Aluminum alloys have always been one of the most widely used metal structural materials in the military industry. Aluminum alloy material has the characteristics of low density, high strength and good processing performance. As a structural material, because of its excellent processing performance, it can be made into profiles, pipes, and high-strength plates of various cross-sections, so as to give full play to the potential of the material and improve Member rigidity and strength. Therefore, aluminum alloy is the preferred lightweight structural material for weapon lightweighting.
The development trend of aluminum alloys is to pursue high purity, high strength, high toughness and high temperature resistance. The aluminum alloys used in the military industry mainly include aluminum-lithium alloys, aluminum-copper alloys and aluminum-zinc-magnesium alloys. The new aluminum-lithium alloy is used in the aviation industry, and the weight of the aircraft is expected to be reduced by 8% to 15%; the aluminum-lithium alloy will also become a candidate structural material for aerospace vehicles and thin-walled missile casings. With the rapid development of the aerospace industry, the research focus of aluminum-lithium alloys is still to solve the problems of poor toughness in the thickness direction and reduce costs.