The Future of Advanced Composite Use in Defense Applications

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Published on April 8, 2025

Significant technological developments used to make advanced composites have revolutionized the defense industry. These innovative methods and materials for fabricating products for the military have been, are currently, and will continue to shape the defense industry. Composite use in defense applications has significantly altered how military contractors design and manufacture all sorts of equipment for the armed forces.

Composite Manufacturing in Defense Markets

The early 20th century saw advancements in materials used for the aerospace industry, particularly for military aircraft. In the two decades between the world wars, aluminum and steel replaced the fabric and wood once common in airplanes. Lightweight yet strong, aluminum bodies with steel engine components enabled airplanes to better handle the forces involved in mechanical flight so that military airplanes could fly faster and perform better. 

After World War 2 and into the mid-20th century, the jet engine became the dominate form of propulsion for military aircraft. The extreme conditions and high temperatures of jet engines meant new materials were needed. Nickel-based superalloys and advanced composites with high strength-to-weight, corrosion resistance, and other useful properties were developed to tolerate the high pressures and heat of the engines in jet fighters and bombers produced.

In the 1960s, the space race between the Soviet Union and United States especially accelerated advanced composite manufacturing. In defense markets, this eventually required new materials for rocket engines to launch satellites and nuclear missiles, which again increased composite use. In defense applications involving space, carbon fiber composites with their incomparable stiffness and strength, combined with their lighter weight, transformed space-based military applications.

Advanced Composite Use in Defense Applications

While composite use in defense aviation is integral, advanced composite materials are useful for all sorts of military kit. Composite use in defense applications has even changed military tactics and how wars are fought. These advanced composites have augmented both the performance of military equipment and the safety of personnel in the armed forces. Composite use in the defense industry has also brought considerable operational advantages, but these don’t come without challenges.

When it comes to composite manufacturing in defense, marketing by contractors has focused on performance and safety that this equipment provides. Offering better durability and strength than metals, alloys or even plastics on their own, composite use in defense applications makes military hardware more efficient. This means armored and other military vehicles can be made more agile, adding to their performance while providing better protection. With traits that help military gear to better resist corrosion and heat, this also makes soldiers safer in harsh battlefield environments. 

There are countless operational advantages militaries can gain from composite manufacturing. In the defense marketplace, advanced composites improve the corrosion resistance, lifespans, performance, safety features and stealth capabilities of various military-grade products. The downside to composite manufacturing in defense markets comes from the technologies needed to support advanced military gear and equipment.

Challenges also include the high costs of development, along with specialized manufacturing processes and maintenance requirements that add to the complexity of composite use in defense applications. These novel composites need to first be tested and tweaked to properly handle the conditions for which they’re designed. This means looking at sensitivities to ultraviolet radiation, water and other environmental factors, for example. All this takes time and adds to the expense of advanced composite manufacturing in defense. Marketplaces for military apparatus must ensure these engineered materials perform while keeping costs down.   

Plastics Used for Composite Manufacturing

Metals and alloys have been used for military equipment for thousands of years because of their durability and general toughness. However, the advent of plastic resins in the 20th century made military kits lighter in weight without compromising resilience. Composite use in defense applications like small arms and other light weaponry means these armaments now weigh considerably less while their construction remains robust.

Today, frames, grips, stocks, triggers, and other components of small arms use lightweight plastics and composites containing these polymers. This isn’t just confined to arms either. Nylons have been used for military purposes like body armor, liners for helmets, parachutes, ropes, and other military gear since their invention in the 1930s. Generally, plastics integrated into composites in defense applications make military gear corrosion resistant, less costly, and simpler to manufacture.

Plastic resins commonly used in composites for the defense industry include: 

  • Vinyl-based composites that provide material strength, flexibility and flame resistance, which are used for items like electrical insulation and soles for boots.
  • Thermoplastic rubbers for composites to make various military kit like protective masks, night vision equipment, grips and boot soles due to their thermal properties, material stability and flexibility.
  • Thermoplastic polyurethane, which absorbs and dissipates energy for military applications like bulletproof armor and glass made from composites.
  • Polypropylene for its resistance to heat and chemicals as well as its material strength and lighter weight in composite manufacturing, which in defense marketplaces makes military-grade straps, ropes, fasteners, containers and connectors. 
  • Polyphenylene sulfide used in harsher environments for gear that includes switches, shielding and fuel systems because of its high strength and heat resistance.
  • Polyetheretherketone for abrasion and chemical resistance as well as thermal stability and moisture absorption properties, making this high-performance polymer useful in composites for items like seals, impellers for pumps, electrical connectors and aircraft components.
  • Polyester-based composites used for valves, filters, electrical components, cams and other parts due to its cost-effectiveness and rigidity, along with its resistance to heat and chemicals. 
  • Nylon 6 used in composites for wheels, rollers, gears, bushings and other components due to its strength, low coefficient of friction and chemical resistance.
  • Acetal-based composites that provide dimensional stability while also resisting chemicals and moisture, making it appropriate for slide guides, rotors, plumbing implements, handles, gears, cams, bearings and other components.

Such diverse properties make plastic resins incredibly useful for composite manufacturing. In defense, marketable composite materials that can handle harsh battlefield conditions are an essential element in any military gear.

Composite Use in Defense Applications

Most submarines, stealth aircraft, rockets, naval vessels, missiles, light armored vehicles and other military items utilize some type of composite. Use in defense applications, however, is most prevalent within the military’s aerospace sector. 

Aerospace Composite Use in Defense Applications

Military aircraft, satellites and other aerospace applications often involve some kind of advanced composite. Manufacturing in defense markets of jets or planes, helicopters or UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) often requires materials with properties that improve fuel efficiency and maneuverability, both traits crucial for recon and combat missions. Composite use in defense applications for the aerospace sector can also help augment the stealth of an aircraft, for example, upping the probability of a successful mission.

Composite use in the military aerospace sector includes: 

  • Polymer-based stealth coatings: Utilizing various fillers within a polymer matrix, these composite coatings absorb radar to reduce detection in aircraft like the B-2 Spirit while also providing protection against environmental conditions.
  • Kevlar® composites: With its durability, heat resistance, impact resistance, vibration damping and other material properties, composites that include Kevlar® are used for ballistic protection, fuel tanks, fuselages and structural reinforcement of airplanes, helicopters and UAVs.
  • Hybrid composites: Containing CFRP, fiberglass and Kevlar®, military helicopters and UAVs use these engineered composites to minimize weight while enhancing durability, strength and resilience for structural and other components.
  • Honeycomb core composites: Used for airplanes like the F/A-18 Super Hornet due to its high strength, impact resistance and lighter weight, these composites contain an aluminum core combined with CFRP skins and an aramid fabric, which reinforces the aircraft’s structure while also being incorporated into the fuselage and wings.
  • Graphite epoxy composites: Used in helicopters for airframes and rotor blades, these epoxy-based composites infused with graphite are lightweight, offering fatigue resistance and other material characteristics.
  • Fiberglass reinforced plastics (FRP): Used in airplanes, helicopters and UAVs for bulkheads, cockpit canopies, radomes, rotor blades and other components, FRP provides corrosion resistance, flexibility, impact resistance, radar transparency and other traits.
  • Ceramic matrix composites (CMC): Used for engine components, exhaust nozzles and thermal shielding in stealth aircraft like the F-35 Lightning II, CMC is a lightweight alternative for metal alloys that provides extraordinary resistance to heat.
  • Carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP): Used in airplanes, helicopters and UAVs for airframes, fuselages, stabilizers, structural parts, wings and other aircraft components, CFRP provides corrosion resistance, high strength-to-weight ratio, reduced radar signatures and other advantageous properties.
  • Bismaleimide (BMI) and epoxy composites: Military aircraft like the F-22 Raptor use a blend of BMI and epoxy that provides properties that include heat resistance, low thermal expansion and structural strength, making them useful for exhaust nozzles and engine ducts that experience high temperatures during operation. 

These and other advanced composites are used in modern military aircraft to augment agility, durability, endurance, stealth and other characteristics under demanding combat conditions.

Naval Composite Use in Defense Applications

Due to their superior corrosion resistance, composite use in defense applications often extends to naval vessels as well. Composites’ resistance to highly corrosive marine conditions make them ideal materials for superstructures and hulls of all sorts of naval craft. Non-magnetic characteristics of certain composites are particularly advantageous for vessels that go into areas that might be mined, as this reduces risk considerably.  

The naval sector uses composites that include:

  • BMI and epoxy Composites: For high-temperature applications on naval ships these composites are used for fireproofing and exhaust systems due to their durability, heat resistance and strength.
  • CFRPs: Enhancing the stealth capabilities of military vessels like Zumwalt-class destroyers by reducing radar signatures, these composites are used in decking, masts, radomes and superstructures due to their corrosion resistance, high strength-to-weight ratio, lighter weight and other material traits.
  • FRPs: Hull sections, piping systems and sonar domes often utilize FRPs due to their corrosion resistance, non-magnetic and other properties.
  • Hybrid composites: Used for radar-absorbent paneling and structural reinforcement on US Navy ships, these CFRP, fiberglass and Kevlar® composites balance flexibility and strength with enhanced stealth capabilities.
  • Kevlar® composites: Their flexibility, high impact resistance and light weight makes composites with Kevlar® good for armor panels and reinforcing hulls.

Naval vessels benefit from composite use. In defense applications at sea, composites augment durability, lowering the need for maintenance, and facilitating sea-going vessels’ stealth potential. 

Future of Advanced Composite Use in Defense Industry 

Innovations in composite manufacturing in the defense marketplace have resulted in more robust and efficient military gear. New fabrication methods like automated layups and 3D printing are improving the accuracy and strength of components made from composites. These novel approaches allow more complex designs and forms for components, which further facilitate composite use. In defense-related aerospace and maritime production, this has become especially apparent, significantly reducing production costs and times through composite manufacturing. In defense markets like the US military, high-performance composites have greatly expanded what military equipment can accomplish on the battlefield. Militaries worldwide rely on composite use in defense applications for their lighter weights and high strength, allowing for greater design flexibility. Yet the composite manufacturing in the defense marketplace looks to innovate further, enabling even more innovation.

Additive Manufacturing

Also known as 3D printing, additive manufacturing has revolutionized production processes for making custom components with complex geometries that were previously too costly or difficult to make. These additive manufacturing methods can produce parts for military equipment from metal-based or polymer-based composites. Aircraft engines, airframes, armored and unarmored vehicles, body armor, rocket nozzles, UAVS and other items made for the military benefit from the improved fuel efficiency that results from their lighter weights.

Nanomaterials

Engineered at a molecular or even an atomic scale, nanomaterials also look promising for future composite manufacturing. In defense markets globally, properties that enhance conductivity and strength combine with overall lighter weights to produce more resilient products that can better withstand the harsh conditions found in battle. Carbon nanotubes and graphene coatings are just two of the composite nanomaterials that look to play an integral role in future defense manufacturing. 

Ideal for many defense applications, carbon nanotubes are recognized for their properties. Carbon nanotubes show great potential for thermal control systems, structural components, stealth capabilities, sensing devices, and advanced armor. Their high electrical conductivity makes them useful for semiconductors, while they also exhibit extraordinary thermal and mechanical traits as well. Meanwhile, coatings made from singular layers of carbon atoms called graphene also offer excellent conductivity and strength, which, when combined with their lighter weight, make them excellent for electronic devices requiring great flexibility as well as for high-performance batteries.

Self-Healing Composites

One of the more intriguing prospects of these novel materials is the self-healing properties of some composites. For military equipment of all sorts, composite use in the defense industry could benefit markedly from this fascinating material trait. Certain advanced materials, like carbon-fiber-reinforced composites or those with epoxy matrices, can repair minor damage to military equipment much like living organisms can heal themselves.

Their use in military equipment will enhance safety and lower maintenance needs. These composites generally contain microcapsules containing healing agents that begin to repair damage once it occurs. This extends the service life of military gear by greatly improving durability.

Applications for which self-healing composites could be used include: 

  • Aircraft: For military aircraft, composite use in defense applications for military aircraft could be used to repair minor damage to fuselages, rotor blades, wings or other components to augment safety and performance.
  • Body armor: Self-healing composite use in ballistic plates for body armor could repair smaller cracks caused by impacts to increase protection from bullets and shrapnel.
  • Robotic systems: Integrating composites with self-healing properties into autonomous military systems allows them to remain in the field longer without the need for maintenance or repairs. 
  • UAVs: As military drones often carry out sustained flights, self-healing composites could repair minor damage during missions to ensure uninterrupted operations.

Additionally, researchers are developing new self-healing composites that can repair damage under a variety of conditions so as to more effectively maintain the structural integrity of military equipment. These studies seek to balance long-term material stability with the time these materials take to repair themselves, optimizing their self-healing capabilities. Composite manufacturing for defense markets also seeks to support upscaling of production of military equipment to enable larger scales and the lower costs associated with mass production.

Spaulding Composites: Manufacturing in Defense Markets

Spaulding Composites Inc. works with defense manufacturers and contractors for a wide range of military-grade products. We have decades of experience with composite manufacturing in the defense market, including work with firearms manufacturers. Spaulding’s engineers are no stranger when it comes to composite use in defense applications in the aerospace sector either. We have considerable expertise with service providers who help maintain military aircraft as well as those who manufacture and launch satellites. To learn more about our capabilities, contact the composite experts at Spaulding today.