A method of making a sandwich of impact resistant material, the method comprising: providing a powder; performing a spark plasma sintering process on powder to form a tile; and coupling a ductile backing layer to the tile. In some embodiments, the powder comprises micron-sized particles. In some embodiments, the powder comprises nano-particles. In some embodiments, the powder comprises silicon carbide particles. In some embodiments, the powder comprises boron carbide particles. In some embodiments, the ductile backing layer comprises an adhesive layer. In some embodiments, the ductile backing layer comprises: a layer of polyethylene fibers; and an adhesive layer coupling the layer of polyethylene fibers to the tile, wherein the adhesive layer comprises a thickness of 1 to 3 millimeters.