Wire Rope Isolators (WRI) are well known and used for theprotection of sensitive equipment against non-contact underwaterexplosions (UNDEX) on board Naval Ships, amongst others, whichare extremely destructive and can comple`tely impair the ship’scombat capability.Traditional WRI exhibit a number of definite advantages, such aslarge deflection capability, modularity and insensitivity to aggressiveenvironment when proper materials are used. However, theirinherent nonlinearity does not always provide the best solution interms of shock attenuation. (Stiffening tension characteristics)Fortunately, there are ways to overcome this problem, namelyincreasing their damping and/ or changing their aspect ratio. It is thepurpose of this presentation to show how to overcome this problemand through analysis, by use of validated models of the shock testingmachines. The existing technology will be briefly presented andHDWRI (high damping wire rope isolators) vs. conventional WRIresponses will be compared on the US Navy shock testing machinesof MIL-S-901D.