Non-Ceramic hard armor composite

1 . A hard armor composite, comprising:

(a) a rigid non-ceramic facing comprising high-performance fibers having a tensile strength greater than 7 grams per denier and at least one non-ceramic element, and said high-performance fibers and said non-ceramic element being arranged in a structure selected from a group consisting of woven layers, non-woven unidirectional layers, knit layers, a three-dimensionally knit structure, and a three-dimensionally woven structure;

(b) a 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

(c) said rigid facing and fabric backing having a combined thickness of less than 0.900-inches, and a uniform areal density of no more than 5.1 pounds per square foot.

2 . A hard armor composite according to claim 1 , wherein said fabric backing comprises a plurality of overlying fabric layers.

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

4 . A hard armor composite according to claim 1 , and comprising means for adhering said fabric backing to said facing.

5 . A hard armor composite according to claim 4 , wherein said means for adhering comprises an adhesive selected from the group consisting of a thermoplastic polymer resin matrix and a thermosetting polymer resin matrix.

6 . A hard armor composite according to claim 4 , wherein said means for adhering comprises a polymer film.

7 . A hard armor composite according to claim 4 , 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.

8 . 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).

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

10 . A hard armor composite, comprising:

(a) a rigid non-ceramic facing comprising high-performance fibers having a tensile strength greater than 7 grams per denier and at least one non-ceramic element, and said high-performance fibers and said non-ceramic element being arranged in a structure selected from a group consisting of woven layers, non-woven unidirectional layers, knit layers, a three-dimensionally knit structure, and a three-dimensionally woven structure;

(b) a 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

(c) said rigid facing and fabric backing having a combined thickness of less than 0.900-inches, and a uniform areal density of no more than 5.1 pounds per square foot.

11 . A hard armor composite according to claim 13 , and comprising means for adhering said fabric backing to said non-ceramic facing.

12 . A hard armor composite according to claim 15 , 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, or a polyolefin adhesive, and a vinyl ester adhesive.

13 . A hard armor composite according to claim 13 , wherein said non-ceramic facing comprises a generally flat, continuous monolithic plate.

14 . A hard armor composite according to claim 13 , 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).