The new super gel from global defense, aerospace, and security company BAE Systems means body armor that will provide far greater protection at a drastically lighter weight — with more flexibility to boot.

The liquid can even be pasted between sheets of Kevlar, the body armor standard considered five times stronger than steel — and transforming it into super armor thinner and about half the weight of the average bullet-proof vest.

Formally known as Shear Thickening Liquid, the fluid has special particles that are freely suspended. The particles collide when the fluid is disturbed, which creates a resistance to the disturbance.

When the force of the disturbance is large enough, the particles will then actually “lock” together. So when a bullet hits the material at speed, the liquid armor absorbs the impact energy and hardens extremely quickly.