MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--3M today announces it has received additional orders from U.S.
government for its Enhanced Combat Helmet that provide military
personnel with protection against head injury from ballistic threats and
blunt impacts. 3M will deliver 35,000 helmets for the U.S. Army and
2,500 helmets for the U.S. Navy in addition to the 77,000 ordered for
the U.S. Marine Corps last fall.
The new orders bring the total contract value for Enhanced Combat
Helmets and associated spare parts to $107 million. This contract for
over 114,000 helmets is an outcome of the joint procurement program led
by the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army to improve head protection
for Marines, Soldiers and Sailors.
The Enhanced Combat Helmet features technology designed and manufactured
by Ceradyne, Inc., a 3M company. It is the only helmet that has passed
the U.S. Marine Corps Enhanced Combat Helmet specification protocol. The
helmet, which is equivalent in weight to current fielded helmets,
provides over 35 percent improved ballistic fragmentation protection
compared to others currently in use. This means additional protection
from ballistic threats that has never before been possible in a military
helmet.
The Enhanced Combat Helmet was named one of the 100 greatest innovations
of the year in Popular Science’s 26th annual “Best of
What’s New” issue published in December 2013. It appeared in the
security category. 3M also makes combat hearing and respiratory
protection, body armor and communications systems for the U.S. Armed
Forces.
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 89,000 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., a 3M company 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.3M.com/ceradyne.