A ballistic face mask, also known as facial armor, is a type of personal armor designed to protect the wearer's face from ballistic threats. Ballistic face masks are usually made of Kevlar or other bullet resistant materials and the inside of the mask may be padded for shock absorption, depending on the design.
Due to weight restrictions, protection levels range only up to NIJ Level IIIA, which offers protection from calibers up to .44 Magnum. [1]
In its October 2010 issue, Slate reported that while ballistic face masks were sometimes employed by law enforcement officers, they were not seen as worth using by combat soldiers. Brian Palmer further reported they were only capable of protecting the wearer's face from relatively small shrapnel fragments, and from the commonly used shot in shotgun shell intended to be used against birds, or small game. He particularly noted the masks would be useless against a 7.62×39mm bullet from a Kalashnikov rifle. Palmer also noted that the masks obscured a soldier's vision, were heavy, and didn't "breathe", meaning sweat wouldn't evaporate from the soldier's face, and would look unfriendly to the civilian population. [1]
A November 2010 study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology led by associate professor Raul Radovitzky suggested that equipping combatants with ballistic face shields could reduce traumatic brain injuries from bomb blasts, deflecting the pressure wave of the explosion away from the wearer's head. [2] University of Adelaide neurologist Robert Vink claimed the study corroborated earlier testing on animals, which reached the same conclusions. [3]
In 2012, it was reported that the United States Marine Corps was researching and testing MTek FAST G3A ballistic face shields that could protect troops from 7.62×39mm rounds as well as from shrapnel. They were described as lighter and more compact versions of the face shields used by explosive ordnance disposal personnel. [4] [5] By 2012, the successor model FAST G4 claims to stop a steel-core AK round from 25 feet away. [6] By January 2023, however, the website simply claims to provide protection no less than the Army Advanced Combat Helmet and the Marine Lightweight Helmet, with no reference to rifle rounds. [7]
A military parade in 2011 in Taipei showcased soldiers of the Republic of China Armed Forces special forces wearing ballistic masks as part of their uniform. Photographs of the soldiers taken and published by Japanese news website DDN Japan went viral in 2013. [8] [9]
A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or a bullet-resistant vest, is an item of body armour that helps absorb the impact and reduce or stop penetration to the torso by firearm-fired projectiles and fragmentation from explosions. The vest may come in a soft form, as worn by many police officers, prison officers, security guards, and some private citizens, used to protect against stabbing attacks or light projectiles, or hard form, using metallic or para-aramid components. Soldiers and police tactical units wear hard armour, either in conjunction with soft armour or alone, to protect against rifle ammunition or fragmentation.
The Interceptor Multi-Threat Body Armor System (IBA) is a bullet-resistant body armor system that was used by the United States Armed Forces during the 2000s, with some limited usage into the mid-2010s. IBA and its design replaced the older standardized fragmentation protective Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT) body armor system that was designed in the late 1970s and introduced in the early 1980s.
Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, especially in the context of the Hundred Years' War, from the coat of plates worn over mail suits during the 14th century.
Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops is a combat helmet and ballistic vest that was used by the United States military from the early 1980s until the early or mid-2000s, when the helmet and vest were succeeded by the Lightweight Helmet (LWH), Modular Integrated Communications Helmet (MICH), and Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) respectively.
The Adrian helmet was an influential design of combat helmet originally produced for the French Army during World War I. Its original version, the M15, was the first standard helmet of the French Army and was designed when millions of French troops were engaged in trench warfare, and head wounds from the falling shrapnel generated by indirect fire became a frequent cause of battlefield casualties. Introduced in 1915, it was the first modern steel helmet and it served as the basic helmet of many armies well into the 1930s. Initially issued to infantry soldiers, in modified form they were also issued to cavalry and tank crews. A subsequent version, the M26, was used during World War II.
A flak jacket or flak vest is a form of body armor. A flak jacket is designed to provide protection from case fragments ("frag") from high explosive weaponry, such as anti-aircraft artillery, grenade fragments, very small pellets used in shotguns such as the "Birdshot", and other lower-velocity projectiles. It is not designed to protect against bullets fired from most small arms such as rifles or handguns. However flak jackets are able to sustain certain gunshots, depending on the angle at which the shot was fired, the caliber of the bullet, the speed of the projectile and the range from which the shot was fired.
Body armor, personal armor, armored suit (armoured) or coat of armor, among others, is armor for a person's body: protective clothing or close-fitting hands-free shields designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by various types of police, private security guards, or bodyguards, and occasionally ordinary citizens. Today there are two main types: regular non-plated body armor for moderate to substantial protection, and hard-plate reinforced body armor for maximum protection, such as used by combatants.
Bulletproofing is the process of making an object capable of stopping a bullet or similar high velocity projectiles. The term bullet resistance is often preferred because few, if any, practical materials provide complete protection against all types of bullets, or multiple hits in the same location, or simply sufficient kinetic (movement) energy to overcome it.
The Modular Integrated Communications Helmet (MICH) is a U.S. combat helmet and one of several used by the U.S. military. It was developed by the United States Army Soldier Systems Center to be the next generation of protective combat helmets for use by the U.S. Army.
A face shield, an item of personal protective equipment (PPE), aims to protect the wearer's entire face from hazards such as flying objects and road debris, chemical splashes, or potentially infectious materials. Depending on the type used, a face shield may protect its wearer from a physical hazard, chemical splashes, or biological hazards.
The Lightweight Helmet (LWH), also known as the Lightweight Marine Corps Helmet or Lightweight Marine Helmet, is an armored helmet that is used by the United States Marine Corps and U.S. Navy. It is the U.S. Marine Corps' replacement for the PASGT combat helmet and is derived from the Modular Integrated Communications Helmet.
The Improved Outer Tactical Vest (IOTV) is an enhanced version of, and a replacement for, the older Outer Tactical Vest (OTV) component of the Interceptor Multi-Threat Body Armor System, as fielded by the United States Army beginning in the mid-2000s. The IOTV is compatible with the Deltoid and Axillary Protector System (DAPS) components, ESAPI, Enhanced Side Ballistic Inserts (ESBI), as well as the OTV's groin protector. It has a flame-resistant standalone shirt, the Army Combat Shirt (ACS), designed specifically for use with the IOTV.
F-INSAS is India's programme to equip its infantry with state-of-the-art equipment, F-INSAS standing for Future Infantry Soldier As a System. However the Indian Army has decided to drop the F-INSAS program in favour of two separate projects. The new program will have two components: one to arm the future infantry soldier with the best available assault rifle, carbines and personal equipment, such as helmets and bulletproof vests. The second component is the Battlefield Management Systems (BMS).
The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is inherent in the theory of universal precaution, which requires specialized clothing or equipment for the protection of individuals from hazard. The term is defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is responsible for PPE regulation, as the "equipment that protects employees from serious injury or illness resulting from contact with chemical, radiological, physical, electrical, mechanical, or other hazards." While there are common forms of PPEs such as gloves, eye shields, and respirators, the standard set in the OSHA definition indicates a wide coverage. This means that PPE involves a sizable range of equipment. There are several ways to classify them such as how gears could be physiological or environmental. The following list, however, sorts personal protective equipment according to function and body area.
The Enhanced Combat Helmet (ECH) is a combat helmet designed in conjunction of a joint program of the United States Marine Corps and United States Army to replace the current combat helmets in use by the U.S. Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force. Although similar in shape of the Advanced Combat Helmet and its predecessor the Modular Integrated Communications Helmet, the ECH is instead constructed using thermoplastics instead of the ballistic fibers used on previous-generation combat helmets.
Ratnik is a Russian future infantry combat system. Some components, including the communication systems and night vision technologies, have extremely limited military distribution. It is designed to improve the connectivity and combat effectiveness of combat personnel in the Russian Armed Forces. Improvements include modernised body armour, a helmet with a special eye monitor, communication systems, and special headphones. It includes 10 subsystems and 59 individual items.
The Ops-Core Future Assault Shell Technology (FAST) Helmet, also known as the FAST helmet, is an American combat helmet used by special operations forces and law enforcement organizations in various countries, as well as the current standard protective headgear of the Norwegian Armed Forces.
Aspetto is an American producer and retailer of ballistic clothing and non-ballistic fashion.
The Integrated Head Protection System (IHPS) is the United States Army's newest combat helmet, intended to eventually replace the Advanced Combat Helmet and Enhanced Combat Helmet.
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