OREANDA-NEWS. November 07, 2012. "The progress in the machine-building industry is, first of all, predicated upon the progress in metal science and, intense activity is carried out worldwide in this direction. In my personal view, our lag in this domain can be evaluated as 10 years.

However, the financing of the sector taken place in recent years brings hope that we will be able to catch up with the lag nevertheless," that was the resume expressed by V. A. Grigoryan, the President and the Director of Research of the Steel R&D Institute, when he summed up the 12th International Research and Practice Conference "Most Recent Trends in the Design and Application of Ballistic Materials and Protective Means". The conference was held on 18-19 October in Moscow, under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Engineering Workers Guild of Russia, the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Science and Machinery & Industrial Group N.V. Organizers of the event were the Open Joint-Stock Company "Steel R&D Institute" (Russia), the Closed Joint-Stock Company TsVM "Armocom" (Russia) and ITB "Moratex" (Poland).

In the course of the conference, topical and significant practical issues of research-, design- and production activities in the development of new ballistic materials and the prospective protective means made on their basis were discussed. The plenary meeting was opened by D. G. Kupryunin, the Co-chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Conference, the Executive Director of the Open Joint-Stock Company "Steel R&D Institute". According to him, development of outfits for the military and for individuals who work in extreme conditions, for the purpose of counter-terrorism and for the purpose of prevention and liquidation of man-made emergencies - it is one of the priority tasks in the domain of supplies both to army troops and to special-purpose units. In order to create armored personal protective equipment which would correspond with the up-to-date requirements, development of prospective shielding materials and structures is necessary.

V. P. Komoyedov, the chairman of the Defense Committee of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, sent a welcome telegram from the Government to organizers of the event. Mr. Komoyedov noted that the relevance of the topic and the timeliness of the conference was beyond any doubt.

Opening remarks on the topics of the conference were voiced by Academician V. A. Grigoryan, the President and the Director of Research of the Open Joint-Stock Company "Steel R&D Institute": "Currently, some 25 programs in the field of development of outfits for the military are under way in various countries. Out of these, we would like to place emphasis on 5 programs which are the most ambitious and the most advanced: first of all, they are the US program, the French program and programs of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Great Britain and Israel. All of them are based on the latest achievements in the field of material sciences. Governments of those countries appropriate large resources in order to become the worlds first in terms of the outfits."

Russias Federal Special-Target Program "Prospective Outfits for Russian Soldiers" is also destined to solve rather ambitious tasks. "Currently, we should find out as to what extent we are ready to the strict requirements which the program makes. However, given it is implemented, we would look no worse than the French or the Americans", Mr. Grigoryan said.

A. I. Yegorov, Deputy Research Director and the chief designer of personal protective equipment of the Open Joint-Stock Company "Steel R&D Institute", delivered a report on the basic aspects of work for ensuring the fulfillment of the Inter-Departmental Integrated Special-Target Program "Outfits-2020": "Creation of new-generation prospective ballistic materials and shielding structures on the basis of nanotechnologies is necessary for application in the manufacture of personal protective equipment. One of requirements of the concept is phased reduction of the mass of the outfits of the 2nd and 3rd  generations, by 30 to 50 from 2015 till 2020. In spite of the strict restrictions in terms of mass, all the military protective characteristics should remain as before." Representatives of the Steel R&D Institute confirmed achievability of the target as early as this year. Researchers of the Institute have already created the worlds lightest helmet of the protection index 2, which is manufactured of high modulus polyethylene.

Some 100 organizations, 250 researchers and engineers of the leading relevant research and development institutes, higher education institutions and companies of Russia, as well as of Poland, Germany, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan attended the conference. As many as 80 research reports were considered at plenary and session meetings, on the following aspects:

- soft and solid armored materials and, shielding structures on their basis;
- fire protection materials and composite materials for fire-and-ballistic protection;
- new design ideas and technical ideas in creation of personal protective equipment and collective protective equipment;
- materials for protection against ionizing radiation;
- study of mechanisms of interaction of the strike elements within the shielding structures;
- medico-biologic aspects of use of the protective equipment.

The special topical display where enterprises showed their products aroused much interest of participants of the conference. Not only shielding materials were demonstrated, but also the finished products made of them: body armor helmets, body armor vests, survival suits and other personal protective equipment and collective protective equipment. Also, within the framework of the conference, the regular stage of the traveling photographic exhibition "COUNTRY, THEY ARE YOUR PEOPLE!" organized by the Machinery & Industrial Group N.V. under the auspices of the Engineering Workers Guild of Russia was implemented. The project is presented by 35 portrait photographs of the best representatives of engineer- and worker specialties from various regions of the Russian Federation in the 2009-2011 time period. The initiator of creation of the photographic chronicle of the men of labor is Mikhail Bolotin, a member of the Bureau of the Central Council of the Engineering Workers Guild of Russia, the CEO of the Machinery & Industrial Group N.V. The worlds largest information agency "Russian Information Agency "Novosti"" was the partner of the project.

Materials of the reports made at the conference will be published in a special issue of the journal "Herald of Defense Equipment. Series XXV. Composite Materials and Nonmetallic Materials in the Mechanical Engineering Industry".

The next conference will be held in 2 years time, in Poland.