Lockheed Martin [LMT] yesterday said it has signed a nonexclusive licensing agreement with Ceradyne Inc., [CRDN] for the development, manufacture and application of the Lockheed Martin-developed TekShieldTM lightweight, opaque ceramic armor.
TekShield can protect soldiers against coupled threat effects common in today’s urban tactical environments, such as a bomb blasts followed by a swarm of projectiles or armor- piercing sniper fire. The system’s unique ceramic design represents a new generation of protection that is affordable, lightweight and superior to legacy ceramic armor.
“TekShield has been tested against a variety of ballistic threats, from hand grenades to bomb blasts, and this level of vehicle protection has never been delivered in such a lightweight design,” Reggie Grant, director for Advanced Programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said in a statement. “Combining Lockheed Martin’s systems integration experience with Ceradyne’s knowledge of ceramics will more quickly deliver lightweight, affordable ceramic vehicle armor to the Warfighters who need it most.”
Marc King, president of Ceradyne Armor Systems, said: “Lockheed Martin’s initial development of TekShield has opened a new path for applying ceramic armor to tactical vehicles. TekShield combined with Ceradyne’s expertise in lightweight ceramic armor applications and designs will create a new class of lightweight armor to better support the expeditionary requirements of our tactical vehicle fleet.”
TekShield armor technology can easily scale to meet specific threats, from small caliber rifles and mid-range cannons to IEDs and other explosive devices. Unlike other armor products, TekShield can be developed for opaque, transparent and semi-reactive applications, depending on customer needs.