Technology brief · BallistiSHOCK

BallistiSHOCK — the reactive layer inside BallistiMAX.

BallistiSHOCK is the reactive layer inside BallistiMAX. Its first job is to keep the inner face intact so children, staff, and visitors stay protected. Residual energy from the impact is directed outward — away from the occupied side of the opening. High-speed footage of a 5.56 rifle round recorded residual fragments exiting the strike face at approximately 1,700 ft/s. This may temporarily incapacitate an attacker through secondary glass fragments while full ballistic protection is maintained for those inside.

Third-party field test · recorded at 60,000 frames per second · 9mm, .223 at 3,200 ft/s, then 12-gauge slug versus BallistiMAX.

How it works

How the layer works.

BallistiMAX is a laminate. The outer strike face is layered glass. The inner face is a polycarbonate backing tuned to the threat. The BallistiSHOCK layer sits between them.

  1. 01

    Strike

    A round contacts the outer glass face. For small-arms threats, the face breaks up the round and traps the fragments at the strike surface.

  2. 02

    Threshold

    At rifle-round energies, the round reaches the polycarbonate layer. This is where BallistiSHOCK engages.

  3. 03

    Direction

    The reactive layer converts absorbed energy into directional fragments that exit the strike face — away from the occupied side of the opening. On independent high-speed footage, a 5.56 rifle-round impact produced an outward-directed stream at roughly 1,700 ft/s, recorded as a jet rather than a diffuse spray.

  4. 04

    Containment

    The inner face holds. The building's occupants stay protected. Energy and fragmentation that the laminate doesn't absorb are directed outward instead of toward the people inside.

Test results by round.

9mm pistol
Stopped at the strike face. No BallistiSHOCK engagement. Normal laminate behavior.
.223 · 5.56 NATO
Inner face held. Residual fragments exited the strike face at approximately 1,700 ft/s.
12-gauge slug
Inner face held. Residual energy directed outward, away from the occupied side.
Rating
UL 752 Level 7 for BallistiMAX laminate.
Weight
Approximately 15 lbs per square foot.

Why it matters

Why the reactive layer matters.

The priority is the people inside. BallistiMAX holds the inner face; BallistiSHOCK makes sure the residual energy that the laminate doesn't absorb is directed outward, not toward the occupied side of the opening. In field tests, that has meant occupants stay protected, and an attacker standing at the outer face may be temporarily incapacitated by secondary glass fragments exiting the strike face. Our associates will walk you through the specifics for your facility.

Request a field demonstration See BallistiMAX