Military Tactical gear

Understanding the Performance of Modern Day Ballistic Helmets

Over the year, there have been notable changes in the development of ballistic helmets as well as the materials used and the process involved in its production. From the use of heavy steel, ballistic helmets are now been made with metal fabrications, ballistic-rated fiber, polyethylene, and ceramics. It is not news that a ballistic helmet’s performance is heavily dependent on the kind of materials used. Hence, in a bid to understand the performance of modern-day ballistic helmets, one must first understand its materials.

ballistic-helmet

Most of the earliest ballistic helmets that can be found on the modern day combat ground have their history rooted in the WWI long. Many of them are improvements of these old helmets. Before the use of Kevlar, Aramid materials and other advanced fiber materials, ballistic helmets as well as combat armory were based on steel and heavy metal materials. This made fighting impractical due to its belaboring weight. Most soldiers had to resort to stationary fighting because their mobility was impeded by the heavy hears.

ballistic-helmet

Although metal were the norm for several years, their weight soon became unbearable leading to the invention of light weighted helmets. Today, the ballistic performances of the old helmets have been drastically improved upon. But notably, the weight of ballistic helmets has drastically been reduced to few ounces.

In 1965, the rise of what would become the norm of modern day ballistic helmet began. DuPont, a manufacturing company, created the Kevlar material; a special ballistic rated fiber material. Over the last couple of decades, the Kevlar material has been used in the manufacturing of the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT) helmets. DuPont Kevlar KM2 fibers were then used for the ACH (Advanced Combat Helmet) fielded in 2003. Till today, it remains a key factor in the performance of most ballistic helmets.

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Military

Understanding military ammunition

Loosely known as ammo, military ammunition is any form of material fired, scattered, dropped or detonated from any kind of weapon. Ammunition is can either be expendable weapons such as bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines. They can also be component parts of other weapons that create the effect on a target such as bullets as well as warheads). Almost all mechanical weapons require some sort of ammunition to effectively impact targets and cause damage. Many of these ammunitions can be stopped by plate carriers, while some cannot. It all depends on the ballistic-rated level of the plate carrier.

plate-carrier

Have you ever heard the military talking about their ammo? Did you feel lost at some point? If you did, it is majorly because of their use of ‘codes’ and military jargon. Here are some military “codes” that can help your understanding of ammo and what they do.

  • Round

This is a single cartridge that contains a projectile, propellant, primer, and casing.

  • Shell

This kind of ammo is usually fired by a large caliber cannon or artillery piece. Before the mid-19th century, shells were majorly designed from solid materials. The manufacturers often relied on kinetic energy for the shell to have an impact of the target. However, a lot has changed since that time. Now, shells are more often filled with high-explosives.

  • Shot

This simply refers to a single release of a weapon system. It can also be interpreted as firing just one round or piece of ammunition. Additionally, it might also infer the release a large number of projectiles at the same time.

  • Dud

This simply refers to failed ammo. In other words, an ammo that fails to function as intended or one that fails to detonate on landing.

  • Bomb

It can either be guided or unguided bomb. A guided bomb is released from missiles or rockets. On the other hand, unguided bombs are released from aircrafts.

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Military

Top-choice tactical helmets for civilians

The tactical helmet is booming, now more than ever. More civilian are now paying more attention to the need for improved personal security. This has led to a high increase in demand for tactical helmets, tactical vests, as well as other gears. However, the bad news is that the market has now become flooded with different companies, branding different products. To ensure that you avoid a bad purchase, we have provided you with 3 (three) of our recommended tactical helmets for civilians.

  1. DLP Tactical ImpaX Core MICH 2001 Helmet

Get all the desired protection you need for your brain and your skull. The ImpaX Core Mich 2001 helmet was designed by DLP Tactical to help civilians reduce injury risk from trauma and physical abuse. It is built out of nylon-fiber material, which makes it highly light weighted. Although, this also means that it cannot offer high-level protection against ballistic threats and bullets. However, if you fall hard on a rock-solid concrete floor, the only thing you’d suffer is a headache. This helmet will keep your head unaffected. It also comes with an installed Mil-Spec Night Vision Google Mount.

  • Lancer Tactical Maritime Helmet

The Lancer Tactical Maritime Helmet was designed from high grade and durable ABS plastic material. The helmet also features an adjustable suspension system. This allows it to accommodate most head sizes in a comfortable manner. It also comes with an internal padding on the inside which makes the helmet even more comfortable while also adding an extra degree of protection. The Lancer Tactical Maritime Helmet also comes with a night vision mount with makes it easy to add a GoPro camera. You can also add addition patches using the Velcro installed.

  • OneTrigris PJ Type Tactical Fast Helmet

Check out this cool full-face helmet with unique protective features. Keep your whole face protected from dust, bump, or debris with the One Tigris PJ Type Tactical Fast Helmet. It has a padded interior to keep you safe as well as an anti-fog goggle to help your vision. If you don’t like the full face protection, you can easily detach it by pressing a button.

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Military Tactical gear

The history of the M1 Helmet

The Army of the United States of America is known for its monumental participation in the development of modern ballistic helmets. Over the last couple of decades, it has played a significant role in the development of new technologies in the areas of ballistic-rated protective gears as well as high-performing head protection gears. The M1 Helmet is one of its many breakthroughs in the development of ballistic helmets.

Used by the U.S. military from World War II until 1985, the M1 Helmet played a major role in the protection of soldiers on the field of combat. Although it was succeeded by the PASGT helmet, the M1 helmet is considered as an iconic symbol of the US military. Its design prompted the development of helmets from other militaries around the world.

The M1 is a combination of two “one-size-fits-all” helmets. The helmet was made up of an outer metal shell and a hard hat–type liner nestled inside. The outer metal shell was often referred to as the “steel pot” while the hard liner featured an adjustable suspension system. This ballistic helmet was often used with helmet covers as well as nettings in other to cover the steel shell with the extra material.

Through September, 1945, well over 22 million U.S. M1 steel helmets were manufactured by McCord Radiator and Manufacturing Company alongside the Schlueter Manufacturing Company. The former was responsible for the development of the process used in the creation of the eighteen-centimeter deep bowl in a single pressing.

At this time, this method was considered to be an engineering milestone at the time. However, there were certain changes made to the design of the M1 ballistic helmet in 1944. Notably, the stainless steel helmet rim with a seam at the front was replaced by a manganese steel rim with a rear seam. The M1 helmet remains a launching pad for the creation of much more advanced ballistic helmets for the US Army.

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