“The effect of blast on soldiers has been recognised for years but current technology has concentrated on defeating ballistics not blast. The U.S. Army in Iraq recognised the effects of blast on soldiers from IEDs in particular earlier this year, which is why we, at Hobson Industries, have been concentrating our efforts, with our partners, to deliver to the MoD technology which combines existing ballistic-defeating technologies with additional blast technologies, thus saving precious lives.” “The deployment of IEDs which started during the Northern Ireland conflict in the 70s is so widespread that many armies simply do not have the protection required for their troops. A Duty of Care is owed by all Governments to provide protection against these threats and, as we have seen in Iraq, many existing systems are simply not man enough to defeat this very serious threat that is causing potential loss of life. The understanding of blast technology and the effects of an explosion are hugely complex given the different effects experienced during an explosion. To put the matter into context a blast exhibited by the detonation of a 1.5 – 3kg anti-vehicle mine will give a resonant shock wave of 7 kilometres a second,” said Peter Hobson Managing Director of Hobson Industries. Over the last 6 years Hobson Industries Limited has been upgrading and re-armouring Land Rover and other vehicles for the various International military customers. Over the last few years Hobsons has been developing new advanced vehicle protection solutions suitable to meet the current threat. Weight constraints of the Land Rover chassis have focused Hobson’s attentions on lightweight protective armour for ballistic and mine blast situations. Hobsons has recently formed a joint venture with Paxcon Inc. of the USA, the manufacturers of LINE-X. LINE-X® is a polyurethane coating that has added the benefit of a lightweight spall lining that can be applied directly to metal and non metal surfaces. Indeed, the latest versions of the WMIK (Weapons Mounted Installation Kit) Land Rover vehicles, being assembled for operations in theatre, are equipped with LINE-X® anti spall lining on the inner surface of the rear protective floor pan. LINE-X has developed a Blast Mitigation material known as PAXCON® for use on buildings and other permanent structures. PAXCON® has been subject to testing by the US Military where it proved to be the most effective of a batch of some 27 different products. Since those tests in the late 1990’s LINE-X has further developed their products to include a range of products for spall protection, LINE-X has also developed products with fire retardant properties and are currently carrying out tests with the US Department of Justice to ascertain the improved capabilities of their products. Additionally the scientific branch of the UK MoD is currently carrying out tests on LINE-X® to determine defensive properties suitable for many other applications. LINE-X continues to develop and test new formulations for various threats for military customers worldwide Through an agreement with LINE-X USA and LINE-X UK, Hobson Industries has secured the rights to use LINE-X® for vehicle applications in defence. About Hobson Industries Hobson Industries, established in 1987, provides Vehicle Through Life Support solutions with Logistic, Armouring, Engineering, Asset Management, Vehicle build and Homologation workshops. Employing 48 people the company is located at Donnington on Bain, Lincolnshire, UK. The company has developed complete Through Life support solutions that use its comprehensive facilities, technical and logistic expertise to Asset Manage the through life parts package, including major and minor units to complete vehicle build, based on Original Equipment Standards. The company has a complete range of engineering and workshop facilities to undertake all aspects of vehicle and parts build including reconditioning and homologation, including armouring solutions and in-house ballistic testing. The company also provides full technical support and a comprehensive in-house CAD/CAM design function. Customers include the U.K. MoD, RUC/PSNI, Australian Defence Force, Nigerian MoD, Jordan Armed Forces, Jordan Public Security Directorate, Office of the High Representative (OHR) Bosnia & Herzegovina and the Libyan National Oil Corporation. The Company has the full range of QA Certificates complying with BS EN ISO 9001 and Environmental Management System certification complying with the requirements of BS EN ISO 14001 in addition to possessing a unique Environmental Agency Section 37 Certificate to operate an End-of-Life Vehicle Authorised Treatment Facility as required for all used vehicles under EU Rules. For more information, contact: Barbara Hobson, Hobson Industries Limited Phone:  +44 (0)1507 342021 Fax: +44 (0)1507 343900 E-mail: barbara@hobsonindustries.co.ukWebsite: www.hobsonindustries.co.uk