Metal foams are low impedance materials which are often used as light weight construction elements, energy absorber and for structural damping. We have coated open cell aluminum foams by a nanocrystalline nickel coating via an electrodeposition process and in this way we could improve the stiffness, energy absorption capability and the damping behavior of the foams. The mechanical behavior of the coated foams could be tuned by the crystallite size and the thickness of the coating. The foams were characterized in slow and fast quasi-static compression tests as well as in dynamic compression tests, using a Split Hopkinson pressure bar. At the optimized coating thickness of 150 µm Ni, there was an enhancement effect of the energy absorption capability of 800% for 10 ppi foams. Ballistic tests showed the applicability of the foams as splinter shield. A big opportunity of open cell metal foams is that they can be filled for example with elastomeric materials and build a composite structure. The ability of filled and unfilled nano nickel strengthened foams to structural damping was tested in a shock tube.