Honeywell delivers combat helmet materials
Honeywell has announced that it has completed the delivery of advanced ballistic materials that will be used in the development of next-generation combat helmets for the US Army. The company made the announcement 15 May, 2012.
Honeywell said it has delivered 218 helmets containing advanced Spectra Shield and Gold Shield ballistic materials that the army will evaluate to help set new helmet performance requirements. The helmets are designed to be 16 to 24 percent lighter than the helmets US soldiers currently wear, and provide increased ballistic and non-ballistic performance against handgun rounds and fragments from improvised explosive devices.
Spectra Shield is manufactured using Honeywell’s proprietary shield technology, which bonds parallel strands of Spectra fibre with an advanced resin system. Spectra fibre is made from ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene using a patented gel-spinning process. The fibre exhibits ‘high resistance to chemicals, water and ultraviolet light, and has excellent vibration damping, flex fatigue and internal fibre-friction characteristics’, and has ‘as much as 60 percent greater specific strength than aramid fibre.’
The delivery was made as part of a contract signed with the army in April 2011. The equipment will now be evaluated by the US Army’s Programme Executive Office (PEO) Soldier as part of a wider effort to reduce the weight of soldier body armour and increase head protection for greater soldier comfort, mobility and safety in the field.
More from Land Warfare
-
![US Army pursues commercial routes to modernise cannon and mortar manufacturing]()
US Army pursues commercial routes to modernise cannon and mortar manufacturing
Watervliet Arsenal’s digital manufacturing push opens opportunities for industry as the US Army modernises cannon production and its wider Organic Industrial Base.
-
![AUSA 2026: Nammo advances 155mm ramjet artillery technology for extended-range fire]()
AUSA 2026: Nammo advances 155mm ramjet artillery technology for extended-range fire
Nammo is developing new artillery ammunition designed to extend firing ranges, combining ramjet propulsion research with conventional, base-bleed and rocket-assisted projectile designs.
-
![AUSA 2026: XM30 competitors keep their cards close as US Army decision approaches]()
AUSA 2026: XM30 competitors keep their cards close as US Army decision approaches
The US Army’s XM30 programme is an ambitious multi-billion-dollar effort to replace Bradley infantry fighting vehicles. American Rheinmetall and General Dynamics Land Systems are fighting for the contract.
-
![AUSA 2026: AM General boss confirms 300-plus JLTV A2s delivered as export orders approach]()
AUSA 2026: AM General boss confirms 300-plus JLTV A2s delivered as export orders approach
The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle programme for the US Marine Corps appears to be making progress, with AM General increasing production of its version while Oshkosh Defense has secured long-lead materials in anticipation of becoming a second supplier.
-
![AUSA 2026: BAE Systems pushes air defence capability with two new demonstrators]()
AUSA 2026: BAE Systems pushes air defence capability with two new demonstrators
The company's new artillery demonstrator is intended to engage incoming missiles and ground targets, while a separate microwave system focuses on uncrewed aerial threats.
