Composite panel comprising a perforated metallic foil for lightning strike protection and a perforated metallic foil

A composite panel for an aerospace structure comprising a plurality of carbon plies, comprising:

• a perforated metallic foil comprising a plurality of apertures directly secured to the plurality of carbon plies, and
• a protective layer made from resin containing fibrous reinforcement whose areal weight is comprised between 2 to 20 g/m2, said protective layer being secured to the perforated metallic foil with the perforated metallic foil being embedded in the protective layer through its apertures,
• a free surface of the protective layer forming a top side of the composite panel,
• a thickness of the protective layer between the top side of the composite panel and the perforated metallic foil being at least 15 micrometers and
• the perforated metallic foil having a thickness of not more than 30 micrometers,
• the plurality of apertures having a predefined geometric shape extending through the thickness of the perforated metallic foil and being distributed across a surface area defined by a length and a width of the perforated metallic foil,
• the plurality of apertures in an aggregate defining an open area of not more than 40% of the surface area and a maximum distance between two opposed points in a perimeter of an aperture being equal or less than 3 mm.