The M3 armor is based on the French armed forces Cuirasse de Combat ("fighting armor") and consists of a sandwich of materials molded to form a rigid shell. The outer layer is an ultra-light titanium-alumide alloy designed to provide structural strength and ablative protection against lasers. Beneath this is a core consisting of a layer of boron carbide resin bonded to a layer of graphite-composite carbon fibre. Boron carbide is an incredibly hard ceramic designed to shatter a bullet on impact while simultaneously forming a conoid base to absorb its energy. Beneath this, the carbon fibre layer provides ballistic protection at the point of penetration by delaminating across a large area, thereby absorbing more energy. Finally, on the inside of the armour is woven liner made of 1,500 denier