“…Composite materials based on transitional metal diboride and silicon carbide (MeB2-SiC) possess an exceptional high-temperature stability in air and are known as ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTC). UHTCs are used for scramjet engines, leading edges and nose-cones of hypersonic vehicles, heat exchangers, and advanced rocket motors [1,2,3,4,5,6]. However, their high hardness and stiffness is also linked to a poor toughness and thermal shock resistance, which reduces the material performance in most high-temperature applications [7,8].…”