SVI Engineering, leading specialist manufacturer of armoured products, has released the ninth episode in its innovative Shoot Through series of videos, this time demonstrating whether three layers of Kevlar are together capable of stopping an AK47 round.
“Kevlar sheets are typically used when armouring a vehicle body to level B4, providing protection against handguns up to .44 Magnum. Question is, will as many as three layers of Kevlar be able to withstand an AK47 round? The results of our test might surprise you,” said Jaco de Kock, CEO of SVI.
SVI clamped together three sheets of Kevlar and placed them at the far end of its dedicated underground shooting range, before unleashing a round from an AK47 mounted in a test rig. As shown in the footage captured by a Photron Fastcam SA4 high-speed camera – graciously supplied by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and set at 30 000 frames per second – the 7.62×39 mm conventional steel-core round runs right through the triple layer.
“As you can see from the slow-motion footage, B4 plus B4 plus B4 most certainly does not equal B6. There’s a reason our B6 packages all incorporate armoured steel and/or specialised composite materials – rather than Kevlar – after all,” said Nicol Louw, SVI Business Development Director.
‘SHOOT THROUGH’ SERIES BACKGROUND
Conceived to both inform and entertain, the full 14-episode Shoot Through video series – an episode is published on SVI’s YouTube channel approximately every two weeks – sets out to answer whether various (mostly standard) automotive components can stop a round discharged by a firearm.
The subject of the first episode in SVI’s Shoot Through series was a ventilated steel brake disc from a Toyota Land Cruiser 79 bakkie, while the second episode featured a Volkswagen Polo engine block, the third a shock absorber, the fourth a Polo cylinder head, the fifth a seatbelt mechanism, the sixth a window lifter motor, the seventh a Ford Everest owner’s manual and the eighth a car battery.
THE COMPANY
SVI is an original equipment manufacturer that has specialised in armoured vehicles since 2004. The company is a market leader in Africa, serving the private, corporate, security, mining and governmental segments. SVI holds a Level 2 B-BBEE certification and its quality management system is certified to ISO 9001:2015 by TÜV Rheinland.
Social media accounts
Facebook: SVI Engineering
Twitter: SVI_Engineering
Instagram: svi_engineering_armour
TikTok: svi_engineering
