 Composite armour has since been applied to smaller vehicles, right down to jeep-sized automobiles.Many of these systems are applied as upgrades to existing armour, which makes them difficult to place around the entire vehicle.Nevertheless, they are often surprisingly effective; upgrades with MEXAS ceramic armour to Canadian M113s were carried out in the 1990s, after it was realized that it would offer more protection than newly built IFVs like the M2 Bradley.