Key Market Overview:
Ceramic Armor Market size is expected to reach USD 4.39 Billion by 2030 from the value of USD 2.31 Billion in 2022, registering a CAGR of 10.6% during the forecast period (2023-2030)
Ceramic armor is a type of armor that uses ceramic plates as the primary component to provide protection against ballistic threats (projectiles), such as bullets and shrapnel. Ceramic plates are generally made from materials such as aluminum oxide, boron carbide, or silicon carbide, having high-level hardness and stiffness, making ceramic armor effective in absorbing and dispersing the energy of incoming projectiles. Ceramic armor is commonly used by military and law enforcement personnel, as well as in civilian applications such as personal protective equipment for high-risk occupations. Moreover, ceramic armor is also used to protect aircraft and defense vehicles from ballistic projectiles. Ceramic armor is lighter and more effective in absorbing the impact in comparison to steel armor.
Market Dynamics:
Drivers:-
Demand from military and law enforcement departments is the main driver for the growth of ceramic armor market. Ceramic armors provide enhanced safety than other conventional armor types. Therefore, units involved in anti-terrorist and anti-insurgency conflicts extensively prefer ceramic armor. For instance, in 2018 MOD (ministry of defense India) placed an order for 186,000 360-degree protection boron carbide-based ceramic plate armor. Moreover, apart from government organizations’ demand the demand from the civilian side is also on the rise especially in countries such as U.S. and Mexico the reason being rising number of gun violence instances. For instance, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 45,222 people died from gun-related injuries of all causes in 2020. Furthermore, according to gunviolencearchive.org in the U.S. in last 3 years, more than 600 mass shootings are recorded each year meaning 2 mass shooting every day. The aforementioned factors are driving the demand for ceramic armor.
Restraints:-
Short Shelf-Life of ceramic armors is one of the major restraints hindering large scale adoption. Ceramic armors are brittle in nature they are effective in absorbing and distributing the impact but at the same time, their brittle nature reduces the shelf-life drastically. Moreover, ceramic armors are high care intensive meaning improper handling of these armors results into damage. Ceramic armor with good care lasts around 5 years, on the other hand, steel armor easily lasts more than 20 years. Furthermore, the ceramic armors are expensive to produce the cost drastically increase for level 3A and 4.
Opportunities:-
Rising government spending in order to strengthen military competence is one of the major opportunities for ceramic armor in forthcoming years. Ceramic armor offers enhanced safety and movability. Therefore, larger defense spending is expected to positively impact the demand for ceramic armor. For instance, according to SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute), the global military spending in 2000 was USD 798 Billion and in 2022 it reached over USD 2 trillion which is a 150% increase. Rising defense spending by countries including India, Germany, and china is expected to fuel the demand for ceramic armor in forthcoming years.
Ceramic Armor Report Coverage:
| Report Attributes | Report Details |
| Study Timeline | 2017-2030 |
| Market Size in 2030 (USD Billion) | 4.39 Billion |
| CAGR (2023-2030) | 10.6% |
| By Material Type | Aluminum Oxide, Silicon Carbide, Ceramic Metal Composite, Boron Carbide, Others |
| By Protection Level | II, IIA, III, IIIA, III+, and IV |
| By Application | Body Armor, Aircraft Armor, Vehicle Armor, Marine Armor, And Others |
| By Geography | North America, Europe, Asia Pacific,
Latin America, Middle East and Africa |
| Key Players | Coorstek Inc., Ceradyne, Inc. (3M), Avon Protection, Morgan Advanced Materials, ArmorWorks Enterprises, LLC, Koninklijke Ten Cate BV, Saint-Gobain Ceramics and Plastics Inc., CeramTec-ETEC GmbH, BAE Systems plc, Spartan Armor Systems DuPont de Nemours, Inc., Honeywell International Inc., Tata Advanced Materials Ltd., Point Blank Enterprises, Inc., Saab AB, Rheinmetall AG, MKU Limited, Safariland, LLC, JPS Composite Materials, and Advanced Armour Engineering Ltd.
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Market Segmentation:
By Material Type:-
By material type the ceramic armor is divided into aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, ceramic metal composite, boron carbide, others. The aluminum oxide based ceramic plates armor dominated the market in the year 2022. Aluminum oxide is cheaper material type therefore is preferred in bulk manufacturing. The aluminum oxide-based armors are thickest and heaviest but are generally most cost effective. The boron carbide based ceramic armors also have considerable market share as they offer both cost effectiveness and better movability due to lighter and thinner built.
Furthermore, the silicon carbide based ceramic armor segment is expected to showcase fastest growth rate over the forecasted period. Silicon carbide material is thinnest and most lightweight in comparison to other conventional materials. Rising military expenditures by countries including India, U.S., china and Germany is expected to fuel the demand for silicon carbide armor in forthcoming years.
By protection level:–
According to protection level the ceramic armors are divided into II, IIA, III, IIIA, III+, and IV. The III+ protection level type ceramic armor has the dominating market share. The III+ protection type vests are preferred by military as it effective against M80 (7.62 x 51 mm, 7.62 NATO and .308 Winchester) bullets fired from rifles and machine guns. The III+ level ceramic armor is generally effective against most of the conventional guns.
Furthermore, the level IV type armor is expected to showcase substantial market growth over the forecasted period. The level IV type provides highest level of security among all the current manufactured armors. Level IV offers protection against armor piercing bullets for instance, Level IV Multi-Hit Ceramic Body Armor developed by Spartan body armor can live through 3-4 rounds of 30-06 M2AP firing.
By application
By application the ceramic armors are divided into body armor, aircraft armor, vehicle armor, marine armor, and others. The body armor segment held the dominating market share in the 2022. Human life is most valuable therefore the largest application of ceramic plates is to make body armors in order to protect vulnerable and critical body organs. For instance, according to Defense one in 2019 the U.S. military spent USD 245 million on body armors.
Furthermore, the body armor segment is expected to showcase considerable growth rate over the forecasted period. Rising military spendings and advancement is armor technology are expected to be the main propelling factors for driving the adoption of ceramic armors in forthcoming years.
By Region
The regional segment is divided into Asia-pacific, Europe, North America, South America, and Middle East & Africa. The North America region held dominating market share in the year 2022. U.S. has the largest military spending globally and has one most dominating military. Therefore, the demand for ceramic armor is high in this region. Moreover, the U.S. has large number of weapons (Guns) with a high number of U.S. citizens owing a gun. Hence the chances of gun valance are significantly higher in this region therefore, the demand for protective equipments such as ceramic armors is high in North America region.
Furthermore, the Asia pacific region is expected to showcase considerable market growth over the forecasted period. The main projected reason for Asia pacific region domination in forthcoming years is rising military spending by emerging economics such as India, china and Philippines. For instance, in 2021 India’s military spending was USD 76.6 billion third highest in the world. It was up by 33 per cent from 2012. Similar trends are witnessed in other emerging economies too.
Ceramic Armor Market Competitive Landscape:
The competitive landscape of the Ceramic Armor Market industry comprises detailed profiling of key market players operating in this market. Major companies been analyzed. It was found that Key players are leading the market through their investments in R&D with product innovation. Furthermore, this report contains company overviews, production capacity, SWOT analysis, financial data, revenues, market potential, global presence, production sites, with product application.
Following are some of the major players in this market: –
Morgan Advanced Materials
ArmorWorks Enterprises, LLC
Koninklijke Ten Cate BV
Spartan Armor Systems
Saint-Gobain Ceramics and Plastics, Inc.
CeramTec-ETEC GmbH
BAE Systems plc
DuPont de Nemours, Inc.
Honeywell International Inc.
Tata Advanced Materials Ltd.
Point Blank Enterprises, Inc.
Saab AB
Rheinmetall AG
MKU Limited
Safariland, LLC
JPS Composite Materials
Advanced Armour Engineering Ltd.
Recent development
- In 2020 3M announced the sale of its advanced-ballistic protection business to Avon Rubber p.l.c. for a sum of USD 91 million.
January 2023 – Spartan Armor Systems (manufacturer of body armor, tactical gear) introduced ceramic armor plate named Hercules Lite RF2 which is Level III+ and RF2 rated.
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