2. What are armoured cables?

Armoured cables are electrical cables with an additional metallic armour layer designed to improve mechanical protection. The armour helps protect the cable against impact, compression, pulling stress, accidental damage, and demanding installation conditions.
They are commonly used for underground power distribution, direct burial, outdoor wiring, industrial plants, substations, construction sites, commercial buildings, cable ducts, tunnels, and other applications where non-armoured cables may not provide enough protection. BS 5467 SWA cable is commonly described as a hard-wearing power cable with mechanical protection for mains electricity supply, suitable for indoor, outdoor, duct, and direct burial applications.