Defense and security

Saint-Gobain provides high-performance solutions to the defense, security, and personal and property protection industries for both military and civilian applications. For this demanding market, the Group is developing innovative products for defense and security equipment using ceramic materials, plastics, crystals and glass.

Security and defense

Innovative materials for defense and military applications 

Hexoloy® sintered Silicon carbide armor.

Saint-Gobain Ceramic Materials manufactures Hexoloy^® ceramic sheets designed using sintered silicon carbide. Used for bullet-proof vests and land vehicle and aircraft armor, they have exceptionally high wear and impact resistance. 

Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics airborne radomes provide the most transparent and the most durable protection for radars on military aircraft. Radars require precision radomes to provide coastal surveillance, search and rescue, meteorological mapping functions and other special airborne missions. Radomes are often made from Saint-Gobain Quartz Quartzel fiber.

Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics also manufactures air-supported ground radomes. The RAYDEL^® radome shields antenna systems while maintaining optimum electromagnetic performance. The RAYDEL^® product has an obvious advantage over rigid designs as it does not require a frame or bolted panels that otherwise interfere with the radiofrequencies. Assembled into a single piece, the absence of seals means it remains permanently watertight.

Saint-Gobain Crystals manufactures transparent sapphire glass armoring to protect military vehicles. These windows and windshields are made of large sheets of sapphire laminated with multiple layers of glass and polycarbonate. They withstand sand abrasion and the corrosive gases emitted during rocket fire. 

Armored glazing solutions.

Saint-Gobain Sully supplies windows and other high value added transparent organic materials for aeronautical and military armor, and civilian security applications. In particular, Saint-Gobain Sully supplies laminated and composite bullet-proof windows able to withstand all types of munitions and projectiles for armored vehicles and the wheelhouse of naval ships, and windshields and canopies with stealth coatings for military aircraft.

Solution to protect people and property 

Vetrotech Saint-Gobain is the worldwide leader for fire-retardant glass. Its range of glass protects people as well as buildings and property. Vetrotech guarantees the integrity of its products for periods of 30 to 120 minutes. In addition to fire protection solutions, Vetrotech also supplies bullet-proof, anti-explosion and attack-resistant safety glass. All these solutions are available in a wide range of models and can be combined with numerous options to provide total flexibility.

Solar Gard’s Armorcoat^® safety films (Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics) help protect people and property. They provide glass retention in the event of impact, protect against the negative effects of UV rays and form a barrier against breaking and entering. When combined with a tinted polyester or a fine sputter-coat of metal, they provide solar control, save energy and improve visual and thermal comfort.

Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics provides a range of ONESuit^® chemical protection suits designed for professionals exposed to high-risk hazardous materials and toxic industrial chemicals with a risk of spontaneous combustion. These products, with particularly high resistance to abrasion and puncture, guarantee protection against liquid or gaseous chemicals, and biological weapons and agents. They also provide the highest level of fire resistance. 

In the area of security, Saint-Gobain Crystals’ scintillators are used in baggage screeners and radiation detection systems.