The defense and security technology company BAE Systems, based in Bristol, England, has created a type ofliquid armor capable of protecting from bullet impactsthat could be used to make bulletproof vests lighter than the current ones.
Specifically, this novel material is the result of combining anon-Newtonian dilating fluid with kevlar fiber, a resistant synthetic polyamide used in high security clothing. At the moment the company keeps the chemical formula of the liquid a secret, although they assure that the material works by absorbing the impact force of the bullet and responds by becoming more viscous. Specifically, the scientists behind the project have described itas “a bulletproof custard where molecules come together when there is an impact”.
BAE Systems claims that the liquid could be used to producemuch lighter, more flexible and effective bulletproof vestsfor military personnel. Kevlar with liquid works much faster and the impact is not as deep, so the new vests would protect from the impact of a bullet and in case its wearer was hit with shrapnel.
The tests used a large gas-operated pistol that fired metal bullets at more than 300 meters per second against two test materials: 31 layers of raw Kevlar and 10 layers of Kevlar combined with the dilating liquid. These results were presented during a defense technology exhibition at BAE’s Center for Advanced Technology in Bristol.
It is not the only defense technology in liquid form. Last year, scientists at the UK Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) began developing aPaint for military vehicles that could absorb the agents of a chemical attack and decontaminate itself.
