force Protection Europe (FPE). AGY claims the Ocelot, which has been designed to meet the UK Ministry of Defence's (MoD's) LPPV programme requirements, provides unprecedented levels of blast protection for a vehicle its size. Developer FPE has been contracted by the MoD for the production of the Ocelot and has received an initial order for 200 vehicles to begin delivery in 2011 for deployment in the most hostile of operational environments.
According to AGY, the MoD's LPPV vehicle programme requires a significant level of armouring to protect against ballistic, mine and roadside bomb threats and this is achieved in part through the use of our S-2 Glass reinforcing fibres. S-2 Glass fibres are said to be a high-performance fibre glass offering improvements over traditional E-Glass fibres. The composite can be built to provide structure and has the ability to handle the mechanical aspects of an advanced vehicle design.
In this particular case, it also offers protection for both blast and ballistic testing, yet weighs less than traditional metallic materials. The whole crew compartment is manufactured of the S-2 Glass composite, which AGY claims dampens and absorbs incoming blast waves better than metallic crew compartments. In traditional light-armoured vehicles, a metallic skin is backed by a composite spall liner to mitigate the behind-armour effects in an over-match situation.
Because the hull is composite in the Ocelot, there is a reduced spall liner requirement, further reducing weight. The choice of materials in the composite shell also affords protection against fire, smoke and toxicity that AGY claims is not inherent in many of the more expensive high performance fibres.
According to AGY, the MoD's LPPV vehicle programme requires a significant level of armouring to protect against ballistic, mine and roadside bomb threats and this is achieved in part through the use of our S-2 Glass reinforcing fibres. S-2 Glass fibres are said to be a high-performance fibre glass offering improvements over traditional E-Glass fibres. The composite can be built to provide structure and has the ability to handle the mechanical aspects of an advanced vehicle design.
In this particular case, it also offers protection for both blast and ballistic testing, yet weighs less than traditional metallic materials. The whole crew compartment is manufactured of the S-2 Glass composite, which AGY claims dampens and absorbs incoming blast waves better than metallic crew compartments. In traditional light-armoured vehicles, a metallic skin is backed by a composite spall liner to mitigate the behind-armour effects in an over-match situation.
Because the hull is composite in the Ocelot, there is a reduced spall liner requirement, further reducing weight. The choice of materials in the composite shell also affords protection against fire, smoke and toxicity that AGY claims is not inherent in many of the more expensive high performance fibres.
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