Bulletproof metal foam will make military equipment easier and more efficient.

The material is based on so-called composite metal foam (CMF). It is produced by

bubbling gas through molten metal—resulting in a foamy mixture that can then be cooled to form a lightweight matrix and hollow metal spheres placed within it.

The resulting material is much lighter than conventional metal bulletproof armor, but comparable in strength.

During the tests, armor was fired with shells 50caliber, which crashed into it with a speed of 500 m / s to 885 m / s. The material was able to withstand 72-75% of the kinetic energy of the shells and 68-78% of armor-piercing. In some cases, the shells did not leave dents on the material.

The CMF armor was less than half the weight of rolled uniform steel armor required to achieve the same level of protection.

Afsaneh Rabi, lead author of the study

Earlier, a team of scientists at Canadian University McGill created the "impenetrable" coating for working gloves, inspired by the structure of the scales in shell pike.