The Army Times is reporting the United States Marine Corps placed an order for more than 3800 new helmets capable of stopping rifle rounds at point blank range.

The new helmet is called the Enhanced Combat Helmet or ECH.  According to Military.com, the new helmets use Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene instead of older ballistic fibers like Kevlar and Twaron.  The result is a higher degree of protection at the same weight.

The helmets are being made by Ceradyne, Inc.  Ceradyne is a subsidiary of 3M.  Ceradyne already manufactures SAPI plates for the US government.

The USMC plans to deploy up to 38,500 of the helmets, and the US Army is looking to buy at least 200,000 of the helmets.