Super fast, super strong, super steel
Super Bainite is an experimental high performance armour steel developed, designed and manufactured in the UK.
MOD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) along with Cambridge University and QinetiQ have developed Super Bainite using thermodynamic modelling techniques to speed up the development process to months rather than years.
Super Bainite develops its strength through isothermal hardening which is a low temperature hardening process achieving high levels of hardness without the need for expensive alloying.
Peter Brown, Dstl scientist says: "Due to the unique process by which we have developed this new armour, Super Bainite is able to match the ballistic performance of the very best offshore armour steels for a fraction of the cost."
The first armour plates of Super Bainite are now being used in ballistic testing.