What are Military Grade Metals?

Military applications present one of the most challenging environments for any engineered part, the design specification often requires high performance under extreme conditions, and 100% reliability no matter the costs.

“Military grade” as a term therefore holds a lot of weight in both manufactured products and materials, it stands to reason that any Military Grade product should be made from Military Grade materials, but what are they?

What Makes a Material Military Grade?

As there’s no official definition of Military Grade steel, most consider any material that would or has been used in products designed for the defense industry to be military-grade. This includes anything used in military vehicles and military aircraft.

What Materials are Military Grade?

As the demands of the defense sector are varied, most engineering materials are used in some way or another, depending on the requirements, for instance, aluminum for lightness and steel for outright strength.

Military Grade Steel

There are hundreds of grades of steel, from durable wear plate to high tensile structural steel, and most military-grade steels fall into one of those camps.

AR400 – Abrasion Resistant Steel

AR400 is an alloy steel that is excellent at resisting wear. It has a nominal hardness of 400 BHN, meaning it will sustain abrasive environments much longer than regular steel.

AR400 is often used for light armoring of military vehicles and machinery. It is also commonly used on machinery such as mine-clearing machines and other ground-impacting equipment.

MIL-A-12560 Armor Steel

With an even higher hardness than AR400, MIL-A-12560 is used for heavy armoring of vehicles. General applications call for ½” to 1” thick, but up to 6” thick steel has been used in high-performance environments.

A913 Structural Steel

Not all applications call for impact-resistant materials, many ships, vehicles and military aircraft use common grades of steel famed for their high strength and workability. One of those used in heavy ground equipment is A913.

A913 structural steel has an extremely high tensile strength but remains low alloy, this makes it easy to weld and form, making it the perfect material for complex constructions and shapes.

Military Grade Aluminum

Aluminum is a widely used material across all facets of the military and defense. Anywhere a strong, durable but lightweight component is needed, Aluminum is usually the first choice.

Aluminum 5000 Series

5000 series Aluminum is a commonly used alloy of magnesium, it offers good strength and excellent weldability and formability.

This makes the 5000 series perfect for making complex parts with bends and welding, such as vehicle and personal equipment chassis’. The lightness improves efficiency alongside ample strength.

Aluminum 7000 Series

One of the few aluminum grades used as an impact resistant material, 7000 series aluminum can be heat treated to give differing characteristics, such as higher hardness or higher malleability depending on the application.

7000 series aluminum is also commonly used for weapon manufacture, thanks to its high workability through many processes such as casting and extruding. One notable use case is the M-16 Rifle, which utilizes 7075 Aluminum.

Military Grade Titanium

Titanium is a high-performance material that has even better tensile strength than high carbon steel, but lightweight properties similar to that of Aluminum. Titanium can be alloyed with many different elements to tune its performance.

Titanium-Aluminum-Vanadium Alloy

TI-6A1-4V is a commonly used type of Titanium alloy, often used for structural and safety critical components. Items such as naval propellers, shafts and other hardware are ideal use cases for this alloy, as it has excellent corrosion resistance and high strength.

Titanium-Aluminum-Molybdenum-Vanadium Alloy

A common grade used for ballistic resistant components, providing good impact and wear resistance. TI-AL-Mo-V offers better performance than aluminum with superior durability properties.

Whilst used in some weight critical applications, most Ti alloys are not as effective as high strength steel in deflecting ballistic impacts.

Military Grade Stainless Steel

Stainless Steel is a high chromium alloy of steel, enabling excellent corrosion resistance and high temperature strength. Stainless steel is used in many industrial applications, including those on military and defense components.

316 Stainless Steel

One of the most common grades across the marine and naval sectors, 316 stainless steel exhibits excellent corrosion resistance against salt water, which is particularly critical in sea-going vehicles and craft.

Alongside corrosion resistance, 316 stainless steel is easily formed, cut, machined and welded. This makes manufacturing components significantly more cost effective than other higher alloy grades.

321 Stainless Steel

Whilst similar to 316, 324 has some crucial differences, for one it is alloyed with Titanium and higher levels of carbon, nearly 5 times higher than 304 and 316 grades.

This alloying enables it to sustain performance at elevated temperatures, perfect for usage in heavy duty exhaust systems on both conventional engines and jet-engine vehicles.

Military Grade Metals For Your Project

Whilst many military devices, vehicles and components are made from specialty grades, requiring particular manufacturing techniques, some common or garden alloys are surprisingly capable. Examples include high tensile steels, austenitic stainless steels and high strength aluminum alloys.

To make use of these modern materials in your project, select from Metals Supermarkets vast catalog of grades, shapes and sizes here.