MSA GALLET Combat Helmet TC 2000 to be Fielded Army-wide in the U.S.
09 April 2003 16:15
During the past three years, the Special Operations Forces Special Projects Team, located within the U.S., spent $1.5 million worked with contractor MSA GALLET, the European leader of fire-fighting, police, military and aeronautics helmets, to develop a new type of combat helmet called the Modular Integrated Communications Helmet (MICH), or TC 2000 combat helmet in MSA GALLET.
Today, this new lightweight military helmet already fielded to U.S. special operations forces and elite Army infantry units could, in the future, be distributed among conventional troops. The helmet itself was tested by the Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., and by the Airborne Special Operations Test Directorate (ABSOTD) at Fort Bragg, N.C.
'The helmet fielded fully to all of the United States Special Operations Command. This consists of the Rangers, Special Forces, Navy SEALs and Air Force Special Operations. This helmet is also fully fielded to the Marine Corps reconnaissance community, the FBI’s Hostage Response Team, and a brigade at the 82nd Airborne Division,' said Richard Elder, project officer for the MICH.
This helmet has numerous advantages over the traditional combat headgear. Firstly, the out standing point is the higher cut of this helmet which allows a user to have complete range of motion while using the complete range of load carriage systems and body armor employed by our user groups. Because it allows a user to lay in the prone and engage a target. This task was very difficult to impossible with the old PASGT (Personnel Armor System Ground Troops) helmet while wearing most body armor and load carriage.
Secondly, The TC 2000 helmet has a six-, seven-, or eight-pad foam suspension system. The pads can be added, removed or changed, based on the soldier’s comfort level. Pads in the crown portion of the helmet can be replaced by oblong or oval pads. The pad suspension is universally tailorable to the users’ head shape while affording greatly increased impact protection. After being worn for several minutes, the pads loosen up and eventually conform to the shape of the soldier’s head. Moreover, the helmet only comes in two sizes, while past helmets have come in five sizes. This is because the pads are adjustable and can be molded more accurately to the head.
The helmet also protects from flying bullets. The ballistics are rated to stop a 9 mm bullet traveling 1,450 feet per second, from 0 degrees of obliquity (straight on, with no angle) with a high degree of survivability. Users have been shot in the head and survived with the ability to fight on. In addition, the suspension system has special components that add to the helmet’s durability.
At last but not the least, the TC 2000 helmet was developed to be equipped on some radio communication systems. The communications piece was developed by modifying commercial off-the-shelf technology, with different versions developed for both land and maritime operations. The helmet is compatible with approximately 30 communications platforms specific to the special operations community.
After a total satisfaction of 20,000 helmets’ first order, the American Army Soldier Systems Centre’s Special Operations Forces Special Project Team is plan to renew its contract with MSA GALLET for another 70,000 helmets in the near future.
For more information on this company:
MSA GALLET - Law Enforcement and Anti-Ballistic Helmets
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