ULTAR™ HQ UD polyethylene laminates — pressed into multi-layer panels for hard armour plates and rigid inserts.
A hard armour plate has to defeat rifle threats and stay wearable. Plate weight and thickness are the two numbers a procurement officer compares across bids, and they are the two numbers that decide whether an operator wears the plate or leaves it in the vehicle.
UHMWPE-based plates are substantially lighter than steel at comparable protection, and lighter than most ceramic-backed constructions where the threat allows a polyethylene-only design. Where the threat requires a hard strike face, pressed UHMWPE serves as the backing that absorbs residual energy and catches fragments.
ULTAR™ HQ laminates are supplied as roll material and consolidated by you. Layers are stacked to a target areal density and hot-pressed into a rigid monolithic panel.
Areal density on our datasheets is per layer — not a panel areal density, and not a finished plate weight. Total panel areal density is layer count × the per-layer value of the grade, plus any strike face, facing or backing in your construction.
ULTAR™ HQ laminates serve both constructions: primary laminate in monolithic hard armour plates, and backing composite behind ceramic strike faces.
The material is a unidirectional composite of high-tenacity UHMWPE fibre, cross-plied at 0°/90° in a passive matrix system. It dissipates impact energy across the laminate and retains fragments and spall.
As a standalone panel, pressed HQ layers form a monolithic polyethylene plate — the lightest construction available where the threat permits a polyethylene-only design, and the reason UHMWPE plates dominate the low-weight end of the hard armour market.
As backing behind a hard strike face, the pressed HQ panel sits behind a ceramic or metallic front. The strike face defeats and fragments the projectile; the polyethylene backing absorbs the residual energy, catches fragments and controls back-face deformation.
The two constructions are different design problems. Standalone panels are driven by total layer count against threat and by delamination resistance over service life. Backed constructions are driven by the interface between strike face and backing, by retention method, and by how much backing you can remove before back-face deformation exceeds your limit.
Which construction suits your product, and how it is built, is your decision. We can indicate a starting point from the data we hold.
ULTAR™ HQ laminates are consolidated by you. Pressing parameters determine consolidation quality, and consolidation quality determines ballistic performance, delamination resistance and dimensional stability over the panel's service life.
Parameters and process are your responsibility. We can indicate a starting point from the data available to us; validation of your pressing process and of the resulting panel is yours.
The ULTAR™ HQ line is the hard ballistic family — roll material for pressed panels. The current grade is HQ710, at 235 g/m² per layer; further HQ grades are in development. Ballistic performance data and layer counts by threat level are available under NDA.
Current grades are held in EU stock. Development and qualification quantities ship DAP to your site within max. 5 working days, subject to stock availability at the time of order confirmation. Minimum order one roll. Larger quantities confirmed on enquiry — usually days rather than weeks.
Tell us your threat level, target plate weight and panel dimensions. We will respond with material data under NDA and, where the data allows, an indication of a starting point for your design.
