Future of Combat Helmets - Can it Stop Rifle Rounds?

Can the new Polymer Helmets actually stop rifle rounds? I want to know if the next generation combat helmets are a giant step forward or a big ol’ hype train to absolutely nowhere. For the first time ever my brain bucket claims to be able to protect me from incoming rifle rounds which is crazy if that’s true. So apparently there’s a giant misconception floating around out there that soldiers wear helmets to mainly protect against bullets when that has never been the case before.

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The fact is helmets are mostly worn to prevent non combat related injuries that us lower enlisted are famous for. Since the inception of the ballistic helmet in the year 2000 they’ve only really been rated to stop small pistol calibers and tiny pieces of metal shrapnel from explosives, which statistically is actually the biggest threat to your head on the battlefield. And yes, It's true there are some isolated stories where the old ACH did successfully deflect a rifle round if the stars aligned just right and the angle of impact was perfect - but to be clear - stopping a direct hit was never in the cards, that is until now with the Integrated Head Protection System or IHPS for everyone who can’t resist a good military acronym.

So what changed in the past ten years that allowed for this major advancement where head gear can finally stop rifle calibers? Are the biggest advancements with this headgear possibly not even related to ballistic protection? And is this new tech still unrealistically expensive to be used in any meaningful way?

#HELMET #TECHNOLOGY #MILITARY

The development of the Future Assault Shell Technology or FAST helmet began In the year 2007 when the US Army’s Natick Soldier Center started researching ways to improve the old last generation ACH. This was born partly out of the fact that when the Army tracked all the casualty data from 2005 to 2009 in Iraq and Afghanistan and they discovered that 28% of injuries were to the head and neck. The army gave 8 million bucks to five different defense companies to try to create a new helmet all of which failed their initial prototype tests. According to the Navy, those initial tests were actually flawed though. If the military actually wanted to get those tests correct they should have just consulted Matt from Demolition ranch.

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