The company will deliver ballistic shoot packs constructed from a material called Dragon Silk' for performance testing.
Washington: A new kind of strong spider silk based fibres — known as Dragon Silk — could soon be used by the US army for bullet proof apparels.
The US-based Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, developer of spider silk-based fibers, announced that it has received a contract valued at up to $1.0 million, for the development of high performance fibers for protective apparel applications. The company will deliver ballistic shoot packs constructed from a material called ‘Dragon Silk’ for performance testing. These shoot packs will be tested and evaluated for critical soldier protective applications, including ballistic impact.
Despite its mythical name, Dragon Silk is actually the work of genetic engineers. “Dragon Silk scores very highly in tensile strength and elasticity, which makes it one of the toughest fibers known to man and the ideal material for many applications,” said Jon Rice, chief operating officer. Rice doesn’t want to limit Dragon Silk to military uses. He plans to expand the company’s products into of other protective clothing, as well as athletic wear.
