Editor’s note: This is the tenth article in a limited series celebrating American defense technologies born from wartime and their effects on broader national security, politics, and society. This series will run for several weeks to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary, and winners will be selected by a reader vote undertaken through our newsletter later this summer. Prior installments can be found at the Arsenal of Innovation page.

I was fortunate enough to do something that would be a benefit to mankind. It’s been an extremely satisfying discovery. I don’t think there’s anything like saving someone’s life to bring you satisfaction and happiness.

– Stephanie Kwolek, inventor of Kevlar

In 1965, a watery substance in a test tube was first viewed as a mistake due to its fluid and cloudy nature. DuPont chemist Stephanie Kwolek cold-spun this watery solution into what we know as Kevlar. Six years later, it gained commercial recognition.

Kevlar deserves its recognition in the United States’ 250-year history of military innovation. It may not be the flashiest technology or the most exquisite battlefield system, but it remains foundational to the warfighter’s survivability.

Perhaps it’s counterintuitive to focus on a technology that’s not about directly winning on the battlefield, but rather on defense. Yet, Kevlar changed the United States Department of Defense’s logic, and its impact on American innovation should not be underestimated. Instead of thinking of more steel as more protection, the United States went all in on lightweight, flexible, mobile, and high-performance materials engineering. Kevlar is a dual-use success that now touches drones, hypersonic systems, wearable soldier technologies, critical infrastructure, and consumer technology.

As a para-aramid polymer fiber, Kevlar is five times stronger than steel by weight, and we know it best for its resistance to penetration by bullets and shrapnel. But Kevlar was originally built for another purpose.

Woven into Everyday Life

Before the battlefield, Kevlar found its way into several useful commercial applications. In the mid-20^th century, the automotive industry largely used steel-reinforced tires, which were effective but heavy. The automotive industry struggled with heat buildup, adhesion problems, and corrosion in steel-reinforced tires. DuPont developed a new synthetic fiber, Kevlar, that helped tire durability and fuel efficiency while handling vehicle weight. It was used in radial tires for cars and trucks, which led to better performance and improved high-temperature handling.

Kevlar was also used in the 1970s for the construction of industrial belts and cables, as well as for cut-resistant workwear. In the following decades, Kevlar scaled in production and was used in phone cables, fiber-optic reinforcement, and bullet-resistant vests for police. In addition, Kevlar was used in satellite structures and NASA spacecraft to reduce weight without compromising strength. While Kevlar-belted tires were later largely displaced by steel in the passenger market, this commercial setback did not weaken Kevlar’s dual-use value, especially across defense-related applications. Owing to its lightweight and flexible nature, Kevlar enabled the development of wearable armor, vehicle protection systems, aircraft, and protective gear, among others.

While modern body armor uses more advanced materials, Kevlar is still woven into infrastructure and consumer technology, from undersea cables and aircraft parts to protective smartphones, electronic components, and protective gear.

From Fiber to Force Protection

As a U.S.-invented material deployed at scale, Kevlar marks a significant shift in advanced materials science for warfare. Previously, U.S. troops relied on steel helmets, metal armor inserts, and large flak jackets made of ballistic nylon — all of which had disadvantages, including limited flexibility and excessive weight for soldiers. When the Pentagon adopted Kevlar for ballistic protection, it marked a turning point in soldier survivability. Without sacrificing mobility, soldiers could wear this lighter protective equipment and protect themselves from artillery fragments, mortar shrapnel, and improvised explosive devices.

In the 1970s, the U.S. Army took a vested interest in Kevlar after learning that a significant portion of combat casualties were a result of low-velocity fragments during the Vietnam War. The unfortunate losses of troops in Vietnam underscored the concrete need to invest in and develop Kevlar for the protection of troops. Specifically, the Natick Soldier Systems Center, whose mandate “is to engineer and outfit American soldiers with the best equipment in the world,” recognized Kevlar’s promise based on its properties. The Army’s Natick Laboratories began to test Kevlar as a replacement for the steel M1 helmet and fiberglass flak jackets used since World War II. The U.S. Army saw Kevlar as a solution that one day could help save lives on the battlefield.

In the early to mid-1980s, the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT) was developed, which included a Kevlar combat helmet and Kevlar fragmentation-protection vest. PASGT marked the first battlefield use of Kevlar material, which replaced steel helmets and offered protection against shell fragments. The Kevlar vest protected troop members’ torsos against fragmentation for the first time. The PASGT was worn by airborne units in Grenada during Operation Urgent Fury, an effort to evacuate American medical students and restore democratic governance to the island in 1983. This was an 18-year gap between discovery and battlefield deployment.

Kevlar was also integrated into advanced body armor systems during the Gulf War (1990 to 1991) and remained so during the War in Afghanistan (2000s). The U.S. Department of Defense introduced the Interceptor Body Armor, fielding it at the end of the 1990s, which included soft Kevlar panels to stop shrapnel and handgun rounds. Notably, Kevlar also helped pave the way for later composites used in military vehicles and aircraft, such as armored vehicle spall liners, helicopter crew protection, aircraft components, and blast mitigation systems.

The material changed how Americans have built, adapted, and fought with technology in war. It substantially improved battlefield readiness and set a new standard for wearable protection across U.S. forces.

Paving the Way for Advanced Materials on the Battlefield

This breakthrough shifted military procurement priorities toward advanced materials science and lightweight armor solutions. Today, the U.S. military relies on a mix of advanced materials, such as Spectra and Dyneema, highlighting how Kevlar is one component in layered armor systems.

It has spun out (no pun intended) a series of advanced cutting-edge materials for both the battlefield and civil society. Indeed, Kevlar helped inspire or accelerate aramid fiber ecosystems (i.e., other DuPont products such as Nomex, which is also used for thermal and flame resistance); ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene fibers (i.e., lighter-weight armor systems); fire-resistant and industrial safety gear (i.e., firefighter gear, protective clothing for emergency response sectors); smart textiles and wearable systems; and nanomaterials and graphene research (i.e., next-generation armor and aerospace systems).

Looking Forward

Advanced materials represent a critical technology that remains chronically underfunded despite the strong case for greater federal and commercial investment. This technology area encompasses advances in cutting-edge materials, such as novel composites and alloys, high-performance ceramics, and nanomaterials. In Fiscal Year 2025, the Pentagon requested only $414 million for advanced materials — a figure that amounted to less than ten percent of what was requested for trusted AI and autonomy. It is important to note that advanced materials are one of four emerging technology areas, alongside biotechnology, quantum sciences, and future-generation wireless, that together total $752 million of the requested budget. However, as a comparatively lower-priority critical technology relative to dominant investment areas, there is a gap, given that advanced materials underpin hypersonics, directed energy, and stealth capabilities and warrant more concerted attention.

Advanced Functional Fabrics of America is doing important work as a nonprofit, public-private partnership and a Manufacturing USA Innovation Institute, seeking to “accelerate textile technology and manufacturing breakthroughs that protect the nation, empower industry, and improve everyday life.” The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) offers another concrete channel, particularly through the Army’s program, which works on advanced materials and manufacturing as one of its funded technology ecosystems. With continued investment and resources, SBIR the initiative could continue to look at early-stage materials science for cutting-edge efforts in hypersonics, directed energy, and stealth applications. Together, with other instruments, these institutions can strengthen critical research and development efforts by working through established channels and emerging areas of interest.

Even with limited budgets, advanced materials are the backbone of several essential critical military technologies. Robust investments in this area could yield meaningful gains across the U.S. forces — longer-range aircraft and missiles, enhanced protection for troops and vehicles, and improved platform agility. The distinctive physical and mechanical properties of advanced materials are indispensable for hypersonics, directed energy, and quantum — three critical technologies that remain on the pared-down list of the United States’ priorities. With a greater focus on advanced materials, the United States can develop the next Kevlar and be a champion for both the warfighters and workers across the country.

Conclusion

This is also a story that highlights the benefits of corporate and government research partnerships through this dual-use innovation. With the creation of Kevlar, DuPont established a multi-billion-dollar business around the synthetic fiber, which in turn supported thousands of American jobs in production, research and development, and distribution. In addition to saving lives on the battlefield, Kevlar opened the door to an entire generation of lightweight, high-performance armor systems for the U.S. military.

Notably, DuPont finalized the sale of its Aramids division this past April — which includes both Kevlar and Nomex — to Arclin, a company owned by private equity firm TJC, in a deal worth roughly $1.8 billion. This division employed around 1,900 workers spread across five manufacturing facilities and brought in $1.3 billion in net sales during 2024. The material used to protect the head and torso of every American servicemember has now moved from a longstanding American industrial company into the hands of a private-equity-owned entity. Kevlar now joins Teflon and Lycra as products DuPont no longer manufactures. This is a defense-industrial-base story with real consequences – one that supports mission-critical efforts and helps protect people, communities, and essential infrastructure.

We should also consider the supply chain issues surrounding aramids: With the 2026 sale of DuPont’s Aramids business to Arclin, production shifted to new ownership, with manufacturing operations spanning the United States, Europe, and Asia, making ownership structure and production geography inseparable parts of the supply chain equation.

Technology, protection, and combat effectiveness go hand in hand. For 250 years, the United States has excelled in military innovation — Kevlar should stand out for its far-reaching achievements to the defense community and national security practitioners. From DuPont’s lab in 1965 to the deserts of Afghanistan, Kevlar has kept warfighters safe and protected. In the next era of military innovation, Kevlar’s legacy is not just a reminder of what advanced materials can accomplish, but also a blueprint for what investment in dual-use innovation can deliver.

Julie George is a Research Fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, where she focuses on the military applications of artificial intelligence, AI governance, and AI efforts involving the public and private sectors. She earned a Ph.D. in Government (International Relations) from Cornell University and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Political Science from Boston University, where she received the Best Thesis Award. She is an Affiliate at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation.

***Please note, as a matter of house style, War on the Rocks will not use a different name for the U.S. Department of Defense until and unless the name is changed by statute by the U.S. Congress.