Researchers have been concentrating on filling the gaps between current armor vests and helmets and that has driven the design of this new helmet system. They started with a light helmet with shock mitigating liner. Then they developed different mission-specific appliques, such as a ballistic shell, front mandible, ballistic visor and an rear neck guard that attaches at the back of the helmet which reminds me of those found on riot helmets. This has made it modular and scalable much like newer body armor. They’ve added a couple of other interesting features. As you can see, the outer shell includes an integrated NVG mount. Additionally, the liner helmet is high cut, exposing the the ear in order to decrease weight yet increase compatibility with hearing augmentation systems.
Courtesy of the Polish military magazine Special Ops. Special Ops is printed bi-monthly with a circulation of nearly 10000 copies. They started in 2009 and have become Poland’s top SOF dedicated journal.
Mayflower Research & Consulting, LLC is seeking your “Mayflower Gear In-Action” photos for their Facebook page. All new photo posters will receive a free Mayflower t-shirt.
The rules are:
1. one per individual, NOT one per photo.
2. Must be an action photo, not a picture of the kit fresh out of the box.
3. Be creative!
Protective Products Enterprises, Inc. (PPE) has completed the purchase of Paraclete from Mine Safety Appliances (MSA). MSA purchased the company from Tim D’Anunzio in 2006. D’Anunzio himself has recently come back to the industry, launching XPX Armor & Equipment last month.
“This sale of our ballistic vest business is something we have seriously considered for some time,” said Joseph A. Bigler, President of MSA North America in a press release. “The decision to move in this direction came down to two factors: alignment with MSA’s long-term business strategy to focus on those products that provide us with the greatest growth opportunities; and pursuing a course of action that we believe provides Paraclete Armor with the best opportunity for future success.”
It is important to note that the sale does not include MSA’s lucrative helmet business purchased from CGF Gallet in 2001.
We received a phone call from our friends at Ares Armor on Friday afternoon. They told us that we had saved a life. “A life?” we asked. And then they told us this tale.
“During my last deployment to Afghanistan I was assigned to a embedded partnership platoon, whose primary duties we’re running an ANA NCO leadership course. One night the students invited us to a dinner consisting of fresh dead goat that expired due to gunasyphilaids and bread that is made with their feet. We were not taking our weapons to the event to be respectful and to show that they can be trusted, but I myself never wanted to be unarmed in hostile country so I decided to take my Rad pack with a pistol holstered on the inside, but more importantly along with the pistol I was able to fit 20 rip it cans to wash the diseased meat out of my mouth.
As the “dinner” night consisting of foot bread and diseased goat wore on, one of the Afghans started to become more and more hostile towards one of the other Americans. Till one point he walked out of the room yelling and then returned a few moments later with an AKM that he was wildly pointing around the room confronting my team mate with whom he had the altercation. I knew that I had to do something before rounds started to fly. So I stood up from my corner while running and deploying the rad pack at the same time.
In 3 seconds I have my front plate deployed and I’ve drawn my pistol. At this point I have my beretta shoved in his face “politely” asking for his compliance to get on the ground. Everyone in the room was not only surprised by the force of violence I was able to apply but the that I had a plate carrier/ pistol the whole time along with the sheer number of “rip its” that we used to wash the taste of meat that only Borat would love. The look on the perpetrator’s face was priceless, his mouth dropped open and his eyes were wide. He thought he was the only one in the room with a weapon… He was wrong. He brought a gun. I brought a gun, armor, and the element of surprise.
Your RAD pack’s shock and awe ability saved lives and stomachs that day.
Also, let Soldier Systems now that I learned of this product on their site and special thanks to them for that!”
In the end we thanked the folks at Ares Armor for being the guys that built the product that made it possible for one of America’s finest to save a whole bunch of lives. Ultimately, one man at the right place at the right time, did the right thing. He is the hero and he saved lives. Fortunately, he is a reader of SSD and found out about the RAD pack on our site. He then purchased a RAD Pack from Ares Armor and then USED it as it was intended. There isn’t much in life that can be better than that. THIS is why we do it.
Thank you anonymous American for doing the right thing, and thank you Ares Armor for building great products!
UK-based Intelligent Armour has informed us that they have launched a new French language website to better serve their Franophone customers. In a statement, Intelligent Armour CEO Alex Bomberg told us, “I am very happy that the website launch has gone very well with no technical issues. It has taken nine months of planning and work and over 9000 technical translations to be able to provide our French speaking clients with their own website.” He went on to add, “Having been selling to mainland Europe for the past number of years, and although we have French nationals as part of our sales and management team, this new website enables us to provide a far higher level of service.”
Revision Military’s Batlskin technology is making its US debut at AUSA. Batlskin is a modular, scalable head protective system. It integrates with existing ballistic helmets (ACH) With a front mount that does three things. You can integrate NVGs offering increased stability by using existing holes in the helmet. Additionally, you can use the mount to attach a visor and finally, the mount also accepts a mandible guard. The components can be attached and detached while the helmet is worn allowing you to tailor protection to the threat.
Additionally, Revision has developed a helmet retention system and liner that is optimized for use with the ACH. It can be used to upgrade your current helmet or in conjunction with the full Batlskin Head Protective Sysyem. The liner is a three piece affair which helps with proper pad placement for impactrotection. This means the middle pad can be removed to accommodate headsets.
