Researchers have come up with all sorts of kooky ideas to protect against roadside bombs: lightning guns, leaf blowers, extra explosives, spray-on armor, peel-and-stick protective decals, you name it. But none of them, as far as I can tell, have turned to recycled tire treads. Until now.
By combining the old treads, with "high-tensile strength fabric and aluminum plating," the folks at GreenShield U.S., Inc. contend, you can "create a composite with varying density of materials... interrupting the projectile's smooth trajectory." And it can be done on the cheap, the company claims, since the military had a big supply of the armor's main ingredient -- old tires.
