Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/840553
Last but not least – that safety switch worked just... too well. It was so well-made that there was a dozen of situations during which paratroopers lost their helmet DURING the jump. After analyses, it appeared that it was caused by the said safety switch. After jumping, the blocking (securing) plate released by itself, unlocking the safety lever. Let's just add flow of air and a strong pull, when the cap is filled by such flow and we have a complete set of circumstances that lead to the helmet being removed from the user's head. There were attempts to make temporary solutions for that problem. Two methods were used. The first one was a duct tape, while the second one – zipties. Unfortunately, such solutions would not work for long and they still posed a potential threat and did not eliminate the faulty arrangement of the anchoring straps. It was decided, then, to send the helmets back to MASKPOL company to retrofit. Improved helmets were re-issued somewhere in middle of 2016. What has changed? First of all – the greatest defect, the safety has been removed. New chinstrap comes without it, while their arrangement on user's head and face is completely different. Finally, it is possible to seamlessly adjust the helmet and make it more stable (although it is still not as good as in the case of top solutions available). The arrangement of straps under the chin is correct – the distribution of loads is even, the straps do not strain the front jaw, as it was the case in the previous solution. The new design includes hoist points to attach the straps to the helmet shell, which have the form of thermally processed holes in the bands of the suspen- sion. The helmet may not fit better to the user's head. Unfortunately, the shape of the helmet shell did not change so HA-03 will still not work with hearing protection headsets (however, if we manage to put on a significantly over-sized helmet, we might be able to fit them underneath), but who are we to judge the military. HELMETS