Hard shells: new threats force armorers to redesign passenger vehicles.

WEST POINT, VA. -- AT FIRST GLANCE, the hulking silver Chevy Suburban looks like any other soccer mom's sports utility vehicle plying the streets of small town Virginia. Try opening its door, and it becomes immediately obvious that this is no ordinary SUV.

It takes weightlifter arms to pry it open. Peering through the side door window one sees that it is made of glass several inches thick.

The threat of roadside bombs, ambushes and kidnappings in hotspots such as Iraq and Afghanistan has fueled the demand for more armoring on non-military vehicles However, gas the throat and sophistication of improvised explosive devices grow, so do the heavy armoring requirements.

"A commercial passenger vehicle was never designed for that kind of weight," said Mike Reynolds, vice president of engineering for Centigon, the designer of the up-armored Suburban.

Centigon, a division of Armor Holdings Co., is one of a handful of U.S. businesses that are serving the niche market that converts SUVs or sedans to up-armored vehicles that can protect against ballistic or explosive threats.

The number one concern, manufacturers say, is to protect the cab and its occupants from bullets or bombs. Number two on the list is to maintain the vehicle's functionality in case of attack. Drivers need to escape dangerous situations. Third, is to maintain its appearance of a normal vehicle.

Driving a nondescript car that looks like others is important since customers do not want to be seen as targets.

Mark Burton, chief executive officer of International Armor Corp., said the industry was crowded with several fly-by-night operations at the beginning of the Iraq conflict. These newcomers didn't understand these concepts.

Some put up glitzy Web sites and made a quick killing, but their business dried up when their customers discovered that armoring a vehicle entails more than slapping steel on the outside of cars.

"There was a high demand very quickly, and they thought they could just put cars in and get a whole bunch of welders in there and take care of the problem and make some money. And they did ]make money] very quickly," Burton said.

But after a year or two, customers realized that the work was shoddy, and there was no service support. A few of these so-called "chop shops" still exist, Burton said.

Now that the shakeout is over, International Armor has seen a 40-percent increase in orders at its Ogden, Utah, headquarters from last year. Its foreign facilities have seen increases in sales of up to 125 percent.

Meanwhile, both companies continue to sink research dollars into improving their products. Centigon's mobile security division in July rolled out the new Suburban, what it calls the "enhanced capacity vehicle." It is capable of carrying 15,000 pounds, almost twice that of a standard model, while allowing better handling for drivers who find themselves in dangerous situations, company officials said.

Centigon, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, counts among its legacy companies Hess &, Eisenhardt, which built the first armored limo for President Harry S. Truman in 1949.

The Suburban redesign includes improved front and rear suspension, customized brakes and shocks, reinforced frame structure and tires, and wheels that can handle the higher payloads.

International Armor has decided to invest its resources in creating lighter armor. It uses steel, but has developed molded fiber-based composites that can be installed in the field. It is also developing a new armoring that is undergoing certification tests for military use, Burton said.

Whether it is steel, composites or both, "we determine what the recipe is going to be, based on the chassis that we are provided," Burton said.

The current lifespan of an armored vehicle in Iraq or Afghanistan is six to eight months, both companies estimated. Previously, they lasted from four to six years. Reynolds said the wear and tear the extra armor is putting on the chassis and other systems is the primary cause. Burton attributed the decline to an increase in crashes.

"You have a whole bunch of people who drive these things, and they panic, " he said. If a car has additional weight, it is prone to rollovers.

While increasing the lifecycle is important to the customer's bottom line, the first consideration is safety, Centigon said. The company said its improved chassis will prevent the rollovers that have plagued drivers traveling at high rates of speed in danger zones.

"Ultimately, the coverage is what gives the vehicle's occupants the protection that they need," Reynolds said.

Both companies have been forced by the improvised explosive device threats to ramp up their research and development spending.

"The threat prior to 9/11 was mainly ballistic, and if it was a bomb, it was usually a standard hand grenade," Burton said. The new IEDs come in all shapes and sizes. "There is no standard for them."

Both Centigon and International Armor devote resources to live-fire tests. Centigon's tests have found that even a hand grenade thrown at the right spot with one-third of a pound of explosives can be as deadly as a roadside bomb with 100 pounds of explosives. Tests also showed that small fragments from a roadside bomb can penetrate a poorly armored car.

What the start-up companies that quickly entered the market didn't do was cover the small seams. Any gap can allow small fragments to enter a cab. Particular attention in the redesign was paid to door hinges, Reynolds said.

"When you have that many fragments hit your vehicle, if there are small gaps or seams, those fragments will find the weak points," Reynolds said.

It took Centigon and its engineering partner, Transeo Global Vehicle Solutions, nine months to redesign and test the upgraded Suburban. For other models, that process will be shortened. The redesign will only work with large vehicles, Reynolds said.

Founded in 1993, International Armor specializes in protective kits. It designs prefabricated units of synthetic armor laminates and molded pieces for 28 different models and sends them out to one of its 14 worldwide facilities for installation. For example, its ballistic glass is shaped specifically for each model, which cuts down the amount of labor need to install the windshields, and gives the vehicle a more normal appearance. It also modifies the chassis and suspension to account for the higher centers of gravity that causes rollovers.

The company in August opened a new facility in Malta to serve Middle East and Eastern Europe customers.

International Armor charges between $65,000 to $85,000 to add armor, glass and make the modifications on a standard passenger vehicle. Centigon's redesigned Suburban costs about $225,000.

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