Conway: Improved helmet top procurement push

[unhappycamper]

Stopping 7.62
Improving headgear a top priority for many leaders


Conway: Improved helmet top procurement push
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Sunday Jan 27, 2008 9:02:31 EST

Researchers inside and outside the military are developing a new generation of ballistic helmets in hopes of achieving that gold standard for combat headgear — stopping a 7.62mm round.

More specifically, a 7.62x39mm round, the most popular ammunition for the most popular assault rifle in the world, the AK47. Designed in 1947 by Mikhail Kalashnikov, the AK47 was the Cold War weapon of choice for the Soviet Union and its allies, who found it inexpensive, easy to copy and extremely effective. As a result, if Marines and sailors are taking machine-gun fire, it’s probably an AK47 spitting “seven-six-two.”

Instead of using current ballistic fibers — widely referred to as a group by the name of the most popular brand, DuPont’s Kevlar — the new helmets would likely use a hybrid technology similar to hard plastic. This stronger, lighter material would allow ballistic experts to make a helmet that offers more protection without adding significant weight.

Many skeptics say the requirement is pointless — even if the bullet doesn’t penetrate the helmet, the sheer force would likely break a Marine’s neck and be just as fatal as an open wound. And that may be true in some cases.

But experts say new technologies could help mitigate, or somehow distribute, the blunt-force impact.


Rest of article at: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/01/marine_helmets_080127/