Coated ballistic structures and methods of making same

An armor component comprising:

• a ceramic substrate;
• a barrier layer coating the substrate material and comprising one or more of a cermet, ceramic, or metallic material to form a barrier coated substrate;
• and
• an outermost encapsulation of cooled metal generally surrounding at least the periphery of the barrier coated substrate;
• wherein the encapsulation of cooled metal was casted thereon as molten metal and the barrier layer protected the substrate material from degradation during the casting process.

An armor article comprising:

• a plurality of armor components interconnected by a casted metal framework surrounding at least the periphery of each armor component;
• wherein each armor component comprises:
• a ceramic substrate;
• a barrier layer coating the substrate material and comprising one or more of a cermet, ceramic, or metallic material to form a barrier coated substrate;
• and
• an outermost encapsulation of cooled metal generally surrounding at least the periphery of the barrier coated substrate;
• wherein the encapsulation of cooled metal was casted thereon as molten metal and the barrier layer protected the substrate material from degradation during the casting process.