The Development of China’s Military Cambat Helmets

[new wave]

The Development of China’s Military Cambat Helmets|China Military Power Mashup

A combat helmet has been an essential part of military kit from ancient times. What about the combat helmet in active service in China?

For much of the time since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) did not use an indigenously designed helmet because of the poverty and backwardness of China and its industry. It only used helmets captured during previous wars. As a result many soldiers not wearing helmets suffered head and neck wounds during the Korean War (1950-1953). The number accounted for more than half of the total Chinese casualties in the war. China didn’t successfully develop its first generation of ballistic helmet the GK80 steel helmet until the 1970s.

GK80 helmet

The GK80 helmet is made of bulletproof steel and the ballistic protection performance was on a par with then-current Western models. More importantly, the GK80 is quite cheap, ideal for big production runs. However, troops complained it was not comfortable. Other shortcomings were exposed during combat use it had a small protection area and could fragment when hit, causing further injuries. The GK80 was outdated compared with the non-metal combat helmet equipping the armies of the U.S. and Britain.

In June 1991, the Quartermaster Institute of the General Logistics Department of the PLA started to develop a new non-metal ballistic combat helmet. The army’s requirements were: bulletproof area and ballistic protection performance to equal GK80 but with a lighter weight. However, Zhou Guotai, director of the institute and academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, insisted that the design of a new-generation combat helmet should aim to be as good as the U.S. army’s. Therefore, a higher standard had been set: besides meeting the standard about weight and bulletproof area, the overall ballistic protection performance should exceed that of the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT) helmet used by the U.S. military.

QGF02 Aramid Fiber helmet

China’s first generation non-metal combat helmet —QGF02 Aramid Fiber helmet was successfully developed in 1994 after four years of research. The QGF02 helmet was issued to the PLA Hong Kong military in 1997 and later issued to other important military units. A series of improvements has been made to the helmet.

THREE INDICES OF THE NEW HELMET

There are three hard indices to evaluate a combat helmet’s quality: ballistic protection performance, bulletproof area and the helmet’s weight.

The ballistic protection performance is extremely important as it decides the helmet’s essential quality. The V50 measurement should be introduced here. V50 is a military measurement of ballistic protection at which 50% of projectiles (l.lg, 22 Caliber, 17 grain fragment simulated projectile) are stopped, and 50% penetrate. V50 equals the average impact velocity of the projectiles. Briefly speaking, the higher the V50 is, the better the fragmentation resistance performance the helmet has.

The V50 of China’s QGF02 helmet is 630 m/s, while the PASGT helmet is 609 m/s, German’s active helmet 620 m/s and NATO’s aramid fiber helmet 487 m/s.

the improved QGF03 helmet

The bulletproof area is also an important index. The QGF02 helmet’s bulletproof area is 1,266 square centimeters, 16 percent more than the GK80, almost equaling the PASGT helmet’s. According to the experience of several wars since World Warl, limbs are the most vulnerable part of the body, then the head and then the chest and belly. However, a hit in the head is the most deadly. That’s why all the helmet designers have been trying their best to enlarge the protective area of the helmet under the precondition of ensuring ballistic protection performance.

The helmet’s weight should be lighter. The QGF02 weighs 1.25 kilograms, lighter than the 1.36-kilo GK80 steel helmet. It is well balanced between weight and protective performance. The small PASGT helmet weighs 1.5 kilograms, and the middle-sized, which is more widely used, is 1.59 kilograms.

The manufacturing of aramid fiber helmet is complicated. The plurality of layers of aramid fiber materials, which have been cut and coated with resin, should be pressed in a mould. The resin should be well distributed. The pressed layers should neither be too tight, nor too loose.

DESIGNING FEATURES OF THE NEW HELMET

Currently, the non-metal combat helmet mainly uses nylon-reinforced resin, glass fiber and aramid fiber as fragmentation resistance materials. Compared with the first two, the aramid fiber’s manufacturing cost is higher, however, aramid fiber of the same weight may provide two to three times the protective capability of other fibers and five times that of bulletproof steel. Therefore, aramid fiber is the best choice for volume produce of personal protective system after comprehensive consideration of all factors including cost and weight. However, the aramid fiber also has a shortcoming —its protective performance will decline after long-time exposure to ultraviolet radiation or in a highly humid environment. Therefore, the aramid fiber helmet often has a cover.

Actually, aramid fiber is not as good as some new types of bulletproof materials, for example, the high elasticity module polyethylene (HEMP) fiber, in terms of protective performance. The HEMP fiber, with a lower density and higher intensity than aramid fiber, is the one with the best mechanical capability at present. In recent years, the materials made of HEMP have also been applied for making helmets and ballistic vests, however, it still cannot be widely used because of high cost and technical difficulties.

Although the China-made QGF02 helmet is made of almost the same materials as the American PASGT helmet, it’s not a simple copycat. A new manufacturing technology has been used. It can cut cost, ensure quality, as well as extend the service life of the mould.

The QGF02 is free-sized as the helmet was designed with a special structure according to human body engineering. It’s also designed to suit the skull characteristics of Eastern people.

The suspended basket system is another characteristic of the new-generation helmet. The QGF02 helmet changed the “two-point fixation” of the PASGT helmet to a”three-point gallus fixation”, which can make a proper gap between the shell and head to ensure good ventilation and to effectively reduce the kinetic energy impact.

CHINA-MADE HELMET IN CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT

The successful development of the QGF02 aramid fiber helmet totally changed the less-developed situation of the PLA’s personnel protection and filled the blank of the PLA in the field of non-metal fragmentation protection helmets. However, the QGF02 is not perfect, for example, it doesn’t have interface and electrical outlets for external electrical equipment, which cannot meet the requirement for the future information war.

According to the advice and suggestions of soldiers and officers, the researchers developed the QGF02 into a new digitalized helmet, which has the functions of communication, observation and line-of-sight instrument verification.

The differences between Chinese and India Helmets

In October, 2000, the new helmet made its debut with PLA special troops in a technical achievement display in the suburbs of Beijing.

In 2005, the improved QGF03 helmet began to be issued to the military. The production cost has been cut compared with QGF02 and the quality control of QGF03 is more steady.

Xinhua News Agency reported on Jan. 15, 2006 that Zhou Guotai’s team had successfully developed helmets for infantry, paratroops, armored forces and helicopter pilots. They also developed a multifunctional combat helmet, with bone conduction receiver, laser protective glass, single eye night vision device, head-worn display system and laser warning device on it.

With the development of China’s economy, science and technology, domestic-made new helmet will be continuously improved. The information technology level will also be enhanced. The China-made helmet will help the Chinese soldier to better defend his country.

 

[Neither Right Nor Wrong]

F-INSAS, a big ticket project of the IA with estimated cost of $2 billion (Rs 9,300 crore), is expected to be completed by 2020

Conjoined upon the broader concept of Revolution of Military Affairs, Future Infantry Soldier as a System (F-INSAS) is a revolutionary soldier modernisation programme of the Indian Army (IA). Essentially based on the concept of modular force, it encapsulates the army’s vision of a future battlefield scenario wherein the individual infantry soldier forms an important node in a wider communication network and in real-time shares with his buddy soldier, sub-units and the overall C4I2 (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Information and Intelligence) network a common situational awareness of the battlefield.

Increasingly popular with a number of modern armies in the world, the concept has grown with the need to provide the foot soldiers of the IA with significant lethality, survivability, mobility, battle command, awareness, sustainability and combat effectiveness in future. The growing threat of urban insurgency in India, intermingled with high-tech nature of modern terrorism, has put additional onus on the IA to equip and train its special operation forces in a digitised environment so as to enable it’s commanders to correctly assess ground situations in counter-insurgency operations, take split-second decisions, coordinate movement of troops in action and counter enemy’s fire power with increased fire power, precision and lethality—all in real time.

Fills the Critical Digital Gap

F-INSAS, in fact, is at the heart of infantry modernisation drive of the IA which has been on for the past few years. The 2007-08 Annual Report of the Ministry of Defence mentions, “In pursuit for modernisation, the Infantry Battalions are being provided state-of-the-art weapon systems of greater lethality, range and precision, thermal imaging devices, bullet and mine proof vehicles and secure radio communications.”

F-INSAS, in fact, is at the heart of infantry modernisation drive of the IA which has been on for the past few years. The 2007-08 Annual Report of the Ministry of Defence mentions, “In pursuit for modernisation, the Infantry Battalions are being provided state-of-the-art weapon systems of greater lethality, range and precision, thermal imaging devices, bullet and mine proof vehicles and secure radio communications.”

Termed as ‘soldier as a system’, the on-going soldier modernisation programme visualises the future infantry soldier as someone who is equipped with lightweight dual-caliber weapons which has integrated thermal sight and fire control system. The future infantry soldier of the IA wears a helmet which has in-built sensors to help improve his situational awareness on the battlefield and communicate with other nodes in the network. The future soldiers, equipped with latest gizmos, such as wearable computers, anti-mine shoes, on-line health monitoring system, protective clothing and other such accessories, would look like characters straight out of Hollywood thriller movies—think Arnold Schwarzenegger from Terminator.

Combining state-of-the-art technology, at present available in composite material sciences, nanotechnology, information technology, biotechnology and robotics, F-INSAS would reduce logistic burden of the individual soldier almost by 50 per cent. As part of the drive to modernise the Indian infantry further, there are also plans to develop ‘robotic mules’ to carry additional loads of soldiers on the battlefield. These remotely-controlled robotic mules will also carry automated-weapons to launch concentrated fire power on the enemy. Truly, a new dawn of high-tech warfare in a fully digitised environment awaits the Indian infantry soldiers.

A Worldwide Phenomenon

The IA, however, is not alone in seeking to modernise its infantry soldiers in such a revolutionary way. At present, there are about 20 such heavily funded and futuristic programmes underway by different armies around the world. The US, naturally, is at the forefront of soldier modernisation programme globally. However, France, Germany, and UK have also made significant advances towards modernisation of their foot soldiers. China and Russia, though relatively new to this growing worldwide military phenomenon, are making serious inroads in the promising world market of soldier modernisation equipment.

A recent industry report has estimated that soldier modernisation applications generated a total of $440 million (Rs 2,045 crore) in sales worldwide last year. The report concludes that this revenue will steadily rise over the next decade. The Indian military, with a major thrust towards modernization, is expected to import military hardware worth $30 billion (Rs 1,39,530 crore) over the next five years. A significant part of this import bill is likely to be channeled towards buying of soldier modernisation equipments for the special operation forces and the infantry soldiers of the IA.

Programme Implementation

F-INSAS, a big ticket project of the IA with estimated cost of $2 billion (Rs 9,300 crore), is expected to be completed by 2020. The army hopes to equip initially up to 10 infantry battalions for F-INSAS user trials by 2015. The project has indeed moved beyond the conceptualisation phase and stands at a point where procurement of major systems and sub-systems are underway. With the first F-INSAS equipment likely to be handed over to the army by 2012, about 5,000 members of India’s special operations forces have already been equipped with Israeli-made Tavor assault rifles.

A global tender valued at around $1.1 billion (Rs 5,117 crore) was issued by India’s Ministry of Defence towards April-end last year for procurement of 43,318 close quarter battle carbines to bolster F-INSAS programme. The Request for Proposal also included night-vision devices, laser designators and detachable under-barrel grenade launchers. In order to meet future army small arms requirements, the state-owned Ordnance Factories Board, is reportedly working jointly with Israel Military Industries on the prototype of a small weapon that will feature an improved sighting system and a miniaturized computer to improve accuracy.
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