The paper represents the experimental study and mathematical modeling of the shock resistance of composite spaced targets subjected to the high-velocity impact of steel and tungsten rod projectiles. The results of the study indicate a significant effect of the spacing and thickness of the steel target plates on the penetration process, leading, at high impact velocities, to a decrease in the total penetration depth in comparison with the depth in a monolithic target An explanation of this effect is proposed, which consists in the fracture of the head of the projectile beyond each plate of the assembly due to tensile stresses. One of the possible approaches for evaluating the penetration depth and the number of spaced plates can be the proposed approximate (engineering) method, which takes into account the dynamic strength characteristics of the materials of interacting bodies. The geometrical and kinematic parameters of the projectile beyond the plates of the assembly are obtained considering the fracture of the material by the mixed mechanism “adiabatic shear - spalling”. The calculations performed by the proposed method are in good qualitative and quantitative agreement with the experimental data.