Overview
ARBOK LIQUID-ARMOR (ALA) is built on the availability of affordable, high-quality thermally expanded graphite produced by the Arbok-TEG technology. What was previously an exotic or expensive laboratory curiosity becomes a mass-production raw material, opening a path to producing superhard materials at industrial scale from simple expanded graphite.
TEG is mixed with corundum in a defined proportion and under defined process regimes, purified by Arbok methods, and combined with viscous glycerin-like polyol carriers to form a shear thickening fluid (STF, dilatant fluid) — a non-Newtonian liquid that behaves as a thick paste in the normal state and instantly becomes stone-hard under sharp impact. The higher the solid-phase concentration, the stronger and faster this effect.
A second function is unique to the TEG filler: thermally expanded graphite is a record absorber of electromagnetic radiation, with experimentally confirmed absorption across a wide frequency range. The same layer that stops a fragment simultaneously works as radio camouflage, reducing detectability by radar homing heads and drone control channels — something neither a ceramic plate nor an aramid pack provides in principle.
Applications
Body armor:
- Impregnation of soft aramid packs, raising resistance to fragments and secondary fragments — the source states these cause the main share of losses in modern combat, so the gain against fragmentation-explosive action, submunitions and drones is direct.
- Coverage of zones a hard plate does not cover at all: shoulders, neck, groin, sides, limbs — ALA works over and around the plate rather than instead of it.
Vehicles and armored equipment:
- Flexible or rigid ALA "blankets" — panels that can be quickly laid over the most vulnerable parts of a vehicle: turret front, sides, rear, roof. They reinforce existing armor exactly where needed, without a global redesign of the vehicle. Particularly relevant for zones storing ammunition or fuel, and for the upper hemisphere, from which the main threat now comes.
- Removable curtains and screens of fabric impregnated with the fluid for tracks and running gear. Folded in travel position, deployed on threat, adding a layer of protection against fragments, shaped-charge grenades and submunitions while remaining light and not impeding movement.
New markets opened by affordable TEG: superhard coatings, active protection, smart fluids, and civil applications — from ultra-strong composites to wear-resistant lubricants and thermally conductive pastes. Protective equipment and armored vehicle manufacturers gain a tool for next-generation products; the civil sector gains new composites, protective coatings, and elements for construction and transport.
Operating Principle
Production chain:
- Arbok-TEG thermally expanded graphite is taken as the base. Its porous, layered structure is ideally suited to uniform distribution through the volume of a carrier.
- TEG is mixed with corundum in a defined proportion and under defined process regimes.
- Purification by Arbok methods — special acid and oxidative treatments followed by selective separation. The output is a clean, homogeneous mixture of corundum and graphene-like structures. The process gives a high product yield at industrial volumes, which is what was previously lacking.
- The mixture is combined with viscous glycerin-like polyol carriers, selected and blended for viscosity and damping performance, forming the shear thickening fluid.
Protective mechanism: the glycerin-like components of the solution have damping properties, absorbing and dissipating impact energy through high viscosity and the ability to densify rapidly. The impact force is spread through the volume of the fluid, loses concentration and dies out. The fluid does not merely absorb the impact passively — it actively resists: corundum and TEG in the non-Newtonian liquid form rigid force chains that instantly block penetration. The graphene filler in combination with corundum creates a single monolith that works more effectively than any analogue.
Tunability: by regulating the proportion of components and the particle size, the hardness and viscosity of the final product can be changed, yielding a different level of protection each time. The result is a controllable material — soft in motion and rigid at the moment of impact.
Electromagnetic function: thermally expanded graphite is a record absorber of electromagnetic radiation, with experimentally confirmed absorption in a wide frequency band from 30–50 kHz to 600–800 GHz, giving the same layer a radio camouflage function against radar homing heads and drone control channels.
Limitations stated in the source:
- ALA does not replace hard plates against armor-piercing rifle bullets. A 20 mm thick layer would give about 49 kg/m², heavier than corundum. In this role ALA is used over and around the plate, not in place of it.
- The strength and speed of the thickening effect depend on the solid-phase concentration, so protection level is tied to formulation.
Key Parameters
ALA material
| Parameter | Value |
|—|—|
| Filler | Thermally expanded graphite (Arbok-TEG) + corundum |
| Carrier | Glycerin-like polyol carriers, blended for viscosity and damping performance |
| Fluid type | Shear thickening fluid (STF, dilatant, non-Newtonian) |
| Added areal density in a soft pack | 1.5–2 kg/m² over the aramid |
| Resulting soft pack areal density | 6–8 kg/m² |
| Resulting soft pack thickness | 8–12 mm |
| Areal density of a 20 mm ALA layer | About 49 kg/m² |
| Electromagnetic absorption band (TEG) | 30–50 kHz to 600–800 GHz, experimentally confirmed |
Baseline armor being compared against
| Solution | Value |
|—|—|
| Steel plate 10×12 inches | 3.6–4.5 kg; areal density about 47 kg/m² |
| Corundum plate with UHMWPE backing | 41–47 kg/m², thickness 20–25 mm; stops an armor-piercing rifle bullet |
| Soft aramid pack | 5–6 kg/m²; stops only pistol bullets and fragments |
Human load cost of armor mass
| Parameter | Value |
|—|—|
| Mobility penalty per additional kilogram of equipment | About 1.5% across all tests: sprint speed, time to break contact, obstacle crossing, power from a static position |
| Restrictive breathing degradation from the vest itself | 6–8% |
| Average weight of infantry individual protection | About 12 kg |
| Full combat load | 40–64 kg |
Target certification classes and test metrics
| Item | Value |
|—|—|
| GOST R 50744-95 | Classes 1–2a on the soft pack; armor panel area not less than 22 dm² |
| NIJ 0101.06 | Level IIIA |
| NIJ 0101.07 with 0123.00 | Former levels replaced by HG and RF tiers |
| Key test program metrics | V50 on a fragment simulator, areal density, backface deformation (behind-armor trauma) |
Architecture and Components
Material components:
- Arbok-TEG thermally expanded graphite — porous, layered structure for uniform volumetric distribution; also the electromagnetic absorber.
- Corundum — the hard phase forming rigid force chains together with TEG.
- Glycerin-like polyol carriers — blended for viscosity and damping performance — providing damping and viscous energy dissipation.
Product forms:
- Impregnation of soft aramid packs for body armor.
- Flexible or rigid ALA panels ("blankets") for vehicle turret front, sides, rear and roof.
- Removable curtains and screens of impregnated fabric for tracks and running gear, folded in travel position and deployed on threat.
Processing stages: TEG/corundum mixing under defined proportions and regimes → acid and oxidative purification with selective separation → blending into the polyol carrier.
Formulation ratios and particle-size distribution are tuned to the target protection level, with the process regime adjusted accordingly.
Advantages
- Weight and mobility: in the soft pack, ALA adds only 1.5–2 kg/m² while markedly raising resistance to fragments and secondary fragments — directly relevant given that each additional kilogram costs about 1.5% of mobility and the vest itself already imposes a 6–8% restrictive breathing penalty.
- Coverage of unprotected zones: shoulders, neck, groin, sides and limbs, which hard plates do not cover at all.
- Dual function: the same layer that stops a fragment also acts as radio camouflage across 30–50 kHz to 600–800 GHz, reducing detectability by radar homing heads and drone control channels. Neither a ceramic plate nor an aramid pack provides this in principle.
- Tunable protection level by changing component proportions and particle size.
- Behaviour profile: soft and flexible in motion, rigid at the moment of impact; the impact force is spread through the fluid volume rather than concentrated.
- Vehicle retrofit without redesign: panels are laid over existing armor exactly where needed, including ammunition and fuel storage zones and the upper hemisphere, from which the main threat now comes.
- Industrial availability: the Arbok purification process gives a high product yield at industrial volumes, which was the previously missing element; affordable TEG turns superhard materials from a laboratory curiosity into a mass-production input.
- Effectiveness claim: the graphene filler combined with corundum creates a single monolith working more effectively than any analogue.
Integrations
- Arbok-TEG — the source of thermally expanded graphite and the enabling technology for the whole chain.
- Arbok purification methods — acid and oxidative treatment with selective separation.
- Existing aramid soft packs — ALA is applied as impregnation on top of them.
- Existing vehicle armor — ALA panels reinforce it locally without global redesign.
- Certification frameworks: GOST R 50744-95, NIJ 0101.06, NIJ 0101.07 in conjunction with 0123.00.
Designed to integrate as an add-on layer with standard vest platforms and vehicle armor systems already in service, without requiring a redesign of the host equipment.
Deployment & Operation
- Body armor: ALA is applied as an impregnation of the soft aramid pack, bringing it to 6–8 kg/m² at 8–12 mm thickness; used over and around hard plates and on zones the plate leaves open.
- Vehicles: flexible or rigid panels are laid quickly over the turret front, sides, rear and roof.
- Running gear: curtains and screens are carried folded in travel position and deployed when a threat appears; they are light and do not impede movement.
- Certification pathway: a test program built on V50 against a fragment simulator, areal density, and behind-armor trauma, targeting GOST R 50744-95 classes 1–2a (panel area not less than 22 dm²), NIJ 0101.06 level IIIA, and NIJ 0101.07 with 0123.00 (HG and RF tiers).
The material is designed for practical field storage and handling, with maintenance limited to periodic inspection and re-impregnation as the protective layer ages in service.
TRL
TRL 4 — проставлен Михаилом 2026-08-06. — no TRL value is stated. The source states that the technological chain is defined, that the purification process gives a high product yield at industrial volumes, and that TEG electromagnetic absorption across 30–50 kHz to 600–800 GHz is experimentally confirmed. Ballistic certification is described as a target with a defined test program, meaning it has not yet been completed.
Market Potential
The addressable market spans defense procurement and the broader protective-equipment and civil-composites sectors opened by affordable TEG.
Segments and drivers named:
- Manufacturers of protective equipment and armored vehicles gain a tool for next-generation products — lighter, better protected, and with a radio camouflage function that existing solutions lack.
- Civil sector: new composites, protective coatings, elements for construction and transport.
- New material and product markets opened by affordable TEG: superhard coatings, active protection, smart fluids, ultra-strong composites, wear-resistant lubricants, thermally conductive pastes.
- Threat drivers: fragmentation-explosive action, submunitions, and drones, with the upper hemisphere identified as the direction from which the main threat now comes.
- The source frames the constraint as speed of implementation rather than technical feasibility: cheap TEG launches a chain reaction of innovations, and the question is no longer whether next-generation protection can be made but how fast it is realized.
Typical Project Economics
Detailed CAPEX, OPEX, production cost, product price, and payback figures for ALA are not yet published. The economic case rests on the underlying TEG cost advantage: affordable TEG produced by the Arbok-TEG technology turns materials that were previously either fabulously expensive or unavailable in the required quantities into a mass-production raw material with a high yield at industrial volumes.
Risk Factors
Stated in the source:
- ALA does not replace hard armor plates against armor-piercing rifle bullets. At 20 mm thickness it would give about 49 kg/m², heavier than a corundum plate at 41–47 kg/m². Its role in this scenario is supplementary — over and around the plate — not substitutional.
- Protection level is dependent on solid-phase concentration, component proportions and particle size, so performance is formulation-sensitive and must be fixed per application.
- Certification is not yet achieved: target classes (GOST R 50744-95 classes 1–2a, NIJ 0101.06 IIIA, NIJ 0101.07 with 0123.00) and the test program (V50 on a fragment simulator, areal density, behind-armor trauma) are defined as objectives.
- Any added mass carries a measurable operational cost: about 1.5% mobility loss per kilogram, on top of the 6–8% restrictive breathing penalty already imposed by the vest.
Manufacturing scale-up, cost stability at volume, supply-chain resilience, regulatory and export-control classification, and long-term ageing and environmental stability remain to be demonstrated at production scale.
Related Technologies
ARBOK EMI TEG Protection Paint · AEROGRAPH (Graphene AeroGel) · ARBOK SECOND SKIN · ARBOK GAS MASK · ARBOK-GUNPOWDER