?Composite materials offer significant design advantages in the aerospace industry. High strength and light weight are the two most attractive features for aircraft and space vehicle designs. However, their complex material behavior makes analysis of these structures a significant challenge, particularly in a high speed impact event. The advanced composite modeling and industry leading simulation capabilities of Abaqus/Explicit make analysis of these challenging materials straightforward and allow accurate prediction of ballistic limit, damage and failure. This technology brief describes an analysis of the dynamic impact of a steel projectile onto a unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced plate and the specific advantages of Abaqus/Explicit for this type of simulation.