Since the day the first man threw a rock at his cave-mate, societies have been racing to develop armor that would defend against the projectiles of their enemies, or to develop projectiles that would defeat their enemys armor. Amazing strides have been made in the last quarter century in the field of ballistic protection, but as with any use of new technology, there have been setbacks, some severe. Without stringent and effective standards of manufacture and testing, those setbacks have the potential to envelop and cripple the industry. Very recent changes to the way ballistic armor is regulated will save the industry, and the lives of the police officers who depend on it.

High performance polymeric fibres have met a warm welcome, right from their introduction on the market. The availability of materials with strength surpassing widely that of traditional construction materials has stimulated the imagination of many. A large number of ideas for new applications or creative solutions to existing problems have been proposed. However, no single application field has been revolutionized to such an extent as the field of lightweight armor. Lightweight armor is used in those situations wherein traditional armor (as steel and concrete) cannot be used because of weight limitations. Major application fields are personal protection, Armoring of vehicles, Helicopters, Patrol boats and Transportable shelters (as command shelters). Present day state of the art lightweight armor is based on strong organic and inorganic materials. To read more,

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Kunwar Venkteshwar Singh holds an M.Tech (Textiles) from IIT Delhi. He was working as a Technical Executive at The Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA), Mumbai. Currently he is working as Product Manager (New Services) at Business Development Bureau, Veritas Consumer Product Services (I) Pvt. Ltd.