Hard armor composite

1. A hard armor composite, comprising:

(a) a rigid facing;

(b) a lightweight ballistic fabric backing carried by said facing, and comprising an array of bundled high-performance fibers, said fibers having a tensile strength greater than 7 grams per denier and a denier per filament ratio of less than 5.4, and said fabric backing comprising a plurality of overlying fabric layers, and said fabric backing and said rigid facing having a combined thickness of less than 0.900-inches, and wherein a thickness of said fabric backing comprises greater than 60% of the combined thickness of said fabric backing and said rigid facing;

(c) said hard armor composite having an areal density not greater than 5.1 psf, and increased ballistic resistance capable of defeating impacts from threats selected from a group consisting of:

i. NATO 7.62×51 mm—80 Ball at 2,750+50 feet per second;

ii. Soviet 7.62 mm×54R Ball Type LPS at 2,300+50 feet per second; and;

iii. U.S. 5.56 mm M855 Ball at 3,250+50 feet per second; and

(d) means for adhering said fabric backing to said facing, said means for adhering being selected from a group consisting of a polymer film, an epoxy adhesive, a polysulfide adhesive, a polyurethane adhesive, a phenolic adhesive, a polyester adhesive, a polyvinyl butyral adhesive, a polyolefin adhesive, and a vinyl ester adhesive.

2. A hard armor composite according to claim 1 , wherein said fabric layers are laminated under heat and pressure to form a unitary ballistic structure.

3. A hard armor composite according to claim 1 , wherein said facing is constructed of a material selected from the group consisting of ceramic, steel, glass, aluminum, titanium, and graphite.

4. A hard armor composite according to claim 1 , wherein said high-performance fibers are selected from the group consisting of aramid, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), poly{p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole} (PBO), and poly{diimidazo pyridinylene(dihydroxy)phenylene} (M5).

5. A hard armor composite according to claim 1 , wherein said rigid facing comprising a generally flat, continuous monolithic plate.

6. A hard armor composite, comprising:

(a) a rigid facing;

(b) a lightweight ballistic fabric backing carried by said facing, and comprising an array of bundled high-performance fibers, said fibers having a tensile strength greater than 7 grams per denier and a denier per filament ratio of less than 5.4, and said fabric backing comprising a plurality of overlying fabric layers, and said fabric backing and said rigid facing having a combined thickness of less than 0.900-inches, and wherein a thickness of said fabric backing comprises greater than 60% of the combined thickness of said fabric backing and said rigid facing;

(c) said hard armor composite having an areal density not greater than 5.1 psf, and increased ballistic resistance capable of defeating impacts from threats selected from a group consisting of:

i. NATO 7.62×51 mm—80 Ball at 2,750+50 feet per second;

ii. Soviet 7.62 mm×54R Ball Type LPS at 2,300+50 feet per second; and;

iii. U.S. 5.56 mm M855 Ball at 3,250+50 feet per second.

7. A hard armor composite, comprising:

(a) a ceramic facing; and

(b) a lightweight ballistic fabric backing carried by said facing, and comprising an array of bundled high-performance fibers, said fibers having a tensile strength greater than 7 grams per denier and a denier per filament ratio of no more than 2.0, and said fabric backing comprising a plurality of overlying fabric layers, and said fabric backing and said ceramic facing having a combined thickness of less than 0.900-inches, and wherein a thickness of said fabric backing comprises greater than 60% of the combined thickness of said fabric backing and said rigid facing; and

(c) said hard armor composite having an areal density not greater than 5.1 psf, and increased ballistic resistance capable of defeating impacts from threats selected from a group consisting of:

i. NATO 7.62×51 mm—80 Ball at 2,750+50 feet per second;

ii. Soviet 7.62 mm×54R Ball Type LPS at 2,300+50 feet per second; and;

iii. U.S. 5.56 mm M855 Ball at 3,250+50 feet per second.

8. A hard armor composite according to claim 7 , wherein said ceramic facing comprises a material selected from the group consisting of boron carbide, silicon carbide, titanium diboride, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, sintered silicon carbide, sintered silicon nitride, and aluminum oxide.

9. A hard armor composite according to claim 7 , and comprising means for adhering said fabric backing to said ceramic facing.

10. A hard armor composite according to claim 9 , wherein said means for adhering comprises a polymer film.

11. A hard armor composite according to claim 9 , wherein said means for adhering comprises an adhesive selected from the group consisting of an epoxy adhesive, a polysulfide adhesive, a polyurethane adhesive, a phenolic adhesive, a polyester adhesive, a polyvinyl butyral adhesive, a polyolefin adhesive, and a vinyl ester adhesive.

12. A hard armor composite according to claim 7 , wherein said ceramic facing comprises a generally flat, continuous monolithic plate.

13. A hard armor composite according to claim 7 , wherein said high-performance fibers are selected from the group consisting of aramid, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), poly{p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole} (PBO), and poly{diimidazo pyridinylene (dihydroxy) phenylene} (M5).

14. A hard armor composite according to claim 7 , wherein said fabric layers are laminated under heat and pressure to form a unitary ballistic structure.