Air Force cadet creates bulletproof breakthrough

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  • myhightechsec

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    My niece just graduated with this young, new 2nd Lt.

    They tested their combinations on the firing range, failing time and again, until one day their quarter-inch thick design repeatedly stopped a round fired from a 9mm handgun.


    Weir and Ryan's excitement was tempered by the range safety officer who pulled his .44 Magnum and told them bluntly, "This will fail."


    Ryan says, "We loaded it in and it stopped it. And it stopped it a second time, and then a third time."
    Air Force cadet creates bulletproof breakthrough | Fox News
     

    phylodog

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    I predicted body armor would turn toward this type of technology several years ago. Good for her! I hope it is successful and she receives the acclaim and fortune she deserves.
     

    KokomoDave

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    It looks better than that Dragon body armor I bought years ago. Heavy as heck and clunky. I think I need to blow it up with some binaries!! Yay!!
     

    KellyinAvon

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    First off, as this illustrates the Air Force are the smart ones :D Now that I have that out of the way...

    I read this story earlier today. What really struck me was that at every step of the way someone in authority was telling her "it will never work". She persevered and proved all of them wrong. Body armor at one-third the weight? That is freakin HUGE!

    The Range Officer said, "This will fail." when testing the material against a .44 magnum. I will now say what Cadet Weir could not, "IN YOUR FACE, RANGE BOY!!"
     

    Alpo

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    First off, as this illustrates the Air Force are the smart ones :D Now that I have that out of the way...

    I read this story earlier today. What really struck me was that at every step of the way someone in authority was telling her "it will never work". She persevered and proved all of them wrong. Body armor at one-third the weight? That is freakin HUGE!

    The Range Officer said, "This will fail." when testing the material against a .44 magnum. I will now say what Cadet Weir could not, "IN YOUR FACE, RANGE BOY!!"


    At what rank does "stupid" kick in? Body armor formulation criticism, A-10 decommissioning plans. There is a lot of stupid up there somewhere.
     

    KellyinAvon

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    At what rank does "stupid" kick in? Body armor formulation criticism, A-10 decommissioning plans. There is a lot of stupid up there somewhere.
    Yet we still have the A-10 (fast-movers been tryin to retire the Hawg since pre-Desert Shield, all have failed) and we see the story detailing a successful test that is a complete success. Blind obedience = stupid.
     

    Alamo

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    Um, where did it say that anyone tried to stop her or failed to support her at every step? Her prof was dubious about the idea, but clearly supported her effort, and the Academy put resources into her project. The range officer - or more likely, NCO - not somebody who had yes or no authority on her effort, he's just running the range. Even if the 44 mag had punched through, she had already proven the concept, now to work on scaling it up and engineering it for practical application. Full scholarship to Clemson for a Masters? Yo.
     

    KellyinAvon

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    Um, where did it say that anyone tried to stop her or failed to support her at every step? Her prof was dubious about the idea, but clearly supported her effort, and the Academy put resources into her project. The range officer - or more likely, NCO - not somebody who had yes or no authority on her effort, he's just running the range. Even if the 44 mag had punched through, she had already proven the concept, now to work on scaling it up and engineering it for practical application. Full scholarship to Clemson for a Masters? Yo.
    That's a bit of a reach, not stopping = supporting. As far as the range? I'm saying no way this happened on the range run by the 325th Security Forces Squadron. AFCEA (formerly AFCESA, formerly something else) would be doing all this, probably with a civvie or a contractor running the range.
     

    jsharmon7

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    Stretch Armstrong dolls have been bulletproof since the 1970s. It's the same concept. Hop on YouTube and check out TAOFLEDERMAUS. Arfcom had a thread about the same thing earlier this year with people suggesting it be used with Kevlar material.
     
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    oldpink

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    It sounds like an advanced formulation of good old oobleck combined with ballistic fibers.
    It would be a total win/win if this proves as good as it sounds.
     

    Thor

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    I wonder how this would work as a ballistic shied in aircraft or add on to armored vehicles. Interesting. Could save a lot of weight on the up-armored Hummer which is operating near max weight.
     

    Chance

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    Neat but not new. Shear thickening fluids have been around for a long time. Common experiment in college classes. Liquid body armor developed in 2002 at the US Army Research Lab in Adelphi, MD. Patent application made in 2003.
     

    HoughMade

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    Neat but not new. Shear thickening fluids have been around for a long time. Common experiment in college classes. Liquid body armor developed in 2002 at the US Army Research Lab in Adelphi, MD. Patent application made in 2003.

    Sure, but applying it in a way that is, for lack of a better word, interwoven and can be applied vertically- seems new. Kinda like saying a new Tesla is no different from a 1903 Baker Electric because the idea of battery/electric cars has been around for over a hundred years.
     

    Chance

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    First experiments of treating fabric like Kevlar with this type of liquid were by the Army and University of Delaware. Patent for Advanced Body Armor Utilizing Shear Thickening Fluids submitted by Norm Wagner and Eric Wetzel in 2003. A great invention to be sure. This material is being manufactured already by BAE Systems.
     

    TheWabbit

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    The news article talks about the weight of soldier's ceramic armor, but that is Level IV. This stuff is not even close yet unless they are shooting standard and AP rifle rounds at it. 9mm is only Level II and .44mag is Level IIIA. Modern Level IIIA armor plates only weigh 1lb each.
     
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