Titanium Ceramic Armor
To add to jonathan s answer titanium is also exceptionally brittle compared to steel.
Titanium ceramic armor. Chobham armour is the informal name of a composite armour developed in the 1960s at the british tank research centre on chobham common surrey the name has since become the common generic term for composite ceramic vehicle armour other names informally given to chobham armour include burlington and dorchester. The energy dissipation mechanisms for this type of structure are. This armor is not the one tested in the video but is an example of alloy plates available for armor systems. Rma manufactures the strongest lightest and most affordable ceramic and polyethylene hard armor plates in the u s.
Such alloys have very high tensile strength and toughness even at extreme temperatures light weight extraordinary corrosion resistance and ability to withstand extreme temperatures. Ceramic strike faces feature heavily in subsequent models of soviet and russian armor though until quite recently body armor in russia often comprised titanium and steel portions. Armor tiles having a complex geometric interface between titanium and a titanium ceramic composite material can be produced using a combination of direct manufacturing and hot pressing. An example of such a structure is shown below where an arcam system was used to construct a ti 6 4 structure directly from a cad file.
Our body armor plates are certified or compliant with nij 0101 06 standards. This appears to have been eschewed entirely in recent years. Nij 0101 06 certifiedlevel iv multi hit ceramic rifle rated body armor plates are designed to withstand rugged usage while not compromising the ballistic integrity of the plate. It is multi hit 30 06 m2ap tested by an nij certified laboratory and can defeat between 5 7 m2ap rounds.
The most advanced russian model at present the 6b46 granite 5a armor plate appears to be. I m not sure that wearing around an inch and a quarter thick plate of titanium is an improvement over the thinner steel based on bulkiness but it sure does stop the rounds even a black tip 50bmg which almost made it through. From level iiia to level iv you can be confident that rma s nij certified and compliant hard armor will do the job. Our hard armor plates are designed developed manufactured and tested using state of the art processes and equipment to ensure quality and performance when deployed by operators throughout numerous tactical and urban situations.
The key to stopping small arms such as pistols or rifles depends not solely on hardness but also the capability of the plate to take multiple hits before it.