Civilian armored vehicle operations in Brazil – challenges and production processes improvements: a qualitative survey

Armoring civilian vehicles requires specialized knowledge and experience that many armoring companies lack as they are not direct or indirect suppliers of vehicle manufacturers. This limits their access to automotive quality and manufacturing certifications or detailed vehicle designs, which can result in loss or malfunctioning of automotive components during the armoring process. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the challenges faced by Brazilian civilian armoring companies and identify opportunities for improvement in their production processes. Qualitative research was conducted using a questionnaire-based survey of eight specialized firms in Brazil, as well as literature related to DFMA, design for manufacturing and assembly, quality, automotive, and ballistic references. The study results include detailed armoring operation steps, qualitative survey reports, and helpful literature references for armoring practitioners to generate a standard armoring procedure for different vehicle models. Following best practices in automotive and armoring procedures collected in the survey responses can standardize and enhance ballistic protection operations while preserving the original vehicle systems' functionalities and warranties. This work provides valuable information for armoring companies to improve their operations and interfaces with automotive systems and follow automotive and ballistic references.