US Funds Body Armor Research

MIT engineering grad student Benjamin Bruet is testing natural materials such as fish scales for their potential use in lightweight body armour.

by Staff Writers
Washington (UPI) Jul 20, 2006
The U.S. military is turning to the animal world in an effort to develop lighter, tougher and longer lasting body armor. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineering graduate student, Benjamin Bruet, is part of a U.S.-funded team that has tested horns, antlers, fish scales and other natural materials to study how animals shield themselves in the wild, National Geographic News reported.

Bruet is optimistic his research will be successful. "Within 10 years, drastic improvements will have already been implemented that will revolutionize the battle suit," he told NGN.

A major factor in developing new materials is weight.

Nick Taylor, manager of an Austin, Texas-based retailer of body armor, told National Geographic News: "For military use, your basic (body armor) setup is 15 to 20 pounds. The average soldier also wears about 40 pounds of gear on top of that, plus a helmet is 3 pounds."

And any new product must be thoroughly tested, he said, noting Zylon was introduced in the late 1990s as being lighter, thinner and more flexible. But two police officers were shot and killed wearing Zylon vests before scientists discovered the material may degrade quickly, becoming ineffective after a few years.

Source: United Press International

MILTECH

Elisra Group Unveils New Support Jamming System For Fighters

Farnborough, UK (SPX) Jul 18, 2006
The Elisra Group will introduce its new ALQ-903 Escort Jammer System at this year's Farnborough Air Show 2006 in the UK. The system allows penetration of complex layers of air defences, increasing the survivability of attacking forces.

SUPERPOWERS China's Top General Visits The Pentagon Japan Needs Sufficient Deterrence Against Attack Says Koizumi US-Russian Ties Strained At G8 How To Score Putin's G8	NUKEWARS North Korea Scraps North-South Family Reunions North Korea Launches Wartime Alert Premature To Speak Of Iran Sanctions Says Putin Agni Failure Bad News For India
MISSILE NEWS Successful Test Of First-stage Motor For US Navy Intermediate-Range Missile Israel Says 1500 Hezbollah Missiles Fired Accuses Iran Of Helping Abductions China Aims 820 Missiles At Taiwan BAE Systems to Protect Army Aircraft With Advanced System	MISSILE DEFENSE Lockheed Martin Delivers PCA Software For SBIRS EADS And India Join Forces To Develop A Missile Warning System South Korea To Develop Missile Defense Command US Missile Defence Experts To Inspect Czech Sites For Base
AEROSPACE Boeing Puts Aircraft Market At 2.6 Trillion Dollars Innovative Solutions Make Transportation Systems Safer Secure and Efficient Joint Strike Fighter Is Not Flawed Finds Australian Government Globemaster Airdrops Falcon Small Launch Vehicle	UAV NEWS Elop To Provide Naval And Aerial UAV Payloads Valued At 15 Million Dollars Global Hawk Assembly Begins At New Production Facility Boeing Begins ScanEagle Training In New Mexico Boeing Unmanned Little Bird Demonstrator Helicopter Flies Unmanned for First Time
IRAQ WARS Iraq Insurgents Switch Targets Bad Signs In Iraq Sadr Critical To Stability In Iraq Iraq Faces More Massacres	MILTECH US Funds Body Armor Research Elisra Group Unveils New Support Jamming System For Fighters Northrop Grumman Begins Flight Testing Of Global Hawk Radar Tech QinetiQ Sells TALON Robots To Royal Netherlands Army

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement