Improving blunt impact performance of combat helmets
conference paper
TNO performs research on soldier survivability to support the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in the procurement of materiel. The in service combat helmet is primarily designed to protect against ballistic threats, which does not b definition protects against other types of relevant injury risks for the soldier. Recently, protection against blunt impact to the head in the military context has gained attention , because blunt impact injury accounts for a substantial portion of incidents. The loading as a result of blunt impact, either from falling debris or due to accidents during activities such as parachuting, mountaineering or operating open motorized vehicles, differs from ballistic loading and as such protection requirements differ. The search for a solution that improves the blunt impact performance adds to the traditional trade-off for a solution between minimal burden for the soldier and maximal protection. In addition, the constraints on this trade-off due to legislation may differ between peacetime and wartime. This paper provides an overview of the mechanical loadings that are relevant to military activities. A novel helmet add-on prototype was evaluated, showing that a combat helmet’s blunt impact performance can be substantially upgraded, reducing the risk of injury. The add-on concept allows soldiers to ‘train-as-you-fight’ during peacetime scenarios, whilst benefiting from increased blunt protection.
Topics
TNO Identifier
1017963
Publisher
TNO
Source title
17th Personal Armour Systems Symposium (PASS 2025) - Personal Armour, Bruges, Belgium, 22-26 September 2025
Pages
295-303
Files
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