INL TECHNOLOGIES

Protecting Our Soldiers

INL’s survivability programs provide detection, avoidance and defeat of 

ballistic and explosive threats to the nation’s personnel, vehicles and 

critical infrastructure deployed worldwide.

I

daho National Laboratory has a rich history in 

armor development and 

survivability solutions. The 

laboratory’s focus in this area 

began more than 20 years 

ago, when the lab began 

manufacturing the heavy armor for the M1 Abrams tank. 

With a fleet of more than 

9,000 units, and armor so 

strong it can survive a direct 

hit, the Abrams tank is recognized as the world’s finest 

heavily armed and protected 

ground combat vehicle. 

Today, INL’s heritage in armor 

development and survivability 

continues with ongoing production supporting the Abrams 

program, and advanced 

research, development and 

prototyping of lightweight 

higher-performance armor for 

use on combat and combat 

support vehicles within the 

Department of Defense’s current armored force and future 

combat systems.

As a U.S. Department of 

Energy national laboratory, INL conducts a broad 

range of basic and applied 

research, focusing on comprehensive survivability 

solutions to meet the everchanging threat of asymmetrical warfare. INL provides 

solutions that capitalize on 

the laboratory’s superlative 

capabilities in survivability 

assessment, materials engineering, integrated design 

and award-winning manufacturing processes. 

INL’s government-industry 

research is focused on the 

armor needs of future combat 

systems. This process allows 

armor technology to be scaled 

up or down to meet multiple 

applications. The philosophy 

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underlying INL’s research is 

to consistently achieve highperformance armor manufacturing solutions composed 

of accessible materials and 

innovative manufacturing processes which provide affordable products to the military, 

law enforcement and homeland security personnel.

The laboratory is one of 

the nation’s few centralized 

locations performing comprehensive materials research 

and development, advanced 

modeling, simulation, testing 

and evaluation that leads to 

rapid armor prototypes and 

limited-run production. The 

laboratory’s depth spans from 

engineering to prototype to 

field trials providing validated 

manufacturing readiness 

solutions for industry scale-up 

when needed. 

INL’s Survivability Program

INL’s survivability program 

focuses on rapid development, 

testing and prototype qualification of integrated ballistic and 

blast survivability solutions, 

including friction stir alloying 

armor, roll-bonding and highperformance polymers that 

provide enhanced protection 

for the nation’s military. 

INL’s integrated team of experts provides program management, design, system analysis, engineering and prototype 

manufacturing skills necessary 

to achieve cutting-edge survivability solutions and rapid field 

implementation.

The lab’s experts can facilitate technology transfer 

of research and development 

products to manufacturing processes that assure 

implementation of survivability hardware for personnel, vehicles, equipment and 

facilities against current and 

emerging ballistic and explosives threats.

INL’s Survivability Program is organized to rapidly respond to military and 

government needs for rapid 

solutions, meeting the everchanging threat of asymmetric 

warfare.

The survivability program 

provides a closely woven 

network of capabilities at one 

secured and controlled location. The service is divided 

into eight centrally organized 

areas. Research areas include:

• Armor and Barrier Development is focused on the development of cost-effective 

armor materials and systems 

and manufacturing processes 

for light, medium and heavy 

armor systems designed to 

defeat current and emerging ballistic, improvised 

explosive devices, rocketpropelled grenades and 

explosive flyer plate threats. 

• INL’s Ballistic and Blast 

Modeling and Simulation 

team uses state-of-the-art 

techniques allowing rapid 

validation of test results 

and prediction of highest 

armor and blast performance achievable for a 

given system.

• Ballistic and Blast Testing 

& Evaluation is conducted 

on INL’s unique 890-squaremile desert landscape and 

secure facilities including 

the explosives test range and 

live fire test range.

• Critical Infrastructure Vulnerability Assessments includes 

a team of technical experts 

in physical and cyber-security threat assessments at facilities and industrial control 

system processes.

• Specific Manufacturing 

Capability is the nation’s 

INL is developing a prototype of a 

lightweight turret apron HMMWV 

cab, integrating INL’s conformal 

SiC tiles into a composite armor 

system for IED and level IV 

ballistic threats.

INL is working to improve 

the clarity of a pressureless 

sintered form of Aluminum 

Oxynitride (AION), as a 

transparent armor, which 

would result in reduced 

production costs, while 

maintaining survivability 

levels of existing AION 

products.

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INL TECHNOLOGIES

premier facility manufacturing heavy armor for the 

Abrams tank. 

• Explosives Detection 

Technology Development 

and Assessment serves to 

provide rapid solutions 

in detection technologies 

and independent testing 

and evaluation of solutions 

developed by others to support military and government agencies worldwide.

• Ballistics and Explosives 

Attack Avoidance Technology Development supports 

solutions to prevent terrorist attacks by providing 

resources and testing facilities, including a wireless 

test bed for radio frequency 

device testing.

• Technology Transfer to the 

commercial sector is facilitated at INL via several 

contracting vehicles with 

industry and government 

partners. INL-developed 

manufacturing processes in 

the prototype stage can be 

used to allow rapid field trials 

leading to expanded production with industry partners.

Materials Research

INL has a comprehensive 

understanding of materials behavior in aggressive and harsh 

environments. For more than 

half a century, the laboratory 

has applied knowledge and 

background in material characteristics to innovative technologies, including diverse sensor 

integration, defense materials, 

nuclear fuels with improved 

nonproliferation characteristics 

and light-armor development 

and manufacturing. Current 

survivability research includes:

Ceramic Armor:

• Pressureless-sintered SiC

• Pressureless-sintered SiCTiB2

• Transient liquid-phaseaided pressureless-sintered 

Aluminum Oxy-nitride 

(ALON)

Metallic Armor:

• Thermo-mechanical processing of Ti 10-2-3

• Plasma arc spray processing 

of Ti laminates

• Plasma arc spray processing 

of Al-alumina laminates

Material Bonding Processes:

• Brazing SiC to Ti

• Roll-bonding Ti laminates

• Friction stir-welding Ti

• Friction stir alloys of metallic-ceramic composition

Encapsulated Ceramic Armor:

• Spray-formed Al encapsulation of SiC

• Titanium encapsulated 

ceramic

Composite Armor:

• Polymer-ceramic

• Polymer-ceramic-glass, 

Topologically Controlled 

Lightweight Armor

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Barrier Systems

• Pumice protection barriers for explosives/ballistic 

threats

• Vault doors for EFP threats

INL researcher Dr. Henry Chu 

prepares an armor sample 

for ballistic testing at the 

laboratories armor penetration 

test bed. 

The images above display the 

results of several high-caliber 

impacts on two armor samples 

under evaluation at INL.

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INL TECHNOLOGIES

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Dr. John Garnier

208.526.9388

John.Garnier@inl.gov

Dr. Henry Chu

208.526.7514

Henry.Chu@inl.gov

Gary Thinnes

208.526.9298

Gary.Thinnes@inl.gov

A U.S. Department of Energy

National Laboratory

For more information

Modeling & Simulation

• Ballistic modeling – CTH, 

DYNA, EPIC, ZEUS, and 

ALEGRA

Testing & Evaluation

With 890 square miles of isolated and secure terrain, INL 

has the ability to merge technical expertise with physical 

assets. The high-desert landscape and dedicated physical 

security test beds include:

Live Fire Test Range:

• Seven ranges spanning from 

50 – 1,200 yards

• Indoor range - small arms 

rifles to 30 cal. AP 

• 14.5 mm

• 20 mm

• 30 mm

• RPG and higher (EFP)

• Chronographs

Mass Detonation Area:

• Single target or arena tests to 

20,000 lbs. TNT equivalent

• High-speed cameras and 

data acquisition systems

• Highly-trained staff with 

diverse background in explosives impacts

Flexible, Secure Facility 

Manufacturing

• High temperature 

• Radioactive and nonradioactive materials processing

• Armor, structural and 

shielding applications

• Ferrous and nonferrous 

metal alloys

• Metal matrix 

composites 

Battle-Proven Results

For more than two decades, 

INL has quietly been a 

recognized leader in unique 

survivability solutions for 

special military forces, lawenforcement agencies and 

homeland security personnel. 

INL’s expertise in confidential 

design, analysis and testing 

infrastructure combined with 

its engineering discipline is 

helping develop cost-effective 

survivability materials and 

systems that are saving lives 

from America’s home front to 

global battlefields. 

INL’s capabilities in survivability 

include the joining and friction 

stir welding of titanium armor 

plates at the laboratories 

comprehensive research and 

development facilities.

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