Helmets with lightweight bulletproof material starting to deploy with U.S. military members
3M today announced its Enhanced Combat Helmets were named as one of the “100 Best Innovations of 2013” by Popular Sciencemagazine for making our world safer and more efficient. The Enhanced Combat Helmets, designed and manufactured by Ceradyne, Inc., a 3M company, provide unparalleled ballistic and fragmentation protection over today’s standard-issued helmets.
The combination of advanced materials with unique 3M processing technology enables the new helmet design to have over 35% better ballistic protection at a lighter weight. “We’re incredibly honored to have been named to this year’s ‘Best Innovations’ list, especially for our defense support technology,” saidMark Colin, vice president and general manager, Advanced Ceramics Platform. “Advancing the science behind equipment that improves survivability and better protects our U.S. Armed Forces is some of the most rewarding work we do.”
The prestigious distinction comes on the heels of 3M’s September announcement stating it was awarded a United States government contract to supply 77,000 Enhanced Combat Helmets, and associated spare parts, to the U.S. Marine Corps. The contract was a direct result of a joint procurement program led by the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army to improve head protection for Marines and Soldiers. The helmets will be fielded to deploying Marines and Soldiers starting in 2014.
This is the fifth award 3M has won from Popular Sciencein the last six years. Previous accolades include the 3M MPro110 micro projector, which won the “Grand Award” for the “Best New Gadgets” feature in 2008; the 3M/Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200 with Zargis Cardioscan, which was named “Best of What's New” in 2009; and 3M Kind Removal Silicone Tape and 3M Noise Indicator NI-100, which were both named among the “Top 100 most innovative, high quality and revolutionary ideas” in the “Best of What’s New” awards in 2011.
About 3M
3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $30 billion in sales, 3M employs 88,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 70 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.
About Ceradyne, Inc.
Ceradyne develops, manufactures, and markets advanced technical ceramic products and components for defense, industrial, energy, automotive/diesel, and commercial applications. In many high performance applications, products made of advanced technical ceramics meet specifications that similar products made of metals, plastics or traditional ceramics cannot achieve. Advanced technical ceramics can withstand extremely high temperatures, combine hardness with light weight, are highly resistant to corrosion and wear, and often have excellent electrical capabilities, special electronic properties and low friction characteristics. Additional information about the company can be found at www.ceradyne.com.
3M and Ceradyne are trademarks of 3M Company.
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3MColleen Harris, 651-733-1566orInprelaStephani Simon, 612-677-2021stephani@inprela.comMultimedia Files:
