In recent years, combat systems and attacks have become increasingly sophisticated and asymmetric, with a wider range of influence. This demands protection systems to continually evolve to be more nuanced and ensure all-round performance, while being futuristic in application. For instance, a key question is how current, individual requirements for man, machine, and terrain can be layered into existing protective equipment. It could also be about tweaking and adapting innovations across requirements or design that can incorporate a wide range of emerging technologies.
Modern defence systems essentially revolve around two key principles –
- Offering the highest levels of protection against an evolving threat landscape
- Enhancing effectiveness and performance on-ground
This is best explained with the example of a soldier at the frontline for whom a bulletproof jacket is the first line of defence.
They will need a bulletproof jacket that is:
- Light enough to allow them to be agile
- Suitably hard to stop projectiles from injuring the soldier directly or through secondary injuries
- Able to auto-regulate the temperature to ensure body comfort in regions with extreme weather
- Ergonomic to fit well and allow the soldier to move about effortlessly
- Able to easily weather wide variations in temperature without deforming or altering its capabilities
Combining all these desired performance metrics in a single solution is possible with materials science. By discovering new materials or through innovations that bring newer dimensions to existing materials, experts can integrate the most advanced protection and performance capabilities. The core objective is to save lives and ensure minimum harm to soldiers, civilians, and assets across terrain.
Such parameters can extend to combat vehicles, UAVs, and naval vessels too – from fuel-efficient, easily manoeuvrable tanks, and lighter aerostructures with higher payload capacity, to fire-, water- and impact-resistant battleships.
Hence, whether it is armour for soldiers, combat vehicles, or helicopters, thermal barrier coatings that safeguard military aircraft engines, or composites to design the lightest yet most durable UAVs, materials science plays an integral role in national security.
Role of modern materials in fortifying defence
Recent announcements around sectoral priorities along with the release of the Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap (TPCR) 2025 clearly highlight the need to accelerate the pace of strengthening our defence ecosystem – on the manufacturing, tech, and capabilities fronts.
For defence systems to continually keep pace with evolving threats, they need to tick both boxes – of protection and operational capabilities. This will vary by use & need, terrain, frontier tech integration, among other factors.
As an example, tiles developed using speciality elastomers and advanced materials are being fitted to submarine hulls to reduce acoustic signatures. Similarly, key areas in warships such as the interiors of engine compartments, aircraft hangars, gun mounts, and the interior & exterior of the hull can be retrofitted with lightweight composite armour panels and ceramic-based protection systems. They help improve fire and impact resistance, without compromising on speed or manoeuvrability.
Helicopters can face ballistic threats, shrapnel, and high-velocity impact, requiring resilient yet lightweight armour to maintain agility and payload capacity. Advanced ceramics such as Boron Carbide, Reaction Bonded Silicon Carbide, and Alumina form the hard ‘strike face’ (the outer surface of the armour which takes hits). They can competently protect against a range of ammunition – from small arms projectiles to large caliber artillery rounds. By absorbing the blast of kinetic energy and also catching fragments, minimising the risk of injury to occupants.
Ceramic tiles combine well with aramid fibre composites and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) laminates, configured as lightweight sandwich panels for helicopter floors, doors, and cockpits.
70 years of know-how for superior protection & performance
As a leader in materials science for over 7 decades, CUMI’s innovations for defence span across advanced ceramics, thermal spray powders, composites, abrasives, and graphene.
Advanced ceramics: CUMI’s extensive R&D in advanced and hybrid ceramics has resulted in diverse variants of materials such as Reaction Bonded Silicon Carbide (RBSiC), Zirconia Toughened Alumina (ZTA), high-purity Alumina, and Reaction Bonded Silicon Carbide + Boron Carbide (RBSiC + B4C) for wide scope of use in defence applications.
Each of these offer unique advantages that make them highly preferred to design bulletproof jackets and add-on composite armour for combat vehicles. Some of these stellar features seen in body armour and vehicle armour are:
- Ability to field multiple hits while protecting soldiers and combat vehicles against a range of cutting-edge ballistics
- Extremely light in weight and ergonomic
- Ability to retain its shape and properties even with extreme variations in temperatures
- Creating customised, precisely-engineered parts for 360-degree protection
- Enabling fuel efficiency
A recent example of CUMI’s advanced ceramics in action is our patented Zirconia Toughened Alumina composite panels. They help combat vehicles be ‘light on their feet’ for quick deployment and come with a global STANAG level 2 and 3 protection tag.
Thermal spray powders: Aircraft engines operate for extended time periods at extremely high temperatures, going up to 17000C, to enable peak efficiency. So, critical components in the ‘hot section’ which houses the turbine and the combustor require the help of advanced materials and cooling techniques to augment component life and durability. This is where thermal spray powders come in.
The one material that the engine cannot do without is thermal spray powders. These powders are used in thermal barrier coatings – which protect critical engine components from damage or deformation over time due to the extreme heat generated, and in wear-resistant coatings – which safeguard from corrosion, oxidation, and wear & tear.
CUMI has perfected several techniques to manufacture powders of precise grain size for different applications in the sector. Further, by defining the internal structure of the material, we have been able to considerably enhance its properties – whether it is strength, hardness, corrosion-resistance, or thermal insulation.
Composites: A composite bring the best of many worlds together by combining two or more materials with the desired physical or chemical properties. This could make the material possess excellent tensile strength (hardness or stiffness) while being extremely light, be impervious to chemicals or environmental conditions, or exhibit heat resistance, among others. Aerostructures and high-strength armour for vehicles designed using composites are light yet strong and extremely durable.
CUMI is working with carbon fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRP) and the more advanced graphene-based nanocomposites to design the future of lighter and stronger aerostructures.
Graphene: Graphene has long been regarded as a ‘wonder material’. Experts at our world-class 12,000 sq.ft. manufacturing facility in Cochin are involved in R&D to leverage the use of this material for a wide range of applications. In the field of defence and aerospace, potential use could range from armour, sensors, protective coatings, to thermal management.
Graphene products manufactured under CUMI’s flagship Grafino brand can fulfil key requirements in aerospace such as:
- Structural reinforcement: Reinforcing CFRP laminates with graphene helps enhance mechanical properties such as tensile strength and compression strength of aircraft structural parts. These light and highly durable structural components will ensure UAVs can easily heft higher payloads.
- Protective coatings: Graphene-infused coatings lower the ability to permeate. This enables performance enhancement in applications such as corrosion resistance, and coatings that form thermal barriers.
- Sensors: Graphene’s extremely high electrical conductivity and ‘nano’ dimension have resulted in innovations such as graphene-based conductive inks. These inks find use in electronic components such as sensors.
- Specialty elastomers: Natural and synthetic elastic polymers have the ability to stretch and resume their original shape. When incorporated with graphene, they exhibit enhanced mechanical strength, fatigue resistance, durability, and vibration dampening.
CUMI has also tied up with the Digital University of Kerala to establish a Centre of Excellence for graphene research and commercialisation.
Partnering with the ecosystem: Connecting the dots from lab to field
Collaborations across the ecosystem have allowed us to keenly understand challenges – both for our soldiers and across the ecosystem. Since we’re positioned right at the start of the value chain, this helps us immediately address the most urgent priorities through our expertise in materials.
Being a trusted partner of various government entities, with long-standing associations, affords us an inside view. This helps us come up with unique solutions that are specific to challenges on-ground, and evolve them over time.
We’ve also partnered with ideaForge Technology, India’s leading drone maker, to harness the power of nanomaterials for next-gen drones.
In the sphere of naval protection, our innovations in fire protection include specially fabricated space- and weight-sensitive thermal ceramic blankets. Murugappa Morgan Thermal Ceramics (MMTCL) supplies this to Cochin Shipyard for thermal and passive fire protection of bulkheads, ship decks, engine rooms, exhaust manifolds, and cabin doors.
We are also conducting further assessments to improve protection in our naval vessels and at ports. In the process, we have arrived at three mission-critical areas for application of advanced, indigenous materials:
- Blast- and fire-resistant infrastructure for naval bases and shipyards
- Designing modern warships with robust ballistic protection and retrofitting existing vessels
- Lightweight armour for naval and land operations
PLUSS Advanced Technologies, a startup working with Passive Cooling Materials – a CUMI subsidiary now, offers a range of solutions for:
- Comfort of soldiers through temperature-regulating jackets
- Portable medicine kits that preserve medicine integrity
- Sustainable accommodation for soldiers
- Fuel-free storage and transportation of perishable foods
- Maintaining stable temperatures in living quarters and engine rooms of ships, and preventing sensitive equipment or machinery from overheating or freezing
Tie-ups with research institutions such as IIT Delhi enable us to work on areas such as lightweighting of armour, defence electronics, and more. Through this route, we also encourage the next-generation of talent to step up to fulfil India’s ambitions.
Future trends in material technology for military needs
The trend in material technology is headed where there is greatest need of the hour, seen in:
- Increasingly comfortable and effective soldier and asset protection
- Lighter and faster aircraft and UAVs
- Easy, cost-efficient fabrication of complex aerospace components
Hybrid materials will emerge as the preferred choice for armour, thanks to their ability to fuse superior performance features with being ultra-lightweight and economical.
Graphene will emerge as a game-changer with potential to design superior armour to offer both enhanced protection and mobility. Due to its superior thermal conductivity, fabrics engineered with graphene can help soldiers keep warm in cold environments. Graphene can, in future, also be explored to design radar-absorbing components that minimise radar cross section for potential stealth applications. Reinforcing CFRPs with graphene to create an advanced nanocomposite will help drones be even stronger yet light.
As aerostructures look to go even lighter in future, metal matrix composites (MMC), polymer matrix composites (PMC), ceramic matrix composites (CMC), and fiber composites, could hold the key here. Nanomaterials like carbon nanotubes will play a key role in enhancing the properties of composites.
Other newer materials on the horizon are Titanium and Magnesium alloys, and Shape Memory Alloys. Manufacturing techniques like Resin Film Infusion (RFI) and 3D printing will gain ground thanks to their ability to easily fabricate complex aircraft parts. Passive cooling materials, with their lower environmental footprint and ability to negotiate temperature extremes, will become the standard for thermal energy storage – to ably support soldier health & comfort, and efficiently transport materials.
Conclusion
As the threat landscape gets more complex, advanced materials will help strengthen India’s defence backbone. As self-reliance reaches critical point, the duo of materials science R&D and indigenous manufacturing can address the immediate priorities of the ecosystem – large-scale, recurrent, secure material availability, designed for innovation, at competitive prices. The greatest benefit here will be the soldier’s. All the advantages of ‘Made in India’ will ensure that the system, at its heart, always mirrors the pulse of Indian soldiers and the Forces, matching their evolving requirements.
