German Company Rheinmetall is displaying its new Sensing Armour technology at Eurosatory 2018. In its first application, this innovative technology significantly simplifies maintenance and inspection of hard ballistic inserts.

Sensing Armour technology at Eurosatory 2018 (Picture source Rheinmetall)

Facing new threats, armies, law enforcement agencies and security services are increasingly employing body armour equipped with hard ballistic inserts. First and foremost, these provide protection from rifle fire. During day-to-day operations, however, these inserts can suffer damage not just from rifle fire but also from blows or by being dropped – damage that is often invisible to the naked eye. This calls for careful inspection, and Sensing Armour makes this substantially easier.

The key element of Sensing Armour technology is a sensor system built directly into the insert. This makes it quick and easy to check for damage in externally intact inserts – with no need for expensive x-ray inspections. Moreover, Sensing Armour is nearly weight-neutral and does not affect the insert’s counter-ballistic performance. In future, Sensing Armour technology could also be used for checking the integrity of protective elements on board vehicles, helicopters and ships.

Ballistic protection expertise from Rheinmetall’s Sensing Armour technology is an ideal addition to the Group’s VERHA (“Versatile Rheinmetall Armour”) array of products. VERHA lends itself to a multitude of applications – in maritime, terrestrial and aerial vehicles as well as body armour components. In a series of orders, Rheinmetall has already supplied customers with protective systems for civil, military and law enforcement applications. These include partial armouring of ships, composite fibre protective elements for luxury limousines, hard ballistic inserts for bulletresistant vests, armour plate carriers for first responders, and quick-mount protective elements for armouring helicopter cockpits.