A perforated heat shield (20) is formed of a single layer and is implemented to be positioned between an aircraft brake assembly (34) and wheel assembly (28) in order to effectively protect the wheel assembly (28) and adjacent components from excessive thermal energy generated by an operation of the brake assembly (34) and to promote the cooling of the brake assembly (34) by allowing a partial amount of the thermal energy to radiate to the wheel assembly (28) through apertures (22) provided in the heat shield (20).