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I think it since got surpassed by UHMWPE, which has a tensile strength of ~20GPa. They make cheap body armor out of it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-high-molecular-weight_po...

UHMWPE is a beautiful thing. As easy to cut as wood, you can bend and mold it at temperatures over 300F, and it's strong enough that a 0.9" thick plate can stop bullets. Specifically, by "bullets", I mean a NIJ-0101.06 level III threat. That could be up to 24 shots from an AK-47, FN FAL, or AR-15.

One problem with UHMWPE is it's slippery, so hard to glue to a rigid composite.

Also, don't count out the path dependence of even very competitive industries. They know carbon fiber, so that's what they use, and they then make small increments from their known territory.

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