FNSS wins contract for armored vehicles equipped with Dyneema tape

DSM Dyneema (Heerlen, The Netherlands), manufacturer of ultrahigh-molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber, on May 8 announced a major new milestone for its lightweight, cost-effective Dyneema BT10 ballistic tape.

FNSS Savunma Sistemleri A.Ş., a producer of armored vehicles based in Turkey, won a contract from an Asian government to manufacture 8 by 8 PARS amphibious armored personnel vehicles featuring spall liners made with BT10. DSM Dyneema says that BT10 enabled FNSS to meet the highly stringent specifications for the spall liner.

Spall liners protect vehicle occupants from high-velocity fragments that are created when, for example, explosive shells send shock waves through the vehicle’s metal armor. In developing the armored vehicles, FNSS says it put special emphasis on mobility, protection and payload. FNSS will use Dyneema BT10 tape for spall liners in 257 PARS (Turkish for Anatolian leopard) vehicles. The amphibious vehicle will be supplied in 12 variants from 2013 to 2018.

“At FNSS, we take life protection very seriously and are committed to providing the highest possible degree of safety to the men and women who operate and travel in the vehicles we produce,” says Javier Garcia, chief engineer and ballistics specialist at FNSS. “This is why we selected BT10 from DSM Dyneema, one of the toughest, most lightweight and cost-effective ballistic-resistant materials in the world. Spall liners made with BT10 can make a tremendous difference in life-threatening situations. Not only was it a good business decision to choose this high-performance tape technology, but it’s a good feeling to know that we are doing all we can to help protect service people from harm.”

The tape as a spall liner is said to provide proven ballistic performance against improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and explosively formed penetrators (EFPs).

“DSM Dyneema sees tremendous growth potential for BT10 in the defense market because of its ability to meet multiple customer needs while providing exceptional ballistic performance for life protection,” says Christian Widdershoven, global vice president at DSM Dyneema. “It allows designers and manufacturers to balance the requirements for better ballistic performance with agility under increased vehicle payloads, all at a competitive cost level. We are extremely pleased that FNSS was able to leverage the benefits of Dyneema BT10 tape to win this important contract.”

FNSS has an extensive product line consisting of a universal family of tracked and wheeled armored combat vehicles and combat utility vehicles. It already supplies the armed forces of Turkey and allied nations.