Army Developing Ballistic Wallpaper to Shore Up Shelters

More homeowners are tearing down wallpaper then putting it up in their homes. Yet a group of Army engineers think wallpaper could be more valuable than ever for soldiers seeking shelter.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is developing a ballistic wallpaper that would protect soldiers by shoring up abandoned masonry or brick used as temporary shelter in the case of a blast.

The wallpaper is made of Kevlar fiber threads embedded into flexible polymer film, said Nick Boone, an ERDC research mechanical engineer, at the Pentagon's Lab Day last week.

Engineers are designing the paper so it's lightweight and has adhesive on the back so it's easy to apply. Boone said in an Army press release that it's supposed to act as a "catcher's net."

Thus far the wallpaper has gone through small blast testing at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and large blast testing at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.