Composites Reshape Modern Defense Platforms

The desire to win battles by wearing heavier armor has sometimes contributed to defeat rather than victory. One of the most famous historical examples is the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, when French knights entered the battlefield clad in approximately 20 to 30 kilograms of plate armor. Combined with overnight rain and muddy terrain, this weight made movement increasingly difficult, leaving many soldiers exhausted as the battle progressed. This conflict changed military history not because one army possessed superior weapons, but because one army could move freely while the other struggled under the burden of its own protection.

Drawing lessons from history, modern defense engineering is increasingly turning to composite materials to reduce weight without compromising protection.

Modern defense composites are 70% lighter than steel, while offering a strength-to-weight ratio four to six times higher, enabling military platforms to carry less structural weight without compromising performance. Their applications extend far beyond body armor—from fighter jets and missiles to naval vessels, armored vehicles, and personal protection systems—composites have steadily become the preferred structural material in contexts where weight directly impacts mobility, endurance, survivability, and mission performance.

According to Stratview Research, the global defense composites market is projected to grow from $1.17 billion in 2025 to over $1.552 billion by 2032. The predominant driver for defense composites boils down to weight: lighter equipment, vehicles, and platforms can carry greater payloads without increasing the total load.

What gives defense composites their strength without adding weight?

Material selection in defense is driven by performance. Carbon fiber continues to set the benchmark, as no other reinforcement offers the same balance of stiffness, strength-to-weight ratio, fatigue resistance, and dimensional stability. Carbon fiber allows engineers to reduce structural weight without compromising mechanical performance—a requirement that directly impacts payload capacity, fuel efficiency, maneuverability, and mission endurance.

Stratview Research dataCarbon fiber accounts for more than 80% of all composites used in defense applications, making it the undisputed material of choice for high-performance military structures. However, other reinforcement materials continue to play important, albeit more specialized, roles.

For less demanding structural applications, glass fiber remains an attractive low-cost alternative. Aramid fibers excel in ballistic protection applications such as helmets and bulletproof vests, and provide the structural efficiency required for primary aerospace and missile components.

In the realm of resins, thermosetting materials remain the preferred matrix for defense composites, accounting for over 80% of resin consumption. This preference is driven by decades of proven performance on military platforms, where reliability is as critical as mechanical properties. Meanwhile, thermoplastics are gradually finding their place in defense manufacturing. Their ability to be reheated and reshaped can accelerate processing speeds, simplify welding, and enhance impact resistance, making them an attractive option for selected components. However, when it comes to primary load-bearing military structures, thermosetting materials continue to set the benchmark.

Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are another family of materials attracting growing attention. Although they currently account for only 2% to 3% of the global defense composites market, their ability to withstand extreme temperatures is expanding their use in hypersonic missile nose cones, turbine hot-section components, and other thermally demanding applications. Rather than replacing carbon fiber composites, CMCs complement them in applications where traditional polymer composites reach their performance limits.

From Fuselage to Armor: Composite Expansion Continues

The use of composite materials in defense has far exceeded the scope of aircraft structures, with applications in military rotorcraft, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), land combat vehicles, naval platforms, body armor, military shelters, radomes, and other mission-critical systems. Even so, military aircraft remain the largest consumer, accounting for more than 40% of global defense composite demand. From fighter jets and transport aircraft to military trainer jets, composites have become indispensable for reducing structural weight, extending operational range, increasing payload capacity, and supporting low-observable designs. Their growing use is evident in composite-intensive platforms such as the F-35 Lightning II, Chengdu J-20, HAL Tejas, and Dassault Rafale.

Military rotorcraft have become the second-largest consumer of composite materials in the defense sector. As maintenance costs rise and operational efficiency declines, countries are increasingly replacing their aging helicopter fleets. Modern rotorcraft built with extensive composite structures reduce lifecycle costs, lower weight, and enhance mission readiness, making fleet modernization a key driver of demand for composites.

A significant shift has emerged on the battlefield since 2020, with conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the Nagorno-Karabakh war highlighting the combat value of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Although unmanned systems still account for a relatively small share of composite material consumption, their use of composites more than tripled from 2020 to 2025, making it one of the fastest-growing application areas.

In its report “Global Military Aircraft Fleet and Sustainment Outlook 2026–2036,” Oliver Wyman predicts that the fleet will expand by 13.4% over the next decade, reaching 50,700 aircraft by early 2036. The report also states that, in addition to jet fighters and other aircraft, a significant portion of the increase in defense spending will fund more expensive unmanned aerial systems, particularly the rapid expansion of combat drones.

As advanced military platforms increasingly replace traditional fleets, defense modernization programs, next-generation stealth aircraft, autonomous combat systems, and ongoing military fleet expansion are expected to create long-term opportunities for composite material manufacturers.

Advantages of Digital Manufacturing

Armored vehicles have shed excess weight. Naval vessels have gained corrosion resistance. Unmanned systems have become faster and more agile. Much of this progress stems from replacing traditional metals with advanced composites in critical structures.

Composite materials have become a critical component of the defense materials portfolio, with their use on military platforms projected to generate nearly $10 billion in cumulative sales opportunities between 2025 and 2031.

A significant portion of the wings, fuselage, and internal structure of the F-35 Lightning II is made from carbon-fiber thermoset composites. The Eurofighter Typhoon, as well as helicopters such as the AH-64 Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk, also rely extensively on composites to withstand high-G loads and harsh battlefield conditions.

Unlike metallic structures, the performance of advanced composites largely depends on fiber orientation, resin distribution, consolidation, and curing. This makes technologies such as automated fiber placement, automated tape laying, additive manufacturing, digital twins, and real-time quality monitoring indispensable to modern defense production.

Defense original equipment manufacturers are responding by implementing highly automated, digitally connected factories. Companies such as BAE Systems and RTX’s Raytheon are integrating additive manufacturing, robotics, digital engineering, and common manufacturing architectures to accelerate the production of next-generation military platforms. Additive manufacturing has also moved far beyond prototyping, supporting the large-scale production of unmanned aerial vehicle fuselages, missile components, rocket engines, and composite tooling.

Recently, the U.S. Navy has begun flight testing 3D-printed composite repair patches on F/A-18 Super Hornets, bringing structural maintenance closer to the point of operation and reducing aircraft downtime by nearly 50%. Meanwhile, manufacturers are combining automated fiber placement, robotic layup, and digital quality control to produce composite-intensive aircraft—such as the F-35 Lightning II, B-21 Raider, HAL Tejas, and future sixth-generation combat platforms—with greater consistency and lower lifecycle costs.

The Journey from Steel to Smart Composite Materials—and the Road Ahead

In the 1960s, the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States accelerated the production of advanced composites out of necessity. Later, the urgent demands of Cold War competition compelled materials science to move decisively away from heavy metals.

Although manufacturing is becoming increasingly intelligent, composite materials are also advancing rapidly. Multifunctional composites reinforced with carbon nanotubes, graphene, ceramic matrix composites, and emerging self-healing systems are being designed to provide integrated sensing, improved electrical conductivity, greater damage resistance, and reduced maintenance requirements.

Several major breakthroughs in self-healing composite materials are currently underway. For instance, researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a self-healing fiber-reinforced polymer composite designed to address interlaminar delamination. By embedding 3D-printed thermoplastics and carbon-based heating layers, the material can repair microscopic cracks more than 1,000 times, thereby extending its structural lifespan. Researchers estimate that with quarterly healing cycles, the material could last for 125 years, or up to 500 years with annual healing—far exceeding the typical lifespan of conventional fiber-reinforced polymer composites.

The European Space Agency has also developed Heeltech, a smart, self-healing composite material designed for spacecraft panels, satellite hulls, and military aerospace assets.

With the advancement of polymer science, spray-on treatments such as BattleJacket have been widely deployed in military vehicles and logistics.

As manufacturing efficiency and maintainability continue to advance, these developments are clear indicators of a future with smarter and more powerful defense systems. The race to build stronger defenses may stem not only from weapon systems but also from materials designed as weapon systems.