The permanent deflection of a thin circular plate struck normally at its center by a projectile is studied by an approximate theoretical analysis, FEM simulation and experiment. The plate made of rate sensitive and strain-hardening material undergoes serious local deformation but is not perforated during the impact. The theoretical analysis is based on an energy approach,in which the Cowper-Symonds equation is used for the consideration of strain rate sensitive effects and the parameters involved are determined with the aid of experimental data. The maximum permanent deflections predicted by the theoretical model are compared with those of FEM simulation and published papers obtained both by theory and experiment, and good agreement is achieved for a wide range of thickness of the plates and initial impact velocities.