Echelon Materials has announced that it is working on the world’s first and only patented, lightweight, flexible fabric designed to shred high-powered conical/rifle rounds and be comfortably worn or carried all day.

The fabric called TiTek uses a defeat mechanism that is cutting-edge, according to Echelon. It’s a patented fabric that weaves tiny, sharp-edged titanium discs into the plane of the fabric using the very Kevlar threads that comprise the fabric. These discs present their sharp edges to the incoming round and cut it to shreds as it passes. Once shredded by the TiTek fabric, debris from the bullets is easily captured by the armor package’s backing layers that employ existing materials such as aramids or polyethylenes, Echelon says. Compared to traditional armor that “stops” the bullet by applying counter-force, TiTek-infused armor uses the bullet’s own energy to cut it apart, destroying it and making it easier to stop.

“In testing the TiTek material, we have seen 7.62 FMJ M80 rounds turned into shrapnel - not a piece over the size of a .17-caliber BB—with bits and pieces spread over a 9-inch diameter in an armor pack weighing 1.9 pounds per square foot,” said Bob Muller, Echelon Materials’ CEO. “This means that lightweight, flexible, breathable, rifle protection weighing up to 75% less than current Level IV+ plates is possible with TiTek, making that protection easier and more comfortable to wear.”

For more information about, visit www.echelonmaterials.com/.