The history of the 82nd Division of the United States 1st Airborne Brigade dates back to World War I and is one of the most decorated in its more than 100-year history. It is not surprising that it was precisely them who received the first units of the most advanced helmets: the Next Generation Integrated Head Protection System or NG-IHPS, for soldiers in close combat formations.
The announcement notes that the NG-IHPS will provide soldiers with “increased ballistic and fragmentation protection” in a 40% lighter device compared to the previous one Integrated Head Protection System, which was first implemented in 2018.
The first NG-IHPS units were shipped to about 2,000 soldiers assigned to the Combat Team of the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division.
The previous generation IHPS weighed just under one and a half kilos and provided additional protection against pistol fire and fragmentation, but required an additional ballistic appliqué of almost one kilo to provide full protection against small arms fire. He NG-IHPS will supposedly offer the next level of protection without additional weight.
“This is the world-leading rifle threat protection that we are providing to our Soldiers,” Maj. Matthew Nulk, deputy program manager for Protective Team, said in the news release.
The enhanced protection of NG-IHPS is due to the use of lightweight polyethylene instead of the more rigid and inflexible Kevlar. Polyethylene has the advantage of dispersing energy instead of breaking as happens to Kevlar.
The complete NG-IHPS configuration consists of a novel retention and suspension system, a helmet cover and a night vision mount designed to integrate with a separate jaw guard (to be used primarily for soldiers in mounted formations), along with communication and hearing protection systems.
“The screwless retention system and the night vision device support They are mounted without compromising the structural integrity of the helmet, thus increasing protection,” the statement said.
The helmet's night vision mount is also designed to integrate Perfectly with futuristic displays like enhanced night vision binocular goggles and the integrated visual augmentation system that the Army plans to deploy widely in the coming years.
“This deployment marks significant progress for Soldier protective equipment, as it equips them with protection against relevant threats on the battlefieldand the innovative helmet design is a platform specially designed for integration now and with future devices,” the statement concludes.