Capabilities · Advanced Protection
Lightweight protection should do more than stop an impact.
Protection is often treated as a material problem. In reality, it is a system problem.
Conceptual visualisation
A complete engineering problem
A protective structure has to manage impact, distribute energy, control deformation and survive its environment — and it still has to be practical to manufacture, install, inspect and maintain. Each of these demands pulls on the design, and a solution that satisfies one at the expense of the others is not a solution.
ACE combines advanced materials with structural architecture rather than relying on a single material to do everything. Weight is removed by understanding how impact energy moves through the system, not by simply making the structure thinner.
Applications under development
- Personnel
- Protected vehicles
- Special-purpose structures
- Naval applications
- Critical infrastructure
Each application brings its own combination of threat, environment, weight budget and maintenance regime. The engineering direction is shared; the resulting structures are not.
Engineering approach
Modular by design
One of the areas being explored is modular protection. Instead of treating armour as one permanent block, the structure can be designed around replaceable or configurable protective elements. This opens up possibilities for easier repair, upgrading over time and mission-specific configuration.
- Impact and energy management
- How the structure receives, spreads and absorbs energy is the starting point for every layout decision.
- Deformation control
- Managing how a structure deforms — and what sits behind it — is as important as the first line of defence.
- Environmental durability
- Protection has to hold its performance through temperature, moisture, vibration and years of service.
- Installation and maintenance
- Mounting, inspection, damage assessment and replacement are designed in, not added afterwards.
- Replaceable and configurable elements
- Modular elements allow damaged sections to be exchanged and protection levels to be adapted to the mission.
Material stack-ups, thicknesses and structural architecture are not published. ACE communicates the principle, not the recipe.
Protecting people, vehicles or infrastructure?
Describe the application, the environment and the weight and maintenance constraints you are working within. We will tell you plainly whether our direction fits.
Next capability
Transparent Protection