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MEXASWikipedia

MEXAS
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

TheModularExpandableArmorSystem
(MEXAS)isacompositearmoursystemdevelopedbytheGerman
companyIBDDeisenrothEngineering.MEXASwasintroducedin1994andhasbeenappliedonover20,000combat
[1]ThesuccessorofMEXASisthe
vehiclesworldwide.
AdvancedModularArmorProtection
(AMAP).

Contents
1
2
3
4

Design
Applications
Externallinks
References

Design
TheModularExpandableArmorSystem(MEXAS)wasdevelopedinthe
early1990sbyIBDDeisenrothandfirstusedin1994.In2005itwas
succeededbythenextgenerationAMAParmoursystem,whichprovidesa
widervarietyofdif
ferentarmouroptions.

MEXAShasbeenmarketedinthreeversions:
MEXASL(light)offers
protectionagainstsmallcalibreroundsandcanalsobefittedonsoftskinned
vehicleslike
MANmilitarytrucks.
MEXASM(medium)protectsthevehicle
againstautocannonand
RPGswithHEATwarheads.MEXASHisforuse
onheavyvehicleslike
mainbattletanks
.Dependingonversionandrequired
CeramicarmourtilesofMEXAS[2]
protectionlevelMEXAScanprotectagainst
kineticenergypenetratorslike
30mmAP,RPGsandmineslikethe
TM46mineandTMRP6[3]Inorder
toreachdifferenttypesofdesiredarmourprotectionMEXASiseitherpassivearmouror
nonexplosivereactive
armour.[4]TheexactcompositionofMEXASisclassified,butaccordingtodrawingsfromthemanufacturerthepassiv
versionofMEXASconsistofasplinterfoillikespecializedNyloncoveringalayerofceramictiles(possiblymaterial
likealuminiumoxide
,siliconcarbideandboroncarbidedependingontheuser'srequirements).Behindtheceramictiles
alayerofaramidbacking(e.g.
kevlar)isinstalled.MEXASalsoincludes
spalllineranddependingontheuser's
requirementsamineprotectionkit.ThereactivearmourversionofMEXASutilizesseveralspacedmultilayerplates
consistingofaninertinterlayersandwichedbetweenmetalplates.Duringpenetratonbya
shapedchargejet,the
sandwichbulgessimilarto
explosivereactivearmour
(ERA)duetotheinterlayerabsorbingthejetmomentumand
spreadingitradially
.[4]SucharmourprovidesbettercoveragethanERA(upto8595%ofthesurfacecomparedto
3060%),canbemountedonvehicleswithverylimitedbasearmourthatwouldnotsustaintheblastofanERAtile
[4]MEXASisonlyusedasadaptable
withoutdamageandhasalowerlifecyclecost.
appliquearmourandisusually
nottheonlyprotectionofavehicle,butoverlaidonthevehiclehullmadeofballistic
aluminium
orarmoursteel.

[4]Tomeetthe
Duringthedevelopmentof
BionixAFVMEXAScompositearmourwasadaptedtothevehicle.
requiredprotectionagainstheavymachinegunammunitionfiredfromadistanceof50metres(160ft),dif
ferentoptions
werecomparedbyIBDandSTKinetics.A30millimetres(1.2in)thickplateofhighhardnessarmour(HHA)steel
providesenoughprotection.Thiswasindexedasreferencetocalculatethemassef
ficiencyandthicknessef
ficiencyof
[4]Utilizingonly23millimetres(0.91in)HHAtogetherwitha10millimetres(0.39in)linert
differentarmoursolutions.
absorbthefragments,themassef
ficiencycanbeincreasedto1.2(thearmourprovides1.2timesasmuchprotectionas
HHAofthesameweight).Usinga22millimetres(0.87in)MEXASarmourpanelontopof7.3millimetres(0.29in)
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[4]Thebestresultwasachievedbyutilizinga
HHAbooststhemassefficiencyto2.5comparedtotheHHAreference.
20millimetres(0.79in)thickMEXASarmourpanelontopofa7.3millimetres(0.29in)HHAplatefittedwitha10
millimetres(0.39in)linerontheinterioramassef
ficiencyof3.5howeverthehigherthicknessdecreasedthe
[4]
thicknessefficiencyto0.8comparedtotheothertestedarmourlayouts.

TheStrykercanbefittedwithMEXASappliquearmourinordertoprovideprotectionagainst14.5mmHMGrounds.
In2001itwasdiscoveredthatthechemicalcompositionofsomeceramictileshadbeenalteredwithoutnotifyingthe
[5]Theamountofdif
USArmyandunapprovedsubcontractorssuppliedtheceramictiles.
ferenttilevariationsallowed
bytheArmywasexceededdrasticallyinsteadofanapprovednumberofsixvariationstheStrykerutilized39after
[6]ThisresultedintheearlyStrykersrequiringanadditional3millimetres(0.12in)
undergoingseveraldesignchanges.
thicksteelplate.[5]AccordingtoIBDDeisenrothhowever
,allchangeshadbeencomminucatedtoGeneralDynamics,
butGeneralDynamicsdidnotinformtheArmy
.[6]UlfDeisenroth,presidentofIBD,claimedthathewasnever
[6]Laterthesupplieroftheceramictileswaschanged
informedabouttheArmyonlyallowingsixceramictilevariations.
tofixtheseproblems.

Applications
MEXASisusedonseveralvehiclesofthe
GermanArmyliketheATFDingo,Fuchs1A7orthePanzerhaubitze2000.
Someversionsofthe
Leopard2MBTutilizeMEXASHarmouratthehull.Priordeploymenton
peacekeeping
missions,vehiclesofdif
ferentcountrieshavebeenfittedwithMEXAS.NorwegianM1
13sandGermanMANtrucks
havebeenfittedwithMEXASpriortheirdeploymentin
KFOR.SomeCanadianLeopard1s,M113sandLAVshave
[3]
beenupgradedwithMEXAS. UparmouredCanadianLeopard1shavebeenusedinthe
KFORandaspartofthe
[7]OthervehiclesprotectedbyMEXASarmourinclude
[8]versionsoftheSwedish
ISAFinAfghanistan.
Pansarbandvagn302andCombatVehicle90,theAustrianASCODUlan,theVhiculedel'A
vantBlind,theTextron
M1117ArmoredSecurityV
ehicle,theCoyoteReconnaissanceV
ehicle,theSTKineticsBionixAFVandtheUS
[5]
Strykervehicles.

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CanadianLeopardC2
SomeCV90likethis
TheCanadianLAVIII
heavilyuparmoured
CV9030Narefittedwith isutilizingMEXAS
withMEXASMbeing MEXAS
deployedtoAfghanistan

TheUSStrykercanbe
uparmouredwith
MEXAStoresistHMG
fire

GermanFuchsfitted
withMEXASlocatedin
Afghanistanduring
OperationEnduring
Freedom

Theboltsholdingthe
TheM1117ASVutilizes
MEXASarmourpanels MEXASforballisticand
areclearlyvisibleonthis mineprotection
Ulan

Externallinks
MEXASonIBDDeisenrothEngineering'swebsite
(http://www.ibddeisenrothengineering.de/mexas.html)

References
1."IBDModularEXpandableArmourSystem(MEXAS)(Germany),Armoursystems"
.janes.com(archivedversionvia
web.archive.org).Jane'sIHS.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonAugust15,2011.Retrieved26January2016.
2.http://www.etecceramics.de/fileadmin/Dateien/PDF/Ballistik/K2R_Ballistik_engl.pdf
3."ModularExpandableArmorSystem(MEXAS)"
.DefenseUpdate.9June2006.Retrieved26January2016.
4.RichardW.O.KwokF.U.Deisenroth(2001)."LIGHTWEIGHTPASSIVEARMOURFOR
INFANTRYCARRIER
VEHICLE".19thInternationalSymposiumofBallistics,711May2001,Interlaken,Switzerland:961968.
5.Rottman,GordonL.(2006).StrykerCombatVehicles.OspreyPublishing.p.17.ISBN1841769304.
6.RayRiveraHalBernton(16September2003).
"SomeStrykertilesfailunderfiremakerrushestofortifyvehicles"
.
TheSeattleTimesCompany.Retrieved26January2016.
7.Priestley,Stephen."IntoActionCanadianLeopardC2tanksandtheTLA
VM113A3sinCombat".Canadian
AmericanStrategicReview.CASR.Retrieved26January2016.
8.UserlistonIBD'swebsite(http://www.ibddeisenrothengineering.de/productsinuse.html)

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