SoylentNews

Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Seeking ways to make military vehicles less vulnerable to blast damage [newatlas.com], BAE Systems is looking to one of the toughest insects in nature – the frighteningly hard to kill ironclad beetle. The defense contractor is developing a new bendable titanium alloy suspension system that not only does away with springs, but snaps back into shape after taking on landmines.

Based on a quarter century of conflivt experience, engineers have become very adept at armoring up military vehicles against mines, IEDs, and similar nasties. The good news is that modern armor can make these incidents ones to walk away from. The bad news is it's often literally a matter of walking away because, though the passenger's survive, the suspension ends up hopelessly mangled and the vehicle useless until towed back to the shop. This not only ties up other vehicles to conduct rescue operations, but leaves the mission one vehicle short.

What's needed is a vehicle that's more robust over all, so BAE Systems turned to the ironclad beetle inspiration. Ironclads are fungivores native to Texas and South America and they possess one of the hardest exoskeletons of any arthropod. Step on one and it will probably just give a coleopteran shrug and walk away. And if you catch one and want to add it to your collection, find a drill, because it's almost impossible to drive a pin through its body.

Original Submission