US Armed Forces
Military ballistic helmet pad system

Issue presented to the SKYDEX team
In 2004, the U.S. Army sought to create a helmet padding system for a new ballistic helmet. The Army presented SKYDEX with stiff criteria to develop a padding system that could meet or beat specific impact testing requirements.

Specific Goal for the Final Product
The existing ballistic helmets used by the U.S. Army use a headband to line the helmet. Lack of padding gave soldiers little to no head impact protection. And many suffered from frequent headaches. SKYDEX was tasked with creating a padding system that could be used in current and future ballistic helmets. The new system had to measure no more than ¾" in final thickness and still provide protection in five different locations that would not exceed 150 peak G's at a 10 ft/sec. impact velocity. The U.S. Army also required SKYDEX to create a system that would meet the above requirements at temperatures ranging from 14°F and 130°F.

Research and design process
The SKYDEX team focused on creating a system that would be thinner than the required ¾", yet still provide optimal comfort to the soldier in terms of air flow and feel.

The SKYDEX engineers set out prototyping three different iterations of pads, from flat to curved pieces, as well as all different kinds of foam for the comfort layer. It was necessary to prototype the final manufacturing method research was done into sewing, RF welding and heat welding.

Each prototype was impact tested inside the required ballistic helmet to determine which combination produced the best impact score, while also meeting all other requirements set forth by the US Army. This process took approximately six months.

Final outcome of the R & D process
The final padding system created by SKYDEX beat many of the stringent requirements set forth by the US Army. Using only 3/8" thickness of SKYDEX unique shock-absorbing material, the padding system withstood testing at three different temperature ranges with an averaged peak of 89 G's at 10 ft/second velocity. Due to the open-structure of SKYDEX, the final product had zero water absorption. Because no open-celled foams were used in the construction of the product, heat retention was kept to a minimum, providing more comfort to the soldier.

The product has proved to be highly superior to other competing products made from foam. Early data from all sources using the new ballistic helmet padding system substantiate this claim. The final product can be bought from GSA/GSA Advantage vendor on their website. www.gsaadvantage.gov