The ballistic limit or limit velocity is the velocity required for a particular projectile to reliably (at least 50% of the time) penetrate a particular piece of material. In other words, a given projectile will generally not pierce a given target when the projectile velocity is lower than the ballistic limit.[1] The term ballistic limit is used specifically in the context of armor; limit velocity is used in other contexts.[1]
The ballistic limit equation for laminates, as derived by Reid and Wen[2] is as follows:
where
Additionally, the ballistic limit for small-caliber into homogeneous armor by TM5-855-1 is:
where