New methods of ballistic protection are high on the list of priorities for the Direction Générale d’Armements (DGA) in its work on materials, which is an important factor in technological capabilities such as efficiency and protection of the soldier, optimization of armoured vehicles, innovative naval platforms and future aircraft platforms. Scientific research in the field of materials, chemistry and energy is directed at protection and perforation to respond to the military requirement for equipment (land sea and air transport) and personnel protection (which includes ballistic body armour, helmets and helicopter seats), and the civil need for the safety of goods and people (in civil aircraft and on the railways, such as frontal protection for high-speed trains, food transport and building protection—for example, nuclear power stations, official buildings, banks and commercially prominent buildings).

          Solutions for protection against ballistic or explosive threats essentially seek dynamic mechanical performance, which boils down to behaviour under high-speed deformation, shock-wave propagation in materials, modes of damage and dynamic rupture and erosion under high pressure. Even though it is the material parameters which govern these properties, it is necessary to think in terms of protection solutions as a whole, rather than just of the material itself, since the effectiveness of the system will depend as much on the design of its components as on how they are manufactured. To be able to optimize a system of protection it is necessary to think in scales running from the microstructure of the material, through the macroscopic structure to the assembly of the various components which will make up the finished system in its working environment.

          Protection is increasingly designed to provide improved performance for a system and the current tendency is to do this by combining protection with another function in a complementary fashion. The multi-functionality of equipment, in addition to the lightening of structures, is a priority area of scientific research. It is not possible to speak of a material without associating it with the procedures used in its manufacture because it is always these which will, to a large extent, control the final properties obtained. Taking the notion of ‘reparability’ of armour into account at the design stage enables maintenance costs to be minimised when it is replaced. The choice of protective materials will also be made taking into account recyclability and the energy costs of fabrication.