Composite phenolic prepreg materials from Advanced Composites Group Ltd. (ACG, Heanor, U.K.), part of the Composites Division of Umeco plc, are being used by U.K.-based Permali Gloucester Ltd. to manufacture appliqué armor and spall liners for more than 100 military vehicles recently ordered by the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MoD) from ST Kinetics in a deal worth more than £150 million/$238.7 million.

The project, which is dedicated to improving the protection of U.K. Armed Forces serving in urban environments of Afghanistan, will see the appliqué armor and spall liners used to ‘morph’ ST Kinetics' Bronco All Terrain Carrier into a variant that the MoD has designated the “Warthog.”

The contract for the armor, which will be completed by mid 2010, will be fulfilled by Permali Gloucester Ltd., a company with significant experience of applying ACG’s composite materials in this arena. Permali has developed the armor system to meet an exacting ballistic specification and to integrate with other essential equipment installed on the ST Kinetics’ Warthog vehicle. Permali will be using technologies developed around ACG’s ballistic composite phenolic prepreg materials, which Permali regards as being cost-effective and providing a solution that offers significant weight savings compared to traditional metallic solutions.

Permali will deliver sets of armor to ST Kinetics in Singapore and also to Thales in the U.K., the latter of which is responsible for system integration for the program. The Warthog is a development of ST Kinetics' Bronco All Terrain Carrier, a robust and proven articulated platform with a payload of more than 5 tonnes. The platform's articulated design delivers mobility across a wide range of terrain and climate, and is extensively armored. Delivery of the Warthog will begin at the end of this year.