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Armor Holdings, Inc. would appear to be on a serious ballistic armor technology acquisition mission as of late. First, on February 4th of this year (2006), they announced that they are now the exclusive licensee of shear thickening fluid (STF) technology that has been developed by the University of Delaware Center for Composite Materials (UD-CCM) in partnership with the Weapons and Materials Research Directorate of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL). Shear thickening fluid is an application of nanotechnology that the developers claim can enhance the performance of ballistic materials (ballistic fiber/fabric, etc.) when STF is incorporated into it.
In its normal state, STF is soft and fluid-like. However, when...
As a result, this special material can be applied to conventional ballistic fabrics or other materials used in armor applications, allowing them to remain flexible under normal wear, but simultaneously becoming resistant to penetration when impacted by a spike, knife or high velocity projectile or fragment. STF treated fabrics effectively spread the energy over a larger area.