The low temperature limit of the polymer matrix restricts the application of fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) to aircraft engine components in the cold area close to the inlet. This leads to a vulnerability of FRP components to impacts from foreign objects, such as hailstones or runway debris, which are known to cause a variety of damage modes and may reduce the residual strength of composite structures. Furthermore, due to their anisotropic properties and heterogeneous structure, FRP materials exhibit many failure modes that differ from the known failure modes of classical metallic structural materials. Interlaminar failure (delamination), for example, is a concern as it occurs at relatively low impact energy levels and is difficult to detect by visual inspection. To address this issue, the Building-Block Approach has been established as a methodical approach for the design of FRP components, based on a combination of experiments and simulations to systematically capture relevant failure modes and predict them computationally. The first part of the present work focuses on the application of the Building-Block Approach to the characterization and modelling of FRP in aero engines by an interplay of tests and simulations at different levels of geometrical complexity. In addition, the work addresses analytical and numerical approaches for the impact on composite plates which are used to provide insights into the impact dynamics and damage modes of composite structures. Efficient analytical approaches suggested by various researchers [1, 2] have been investigated and the accuracy and computational efficiency of the analytical results have been evaluated in comparison to numerical simulations. Finally, the achieved analytical and numerical results have been compared to experiments performed on FRP parts with varying geometrical complexity. [1] Olsson, R., Donadon, M. V., Falzon, B. G., Delamination threshold load for dynamic impact on plates. International Journal of Solids and Structures 43(10), pp. 3124–3141, 2006. [2] Olsson, R., Mass criterion for wave controlled impact response of composite plates. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 31(8), pp. 879–887, 2000.