Advanced Modular Armor Protection
Advanced Modular Armor Protection (AMAP) is modular composite armour concept, developed by the German company IBD Deisenroth Engineering. According to IBD AMAP is a 4th generation composite armour, making use of nano-ceramics and modern steel alloy technologies. AMAP is the successor of MEXAS.
Some modules of the AMAP family can be combined to create an all-around protection.
AMAP is making use of new advanced steel alloys, Aluminium-Titanium alloys, nanometric steels, ceramics and nano-ceramics. The new high-hardened steel needs 30% less thickness to offer the same protection level as ARMOX500Z High Hard Armour steel. While Titanium requires only 58% as much weight as rolled homogeneous armour (RHA) for reaching the same level of protection, Mat 7720 new, a newly developed Aluminium-Titanium alloy, needs only 38% of the weight. That means that this alloy is more than twice as protective as RHA of the same weight.
AMAP is also making use of new nano-ceramics, which are harder and lighter than current ceramics, while having multi-hit capability. Normal ceramic tiles and a liner backing have a mass-efficiency (EM) value of 3 compared to normal steel armour, while it fulfills STANAG 4569. The new nano-crystalline ceramic materials should increase the hardness compared to current ceramics by 70% and the weight reduction is 30%, therefore the EM value is larger than 4. Furthermore, the higher fracture toughness increases the general multi-hit capability. Some AMAP-modules might consist of this new ceramic tiles glued on a backing liner and overlaid by a cover, a concept which is also used by MEXAS. Lightweight SLAT armour is also part of the AMAP family. In excess new nano-ceramic armour overlaying a vehicle's base armour, which is backed up by a spall-liner, can achieve a weight reduction of more than 40% to meet the Level 3 of STANAG 4569. Furthermore, AMAP's glue and lining components are working efficiently even at high temperatures (like 80 °C (176 °F)).
AMAP is a modular protection concept, therefore several modules, some of them in different variants according to the required protection level, are formed. The efficiency may be increased if more types of AMAP-modules are used.
An active protection system named AMAP-ADS (Active Defense System) was developed to prevent a vehicle from being hit by ballistic threats. The system is also known under the name AAC in Sweden and under the name Shark in France. AMAP-ADS is by now one of the fastest active protection systems. In contrast to millisecond systems like Raytheon's Quick Kill or IMI's Iron Fist it is a microsecond system, needing only microseconds to react. This reduces the minimum defeat distance and enables protection against more different threats like RPGs or EFPs. Sensors for target detection and countermeasures are installed all around the vehicle. The system weight is 140 kg for light vehicles and up to 500 kg for heavy vehicles.
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