<p>The effect of the number, sequence, and thickness of layers on ballistic performance in the composite armors of metal-ceramic multilayer configurations is still contentious in terms of effectiveness. Some controversial areas are the effect of ceramic choice, using strong or ductile metals as cover- or back-plate, the effect of layering, the best thickness ratio of ceramic to back-plate, the effect of spacing, etc. Therefore, this study aims to clarify some of them through experimental and numerical analyses. This study covers some of these areas with possible deductions towards the best ballistic performance. Several configurations composing MIL-DTL-46,100 Armor Steel, Al-5083 H131 aluminum, alumina (Al₂O₃) and silicon carbide (SiC) ceramics in various order were created for this purpose. Later, targets were produced by these predetermined configurations, and high-velocity ballistic tests were carried out using 12,7&#xa0;mm steel core armor piercing (AP) projectiles. On the other hand, numerical analyses were practiced simultaneously. After verification was obtained between ballistic tests and numerical analyses by tuning up the numerical model through the penetration depth, more configurations by numerical analyses were performed to populate sufficient data -relying on the previous conformation- to extract the necessary deductions. With these deductions, it could be said that tougher ceramics like SiC with higher young modulus perform higher penetration resistance, a metal-ceramic composite armor system should be constructed with a strong metal (46100 armor steel) at the front and a ductile metal (Al-5083 H131 aluminum) at the backside, ceramic to back plate thickness ratio would be better around 0.5, thinner layer at the front is better for double layered back plates. This ratio reduced the penetration depth by 30% compared to 0.3.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>