The new version of MIL-DTL-32232A from November 2018, superseding MIL-DTL-32332 from 24 July 2009, changed the ballistic test projectile for first article and acceptance testing of < 0.157in (4mm) Ultra-High-Hardness wrought steel armor plate (UHA).
After firstly having submitted an important amount of samples to ballistic testing in very thin gauges Mars® 600 to build a robust performance statistics, Industeel has requested U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center(ATC) of Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD to conduct ballistic testing in accordance with the acceptance standards of this military specification for First Article Certification.
Mars® 600 complied with the First Article requirements of the newly revised MIL-DTL-32332A specification and subsequent certification for use on US Combat vehicles was issued by U.S. Army Research Laboratory on June 27th , 2019.
Industeel is proud to be first steelmaker able to supply MIL-DTL-32332A certified armor plates in this thickness range.
Launched in 2013, Mars® 600 is a multipurpose Ultra-High-Hard (typical 600 HBW) protection steel with an impressive ballistic behavior in terms of deformation capacity and resistance to multi-impacts together with the highest toughness on the market and a workability close to a 500HB steel.
Its great properties suggest unlimited possibilities, as add-on armor but also as structural material.
As an example of these possibilities, Mars 600 was successfully used to produce the sides of the armored hull for a project of more than 1000 vehicles.
Mars® 600 is available in thicknesses from 2.55 to 80mm (if plus tolerances), covering a wide range of utilizations.
About Mars® protection steels family :
Mars® is Industeel’s exclusive brand for ballistic and blast protection steels.
The family includes 6 high quality grades covering almost every applications and benefiting for the same key features :
- Industeel’s experience of more than a century, supplying armor plates for various combat proven platforms
- Full mastery of production process, from careful scraps selection to final heat-treatment, testing and inspection
- Unique oil-immersion quenching line providing :
- excellent homogeneity of properties within the plate surface and thickness,
- superior flatness (3mm/m),
- reduced residual stresses compared to traditional water-quenched and tempered products, resulting in armor panels that exhibits minimal distortion during fabrication operations such as hot or cold cutting.
- Cut-to-length offer, allowing to produce very thin gauges (down to 2.3mm for Mars® 500 HHA) with narrow (-0/+0.4mm) tolerances
