Composite armor panel

A composite armor plate for absorbing and dissipating kinetic energy from high velocity projectiles, said plate comprising a single internal layer of pellets which are directly bound and retained in plate form by a solidified material such that the pellets are bound in a plurality of adjacent rows, said pellets having a specific gravity of at least 2 and being made of a material selected from the group consisting of glass, sintered refractory material and ceramic material, a majority of the pellets each having at least one axis of at least 3 mm length and being bound by said solidified material in said single internal layer of adjacent rows such that each of a majority of said pellets is in direct contact with six adjacent pellets in the same layer to provide mutual lateral confinement therebetween, said pellets each having a substantially regular geometric form and first and second end faces, wherein said solidified material and said plate are elastic, characterized in that a channel is provided in said first end face of each of a plurality of said pellets, said first end face being disposed substantially opposite to an outer impact-receiving major surface of said plate, thereby reducing the weight per area of each of said pellets which channel occupies a volume of up to 25% within its respective pellet.