Titanium alloy has been widely used in the weapon industry and has become an indispensable material. Titanium alloy weapons are not only light in weight, good maneuverability, but also increased in power. They are especially suitable for airborne troops and assault troops. Titanium alloy mortar seat plates are more than 50% lighter than steel plates. Titanium alloys are used to make mortar tubes, seat plates. High-quality materials such as barrels and gun mounts are also good materials for preparing protective clothing and helmets.
Since the industrial production of titanium and titanium alloys in the mid-1940s, the United States and the Soviet Union have begun to pay attention to and study their applications in weapons. The Watertown Ordnance Factory of the United States has made many developments in the application of titanium alloys in weapons, is the largest and most advanced unit in the world to study the application of titanium alloys in the field of weapons. In 1955, the U.S. weapon industry used 57 tons of titanium, 281 tons in 1961, and 1,040 tons in 1971. It was reached 2,100 tons in 2020.
Titanium and titanium alloys are important materials for the manufacture of artillery structural parts. The barrel, chamber, nozzle and launch piston of the M28 120mm Crockett recoilless gun manufactured in the United States in 1950 are forged and extruded with Ti-6Al-6V-2Sn-0.5Fe-0.5Cu alloy. The whole gun has a mass of 68kg. In the 1970s, Ti-6Al-4V-2Sn titanium alloy was used to make barrels, and Ti-6Al-4V, Ti-7Al-4Mo and Ti-5Al-1.5Fe-1.4Cr-1.2Mo titanium alloys were used to make the gun barrel. Nozzle and launch piston, the mass of the whole gun is only 49kg, 4 people can resist running forward. After Japan`s 155mm chase mount plate was replaced with Kobe Steel`s titanium alloy, the quality was reduced by about 50%. The 5mm and 8mm Ti-6Al-4V alloy plates were used for welding. Tests showed that the welding quality is good and can fully meet the combat needs.
From 1959 to 1961, the United States used Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-5Al-2.5Sn titanium alloys to spin M-1 standard helmets without success. Later, it was successfully switched to Ti-4Al-3Mn titanium alloy and explosive forming technology. The mass is only 0.794kg-1.02kg. In terms of bulletproof effect, the titanium helmet is the same as the steel helmet, but the titanium helmet is 0.45kg lighter than the standard steel helmet.
China has been studying the application of titanium alloys in weapon manufacturing since the 1970s, with remarkable results. The anti-tank missile steering gear and frame are made of TC9 titanium alloy, which is a Ti-0.2Pd α alloy, which is used in the annealed state; the 85 type anti-aircraft machine gun brake made of TC4 titanium alloy has achieved very good results Later, the use of precision casting ZTC4 alloy to replace TC4 alloy extruded bars achieved better results. The material utilization rate rose from 18% to 94%, and it also saved a lot of cutting costs, which achieved two goals. TC4 is a commonly used Ti-6Al-4V alloy with excellent properties, α+β type, used in the annealed state. The light flamethrower made of titanium has a range of up to 70m. It is a close-range light weapon and is more than 3kg lighter than steel. It can be made of industrial pure titanium, Ti-3Al-2.5V and other alloys.