Last week USSOCOM awarded an IDIQ contract to Final Forge for the Rotary Wing Advanced Tactical Helmets we wrote about awhile back which were adopted by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment ‘Night Stalkers.’
Final Forge, Blountville, Tennessee, has been awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (H92403-23-D-0004) with a maximum ceiling of $49,000,000 and a $5,000 minimum ordering guarantee for a new generation of rotary wing advanced tactical helmets with spare parts and accessories. The helmets provide operationally relevant characteristics and performance including but not limited to excellent comfort, stability, field of view, and head mobility. This contract will fulfill the full operational capability requirements for all U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) rotary wing aviation components. Fiscal 2023 procurement funds in the amount of $874,970 are being obligated at time of award on the first delivery order. This contract is a follow-on production contract stemming from a competitive prototype agreement and is being awarded in accordance with10 U.S. Code 4022(f). USSOCOM, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity.
The RATH was developed and is manufactured by Final Forge, a company founded by David Rogers who coincidentally also founded Ops-Core before selling it to Gentex in 2012.
….can we get that to replace the CVC for mech crews please?
This doesn’t look safer than the current Gentex HGU-56…
Currently USARRL has not tested and reviewed this helmet. While it may suffer from blunt force trauma issues compared to the giant bicycle helmet that is the Gentex HGU-56, the RWATH does have ability to add ballistic applications to the outside of the helmet and that would be very helpful for crew chiefs and flight medics that have to routinely exist the helicopter and perform duties on an active HLZ. Also in a LSCO fight there is the larger questions of ground fire and weighing risk to favor more toward ballistic protection over blunt force protection.
I would love to get to use this helmet…alas, as a national guard medevac pilot all I can do is dream.