Armor: Foaming It In
26th June 2019
CMF (Composite metal foam) could provide superior protection against bullets and be much lighter as well, the theory was put to the test and it worked. This was done by modifying existing composite armor designs by substituting CMF for steel. This resulted in armor that weighed less and had superior stopping power. Composite armor is most widely used for tank armor. This is also called Chobham armor, after the place where it was developed in Britain during the 1960s. Composite armor used layers of metal (steel, depleted uranium and now CMF) separated by layers of ceramics to provide the most effective tank armor ever. Composite armor remains popular because it provides superior stopping power compared to the same weight of just high-quality steel plate armor. CMF takes this one step further by adding another lighter material, this time to replace some of the steel layers.
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What makes CMF so effective is that the metal foam compresses when it is hit by a high-speed projectile.
Such as an APDS penetrator rod, the most common form of anti-tank ammunition. Chobham armor was developed to defeat shaped charge weapons, like RPGs, which is why RPGs aren’t used on tanks any more.