Agilite has launched it’s new “Tactical Helmet Finder” search engine which it describes as “The only search engine not run by liberals”
As the world leader in tactical helmet covers & accessories they wanted to make it much easier for you to know what cover will fit your helmet well.
With thousands of helmet manufacturer/model types out there it used to be tricky but their search engine uses their years of experience to make it simple and easy.
From Special Operations Forces under fire to SWAT teams responding to an incident on the street, defense and law enforcement operators need to have complete confidence in their personal protective equipment (PPE). As well as being rugged, reliable, and deploying the most advanced technology available, an operator’s PPE must also be as comfortable, mobile, and lightweight as possible. This is particularly true of the ballistic helmet; which operators may be required to wear for extended periods in challenging environments.
The helmet system is comprised of an external hard shell; an internal liner and suspension system to achieve a customized fit and minimize head acceleration and deceleration. Internal pads provide impact protection and comfort, and the retention device (such as a chinstrap) keeps it all in the correct position. The helmet’s purpose is to protect against a range of ballistic threats and also to help reduce the risk of suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
EQUIPPED TO PERFORM
The average U.S. warfighter carries at least 60 pounds of gear, with an extended patrol often double that weight. Every component and accessory increases the load, which is particularly felt when added to the helmet. “We often hear the old adage that ounces equal pounds, and pounds equal pain,” says Bill VanMullekom, Executive Vice President of D3O, LLC. “Hence the critical need to drive weight out of every element of the helmet system.”
Every component of a helmet is optimized to enhance the safety of its wearers. Understanding the end user’s environment enables those involved in the supply chain, such as 3M, to push the technology envelope on design and manufacturing. They then work with their industry partners, such as D3O, to explore enhanced impact protection.
“The geometry and mass of a helmet’s accoutrements can affect its blunt impact protection and comfort,” adds David Jackson, U.S. Defense Program Manager at D3O, who has more than 25 years of defense experience. “Also, impact energies are increasing. As we move from the requirement for a helmet to resist an object with an impact speed of 10 feet per second to 14 feet per second and beyond, it’s vital that the helmet shell and suspension pads work together.”
MAXIMUM PROTECTION, LOWEST WEIGHT
Current and future defense and law enforcement personnel will benefit from innovations in materials, geometries and design, combined with new manufacturing equipment and methodologies.
“We have found ways to lay the suspension pads in the helmet to increase the number of contact points with the head, thus maximizing comfort,” says Bill VanMullekom of D3O.
The outcome, believes Jackson, will be helmets offering maximum protection at the lowest weight and with the greatest possible comfort: “D3O has the proven capability to adapt products to end user needs so they can focus on the task at hand, enhancing survivability and enabling the successful completion of the mission.”
HEAD PROTECTION IN THE FIELD
Curt Caruso, a 25-year veteran of the USMC, knows first-hand the importance of head protection while in the field. “Being in the military, protection is vital for us. Having confidence in the protection we have, whether it’s a helmet, plate carrier, protection in the elbows and knees, everything like that does help enhance our motivation, our confidence to go in. As technology advances, it is saving more and more lives. All it does is build confidence in you and make you do your job a lot better.”
Hear more of Caruso’s story in D3O’s InsideOut video:
D3O TRUST HELMET PAD SYSTEMS
As of 2020, the General Services Administration (GSA) has approved three D3O TRUST (Trauma Reduction Unrivaled Shock Technology) solutions to be sold through its online shopping and ordering system, GSA Advantage. Valid for 23 years, the contract via D3O partner TSSi enables federal, state, and local government entities to easily and conveniently purchase D3O TRUST products amongst others at pre-negotiated terms and conditions.
D3O TRUST solutions for defense, law enforcement, and tactical gear are tested and trusted in some of the world’s harshest environments. Available in seven and nine pad configurations, the TRUST Nimbus and TRUST Stealth helmet pad systems are designed to comfortably fit the wearer’s head shape while providing high-performance deceleration under blunt impact. TRUST Nimbus is the most recent and lightweight helmet pad system from D3O, exceeding the required level of protection at 10ft/sec by 50% in a polyethylene shell and 39% in an aramid shell.
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Professional warriors face a constant struggle of combining various pieces of kit, made by various manufacturers, to meet their mission requirements. These items are usually not designed with integration in mind since the manufacturer is generally focused on making their own product to a certain government specification. Integration is therefore left up to the individual in the field, who finds creative ways to ghetto-rig components into a useable-enough solution. After all: warfighters can make anything work given enough 100mph tape, zip-ties, 550 cord, and Velcro; necessity being the mother of all invention. Unity Tactical is dedicated to providing industry-leading innovation in the category of systems integration. Basically: we make stuff that makes your stuff work better with other stuff.
Enter the Remora® for 3M Peltor™ Helmet Adapters. Based off the original Remora® for the popular MARK line of headset helmet adapters, this version is designed to integrate with factory 3M products. It provides a mechanically attached mounting surface for various lights and rings. Helmet-mounted spotlights are often used by warfighters and law enforcement professionals for searching dark areas during SSE, SAR, and other tactical operations. However, helmet real estate quickly disappears when helmet-mounted headsets are worn. The most ubiquitous headset mount is the factory unit from 3M Peltor™. Almost every other headset maker copies this proven design or purchases adapters direct from 3M. The large mounting hub leaves little-to-no rail left for other accessories, leaving end users to precariously attach mission critical lights and cameras via Velcro, tape, and zip-ties. The Remora® for 3M Peltor™ changes all that by integrating directly into the factory hub and placing a mounting platform directly above it.
The installation is quick and easy. It can even be done in the field with a multitool. Internal detents provide solid click rotational adjustments so the user can confidently position the light in a desired direction. The platform features standard M1913 Picatinny along with a footprint that accepts any device with a Scout base. It also accepts the popular Unity Tactical FUSION line of accessories. The Remora® for 3M Peltor™ will work with any 3M-style backplate for use on Ops-Core™, Team Wendy™, Crye Precision™, MTEK™, HHV™ helmets (and many more). It is injection molded from impact-resistant polymer and made in the U.S.A.
With an MSRP of $32, the Remora® for 3M Peltor™ is a cost-effective upgrade to any tactical helmet. The solid lockup helps ensure expensive lights and accessories will not be lost during kinetic operations. And it provides enhanced capability with easy access and solid rotation. Government pricing is available for unit/agency purchases. Available now.
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Army researchers and industry partners recently published a study showing how they developed new materials and manufacturing methods to create higher performing helmet padding that reduces the likelihood of head injury in combat and recreational helmets.
A team from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory and its HRL Laboratories partners used advances in 3-D printing to create new helmet padding that consists of highly-tuned open-cell lattice structures.
“Careful control of the lattice design imparts novel compression characteristics to the padding that reduce peak head acceleration during blunt impact events compared to existing state-of-the-art foam padding,” said Dr. Thomas Plaisted, the lab’s project lead. “Testing demonstrated a 27% increase in energy attenuation efficiency when inserted into a combat helmet compared to current best-performing foam pads.”
A significant challenge for the design of protective padding is providing the highest level of impact protection while minimizing weight and space it occupies inside the helmet, Plaisted said. The padding must be comfortable to allow a Soldier to wear a combat helmet for extended periods.
“Typical multi-impact attenuating materials include expanded polypropylene and vinyl nitrile closed-cell foams, which absorb impact energy through the collapse of internal pores when compressed,” he said. “The material is carefully tuned to yield at a threshold force, or acceleration, specific to the tolerance of the head, thereby mitigating injury.”
Recent advances in additive manufacturing techniques have enabled the fabrication of cellular materials with architected lattice topology.
“We demonstrated, via design of the cellular architecture, improved control over the collapse process in elastomeric lattices that enables impact-attenuation performance exceeding state-of-the-art foams for both single- and multi-hit scenarios,” Plaisted said. “An improvement over state-of-the-art vinyl-nitrile foam helmet pads was achieved during a standard helmet test, leading to lower head acceleration. This breakthrough could pave the way to helmets with improved injury protection. The open cell design of the lattice further aids in comfort and breathability to dissipate heat away from the head.”
Researchers recently briefed their transition partners at CCDC Soldier Center on the performance of the new padding materials and helmet suspension technologies to mitigate blunt impact head injury. The laboratory is transitioning this technology to the center for further evaluation and implementation in future helmet systems.
“Building on this work, CCDC SC has initiated its own research efforts to develop and evaluate additive manufactured helmet pads,” Plaisted said. “Concurrently, we provided updates on an alternative helmet suspension technology, rate-activated tethers, invented at ARL that have demonstrated even greater performance for reducing blunt impact injury. We are working with the center to identify helmet industry partners to integrate the new rate-activated tether technology.”
The Army’s fundamental responsibility is to equip, train and field Soldiers with the tools and resources to engage with and destroy the enemy, while providing world-class protection, according to Army officials. As an Army Modernization priority, Soldier Lethality narrows the capability gaps to enhance a Soldier’s ability to fight, win and survive through increased lethality, mobility, protection and situational awareness in order to facilitate rapid acquisition of increased capabilities.
By U.S. Army CCDC Army Research Laboratory Public Affairs
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LIFT Aviation is one of several companies awarded developmental Other Transaction Authority Agreements with the US Air Force to develop a Next Generation Fixed Wing Helmet, which was originally an AFWERX project.
This project is moving along quickly as you can see from the quad chart. LIFT Aviation is well known for their commercial AV-1 KOR helmet.
You can definitely see the DNA in their NGFWH candidate.
LIFT Aviation had this to say…
“We are honored to have been selected by the Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force to be involved with this program. Innovation is something that has been lacking in the fixed wing helmet that the U.S. Air Force has implemented for the past number of decades and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the USAF and DoD to continue to develop the next generation fixed wing flight helmet. The approach taken with our first flight helmet was to have it be modern, innovative and above all, safe. We can’t wait to bring that same approach while developing this next generation fixed wing helmet to provide our airmen and warfighters the best in flight helmet technology.” states Guido Rietdyk, President and CEO of LIFT Aviation. “The technological advances that we developed in our other businesses in personal safety products in the orthopedic and extreme sports industries under our EVS Sports brand, and in the industrial safety industry with our LIFT Safety brand, in addition to our LIFT Aviation flight focused brand, all have greatly contributed to us being able to draw innovation from a variety of applications and come up with state of the art technology in the cockpit, now working to make our USAF air crews equipped just as well as their air craft are.”
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Carbondale, PA, February 26, 2020 – Gentex Corporation, a global leader in personal protection and situational awareness solutions for defense forces, aircrew, emergency responders, and industrial personnel, announced today that it was awarded an OTA Agreement by the United States Air Force for its NGFWH System, following a global-scale competition.
The United States Air Force challenged individuals and businesses from across the world to submit a NGFWH prototype, focusing on addressing shortfalls in previous helmet models, including stability, equipment compatibility, and mass properties. After being tested by USAF pilots and maintainers, the Gentex NGFWH System prototype, created by Gentex’s international team of designers and engineers, was awarded an OTA Agreement for further development and testing.
The Gentex NGFWH System fully integrates the latest Gentex advancements and innovation in all facets of helmet system design and integration, including the helmet system itself, optics, hearing protection, communications and situational awareness, respiratory protection integration and helmet mounted device integration. The NGFWH System will provide a higher level of protection and operational capability for current and future Aircrew.
“We’re honored to be awarded this contract,” said Robert McCay, vice president of aircrew systems at Gentex Corporation, “It’s a testament to Gentex’s generations-long history of leading-edge technological advancement and innovation.”
This research for this OTA was, in part, funded by the U.S. Government. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Government.
Team Wendy exhibited a MultiCam Alpine cover for the EXFIL Ballistic Helmet. Made from a combination of mesh and Nylon/spandex stretch fabric material, this Berry compliant cover features loop patches to attach gear or patches to the outside of the helmet and feature slots for cable management.
