Airframer
NewsPress release

Press release

Tactical Labs releases third-party testing results for NS Composite, outperforming fiberglass, aluminium, and steel

19/05/2026

Press releaseIssued by Tactical Labs.
Tactical Labs releases third-party testing results for NS Composite, outperforming fiberglass, aluminium, and steel
ASTM D7136 testing reveals brittle failure in fiberglass at lower energies (9–21J), while basalt composites demonstrate superior damage tolerance with no visible damage up to 42J. · Photo: Tactical Labs

As SOF Week opens, Tactical Labs, an SBA-certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), has introduced NS Composite, a high-performance material platform engineered to outperform fiberglass while reducing reliance on aluminium and steel in weight-critical, high-impact defence and aerospace systems.

Independent testing at the Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative (BRIC) validates that NS Composite achieves measurable gains in survivability, structural strength, and weight reduction in high-impact, contested environments.

Third-party validation (ASTM Standard Testing) confirms that NS Composite achieves up to 4× greater impact survivability vs. fiberglass. Led by Dr. David A. Jack of Baylor University, the testing confirmed:

– No visible damage at 42.2 J impact energy (ASTM D7136)

– Fiberglass failure initiates at ~9 J under identical conditions

– Tensile strength: 579–628 MPa (ASTM D3039)

– Up to 48% stronger than Aluminium 6061 and up to 33% stronger than A36 steel

– Up to 55% lighter than aluminium and 68–84% lighter than steel (variant dependent)

NS Composite is engineered across three mission-specific variants: structural, lightweight, and blast-resistant, enabling tailored performance across aircraft structures, payload mounts, and survivability systems.

Unlike conventional materials that fail under repeated stress or impact, NS Composite maintains integrity under loads that degrade or disable fiberglass and dent or deform aluminium systems, unlocking higher durability and extended operational life.

"In combat and flight environments, materials don't get second chances," said Joshua Griffin, CEO of Tactical Labs. "NS Composite was designed to survive where legacy systems fail."

NS Composite translates material performance into a measurable mission advantage:

– Reduced maintenance and replacement cycles

– Increased system uptime and readiness

– Significant weight savings for improved payload and fuel efficiency

– Lower total cost of ownership across platforms

Fully manufactured in the United States, Tactical Labs is advancing a new class of composite materials designed to meet the demands of modern defence, aerospace, and space systems:

– Advanced aircraft structures and mounts

– Ballistic and survivability systems

– Reusable launch vehicles and satellite structures

– High-impact ground and maritime systems

"NS Composite is built by Special Operators, validated by Baylor, and engineered for dominance," stated Griffin.

The industry ledger — an Analytics feature — collects the dated facts behind stories like this one, filterable by theme, company, program, country and date. See a worked example →

In this release

Sectors covered

People in this release

Joshua GriffinCEO · Tactical Labsin

Where we hold a LinkedIn profile it’s marked — the links come with a subscription.

Your news here

Submit your press releases

Send releases and photographs to news@news.airframer.com — the pick of them reach Bulletin readers every Thursday.

Every Thursday

The Airframer Bulletin

The week’s aerospace manufacturing news, reported by our editors and delivered free to your inbox. Sign up ›

Go deeper

Who supplies whom?

Subscribers see the confirmed supply chain behind every story — complete supplier lists for each aircraft program, sector and company. See the plans ›

Spotted something wrong or out of date on this page? Tell us

Corrections go straight to the editorial team that maintains this directory.