The assessment of damage due to impacts in composite sandwich panels and the component life reductions associated with such damage is becoming increasingly important within the aerospace industry. This study analyses minimum gauge, non-metallic honeycomb wing panels subject to impact damage. In all instances the damage is caused by "soft body" impactors travelling at elevated velocities to simulate bird strike and other soft debris. The damage formed during these impacts is shown to be large in plan area but shallow and primarily causes crushing of the core in a thin layer. Loading of the panels after impact has been performed to determine the reduction in load carrying capacity and associated failure mechanisms. Damage due to soft body impact is shown to be very different to the classical rigid body impact upon which current repair schemes are based. As a result in many applications the use of current repair schemes may be inappropriate. The viability of new repair techniques is discussed with particular attention to the prevention of failure mechanisms due to loading after impact.
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