Advanced Aluminum Armor Alloys

  Source:  Light Metal Age

Aluminum armor solutions have been in existence for the past 60 years, almost since the start of the Aluminum Association circa 1954. These plate products were developed for armored personnel carriers, either wheeled or tracked. Armored vehicles serve an important function as reconnaissance, ambulance, scout, or infantry delivery vehicles. One of the first armored vehicles, which used aluminum armor, was the M113 armored personnel vehicle (Figure 1). The M113 introduced new aluminum armor that made the vehicle much lighter than earlier vehicles; it was thick enough to protect the crew and passengers against small arms fire, but light enough that the vehicle was air transportable.

Read more:  Advanced Aluminum Armor Alloys by Michael Niedzinski, Constellium