Shielding the Future: Exploring the Global Ballistic Protection Market and its Evolving Landscape

Ballistic protection is the method that leads to protecting the vehicles and human body against missiles and bullets of different shapes, sizes, and impact velocities. This protection is usually required for soldiers, policemen, general security personnel, marine ships, airborne, and military vehicles. Many types of ballistic protection equipment are used for piercing and non-piercing impacts. For example, personal protection equipment is designed to stop vulnerable missiles or bullets and proffer protection against “bounce” impacts arising from falls, such as bricks or obstacles at head height.?

Ballistic protection uniforms use coverings of very solid fiber to catch and deform a bullet and expand its force over a larger piece of the fiber material. The ballistic protection uniform fascinates the energy from the warping bullet, giving it a stop before it can cut into the overall matrix. The ballistic helmet in personal protective equipment is subjected to act as armor from antipersonnel fragments or low-energy bullets fired from revolvers and pistols. Body armor offers a shield from low- and high-energy bullets, fragments, or even stab and slash from knives.?

The rising security challenges arising out of the rising insurgent activities and crime rate are pushing the demand for military vehicles. However, these military vehicles are gaining popularity with several elite groups and public figures are also adopting armored vehicles for a superior sense of security. Many leading automobile manufacturers are launching a wide range of bulletproof vehicles to meet this rising demand for armored vehicles.?

Moreover, factors such as an increase in territorial and political conflicts, a rise in the defense budget of emerging economies, and technological advancements in ballistic protection are acting as a driver for the ballistic protection market. Moreover, factors such as the inaccuracy of protection level, the high production cost of armor materials, and the occurrence of mechanical failure are restraining the growth of the ballistic protection market. Furthermore, factors like growing demand for multipurpose ballistic protection equipment, and rising demand for lightweight body armor create lucrative opportunities for leading players of ballistic protection products operating in the market.?

Ballistic protection market dynamics?

The major driver for the market growth is due to growing terrorist activities and the rise in political conflicts, which have encouraged the global law enforcement agencies and material science community to produce and offer beneficial solutions that can help the reliable movement of troops and vehicles. In the current outcome, the political tensions in Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq along with Russia & Ukraine, India & Pakistan, China & India, and Russia & Turkey are enhancing the need for ballistic protection in defense. The regional-level controversies are also heightening the need for shells. This pushes the demand for ballistic protection equipment.?

Modern battle practices include counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, and irregular warfare strategies that may injure military personnel, triggering fatal injuries. Parallel situations exist in the field of law enforcement wherein criminals, felons, and law offenders can badly injure subsequent constables, thus leading companies and governments are imposing their investment in safety helmets and related ballistic protection equipment. Body armor is specifically formed to safeguard the inner body from the effect of shotgun rounds on humans. Body armor has saved several lives which leads to offering extra protection during accidents by car and other attacks on police officers. The mainstream body armor and helmets which are used by armed forces are designed in such a way that they can conquer strikes from firing by handguns.?

Emerging countries, such as Brazil, India, and Russia are strongly devoting their armed forces owed to internal conflicts and tensions with their neighboring nations. The LAMEA region also undergoes ruthless political unrest which leads to an increase in the demand for innovative armor materials. The unstable political activities and terrorism conditions around the world are negatively affecting the financial system of many regions. Therefore, these regions are concentrating on their resources to finance defense systems to deal with these issues, which indicates to increase in the sales of ballistic protection at the global level.??

The rising budget for defense and increasing demand for ballistic protection, especially in the Asia Pacific and North American countries, is likely to drive the growth. As per the 2022 report of SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute), there was a growth of 0.7% in the expenditure of global defense in 2021 as compared to 2020. Global defense spending has increased to $ 2.2 trillion in 2021. The five most important spenders in defense are the U.S., China, the U.K., India, and Russia prompted for around 62% of the worldwide expenditure in defense.?

In 2021, DuPont de Nemours, Inc. acquired Core Matrix Technology from Tex Tech. This acquisition will lead to an increase in the fragmentation and ballistic performance of military personnel and law enforcement. This will enable the most flexible and lightweight type of ballistic protection to meet new standards of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) for better durability. Additionally, the latest technologies also emphasize the ease of carrying body armor which is bullet resilient. The increasing demand for ballistic protection from armed forces is propelling their purchases and deliveries. For instance, in 2020, Avon Protection plc acquired 3M company’s ballistic protection business which includes several lines of ballistic helmets, body armor, flat armor, and related attachment products for armed forces. The deal was valued at $91 million. This acquisition will lead the company to grow more rapidly in the global military and law enforcement markets. Several purchasing activities are currently happening on a global scale, which is expected to increase the sales of ballistic protection over the forecast period.?

At present, army engineers and market scientists are encountering the ever-rising demand for boosting the abilities of the frontline warriors and soldiers that are in the war zone. As there has been a key degree of improvement for powerful and versatile weapons, modern systems and defense shield gadgets are being gradually added to the ballistic protection market. Similarly, more improvements will be needed to safeguard the army people. This is possible because of technological innovations. With the improvement of the mixture of SRP (self-reinforced polymer) composites and lightweight ceramics, the clothing type of ballistic protection will be devised to shield against a range of threats, from spontaneous explosive devices to light firearms.?

Recently, there has been a good amount of demand for ballistic protection as it has bolstered its position due to the battle situation in some of the terror-prone regions like Afghanistan, Iraq, Serbia, and Libya. Furthermore, Iran’s escalating nuclear creation has been seen to be improved and strengthened the military tensions between the US, Israel, and Iran. The market leaders and governments around the world in the ballistic protection market are constructing their sources to enhance and improve the production scale so that they are offered whenever desired and hence, the investments don’t go useless. The birth of technology is established to be favorable for the ballistic protection market revenue.?

Trends??

Metal alloys are usually used to make armor. Such armor is usually heavy in nature as it is made of steel. Heavy metals are attached to the weight of the body armor, which makes it more difficult to hold soldiers for a long period. The manufacturers of body armor are creating lightweight body armor to report the issues of heavy armor.?

The Defense Department of the U.S. took numerous initiatives to deliver next-generation body armor, such as the Torso & Extremities Protection (TEP)and Warrior Web Program (WWP). The requirement for material technologies that enhance weight, protection, and cost is looked up in the armor material of ballistic protection. The body armor manufacturers and raw material suppliers are working together to create a new type of body armor parts that is lightweight that incorporates such upgrades. For lightweight body armor in personal protection equipment, the manufacturers are using leading-edge production techniques like new flexible steel fiber meshes, bonding materials, and molded glass ceramics & ceramic composite matrixes.?

The current demand for ballistic protection is focusing on high-performance and reasonably priced equipment. Many buyers around the world choose personal protective equipment that offers more than one purpose. Generally, personal protective equipment in the military is designed to shield against a threat. For instance, fire-resistant apparel is durable to fire damage but may not offer adequate security against technical liabilities. However, the armed forces may open up to several threats at one time. In such conditions, the people in the army need multipurpose ballistic protection equipment for self-protection against various hazards.?

The rising need for armed forces to offer better requirements for combat safety and security functions propels the sales of ballistic protection in the military. The rising threats in defense such as political unrest, cross-border conflicts, and terrorist activities among various countries are likely to increase the sales of the market. The leading companies in the market are more concentrating on making combat helmets, technically innovative protective eyewear, lightweight fireproof body armor, and others. The innovative combat helmets are consistent with the night vision goggles.?

Furthermore, the growing investments from major firms in the design & development of multipurpose ballistic protection equipment led to the launch of new equipment shortly, with reduced weight level ratings and higher protection. Also, with the rise in research & development activities with advanced technology and manufacturing techniques, prominent companies are offering customized ballistic protection equipment to consumers as per their budget and needs. This reinforces affordability and increases the range of opportunities. Such demand is expected to act as a lucrative opportunity for the ballistic protection market.?

COVID-19 Impact?

The COVID-19 pandemic has badly impacted the ballistic protection industry. The OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) had encountered major issues such as cuts in the defense budget in some countries, delayed deliveries, production halts, and disruptions in supply chains. Small, medium, and big players in the ballistic protection market, no doubt have faced countless challenges to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic which includes both operational and managerial challenges.??

However, along with France, the greatest decline in products of army products was recorded by other European countries. In 2020, the nine companies in Russia sold 6.5% lesser weapons as compared to 2019. Many nations in the Asia Pacific region such as Thailand, South Korea, and India had halted their procurement plans and lowered their defense expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.?

Moreover, key companies such as Avon Technologies plc BAE Systems DuPont de Nemours, Inc., Gentex Corporation , 霍尼韦尔 ., Point Blank Enterprises, Inc. , Rheinmetall , Saab , Survitec Group Ltd. , and Tencate Advanced Armor, others have been operating in the industry has carried out numerous strategies such as contract, developments, innovations & partnership which has empowered further developments that create a positive impact on the growth of the ballistic protection. For instance, in 2021, GENTEX Corporation launched their most advanced ballistic protection helmet system named as Ops-Core FAST RF1. This newly launched product is the lightest weight helmet on the market which leads to a shield against a 7.62x39mm mild steel core threat.?