The market for Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) has been created as the result of the threat to people, buildings and infrastructure initially by Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIED) and latterly with the increased use of the Vehicle as a Weapon (VAW).
In response to this, an industry has developed to mitigate these threats by the development and testing of a wide range of products. These are specifically designed to limit or prevent the access of vehicles to sensitive sites, areas and crowded places.
The first impact testing standard to be developed, US DoS SD-STD-02.01, was as a consequence of VBIED attacks in 1983 against a US military target in Beirut. This standard was originally published by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and issued in 1985. It quickly became the international benchmark for impact testing standards – until the UK’s PAS 68 standard was released in 2005. References to the old US standard are still seen in specifications today (K4, K8, K12) even though this has long since been superseded by newer testing protocols on both sides of the Atlantic.
The US DoS standard was replaced in 2007 by the US ASTM F2656-07 standard (subsequently updated to ASTM F2656-18) which was similar to the PAS 68 standard (last issue PAS 68: 2013). This was itself latterly transformed into a CEN Workshop Agreement – CWA 16221:2010.
An International Workshop Agreement standard (IWA14-1:2013) was introduced in 2013 to enable the harmonisation of the US ASTM F2656, CWA 16221:2010 and UK PAS68 testing standards. The testing criteria of ASTM F2656-18 moved towards harmonisation with IWA14-1:2013.
The following powerpoint presentation (below) provides further information on how to compare the results from these differing test standards.
Regardless of which testing standards you encounter in use around the world it is important to understand that impact testing to a recognised standard is designed to give confidence in a product as it has undergone actual physical testing rather than just being the result of theoretical evaluation. The key to having this confidence results from these tests being independently conducted to a specific standard by a suitably accredited testing organisation rather than just being reliant on the claims of an individual manufacturer.
