Translation:Alien body armour txt/en

UFOpaedia Entry

Proposal

TO: Base Commander, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command

FROM: Cdr. Paul Navarre, R&D: Engineering Division, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command

DATE: %02i %s %i

SUB: Alien Artifact -- Alien Body Armour

Commander, we've recovered a suit of alien body armour from the battlefield. This armour has been a plague to our soldiers due to its very high resistance to various types of damage; aliens wearing it have shrugged off shots that would have torn their unarmoured friends apart. It's not surprising that we still haven't managed to cut it open to perform an initial survey of its composition. We should investigate the armour's weaknesses as soon as we can, and perhaps ascertain a way to adapt it for our own uses.

This project will require a moderate amount of lab time and funding. Work will start as soon as we have your authorisation, Commander.

--Cdr. Navarre

Result

TO: Base Commander, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command

FROM: Cdr. Paul Navarre, R&D: Engineering Division, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command

DATE: %02i %s %i

SUB: Re: Alien Artifact -- Alien Body Armour

Commander, we've got a full report on the alien armour for you.

It was something of a surprise to learn that the alien armour is made of a composite of plastics and carbon containing no metal whatsoever. In fact, the most important element is something with which humanity is already well-acquainted: carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes (also known as CNTs or 'buckytubes') are cylindrical carbon molecules that are incredibly strong, one of the strongest materials known to humankind. They have been relatively little-used on Earth because of their extreme cost. No economical means of mass-production has been found to date, restricting their use to the most expensive programs on Earth, such as aeronautics and space exploration.

The alien armour uses CNTs as its penetration layer, i.e. the layer that stops bullets and other incoming ordnance from penetrating into the body. The nanotubes are woven into long latticework patterns and recessed into a bed of hard polymer, backed by a layer of semi-liquid gel that very effectively dampens the energy of a blow and spreads the remaining force across a very large area. The final layer -- woven from flexible aramid fibre -- serves to contain the gel and doubles as a spall liner, catching any fragments that may be blown loose from the inside of the armour.

Thanks to the conductive properties of carbon nanotubes, the armour performs very well against plasma as well as against ordinary bullets, lasers and explosives. However ironically, it's not very effective against incendiary devices or flamethrowers, since these weapons also raise the atmospheric temperature around the wearer. In this scenario the armour is left with no place to effectively dump its heat and will not protect the wearer as he roasts inside his suit.

Other features of the armour include servo-assisted movement in the boots, allowing the wearer to move more quickly, and a curious system built into the bracers that automatically assists the wearer's aim by selectively applying pressure to parts of the forearm. We are looking into many new uses for this technology.

Adapting this armour to a human body would be impossible due to the differences in physique and the difficulty of working with the materials involved. However, I've written up a separate research proposal to investigate the possibility of designing and mass-producing our own armour using the alien suit as a template. It will be in your inbox presently, Commander.

--Cdr. Navarre

Links

• Nanocomposite Armour

Research Tree Data

(This information for reference only; do not translate or include in-game.)

Prerequisites:
 1 Alien body armour

Opens:
 Nanocomposite Armour