The Army has officially started fielding its newest combat helmet, the Next-Generation Integrated Head Protection System, to soldiers in close-combat formations, the service announced Tuesday.
According to service officials, the NG-IHPS will provide soldiers with “increased ballistic and fragmentation protection” in a 40% lighter package compared to the earlier Integrated Head Protection System, which was first fielded in 2018 to replace the Advanced Combat Helmet and Enhanced Combat Helmet.
The first NG-IHPS units were fielded to around 2,000 soldiers assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, on Monday, the service said. Army Times was first to report news of the fielding.
Read Next: In Major Overhaul, Air Force and Space Force Will Roll Out New Ranks, Training, Structure to Compete with China
The earlier-generation IHPS weighed just three pounds and provided added protection against pistol rounds and fragmentation compared to previous combat helmets, but it required an additional two-pound ballistic applique to provide full protection against small-arms fire. The NG-IHPS will purportedly offer that next level of protection without the additional weight.
“This is world-leading rifle threat protection we’re providing to our soldiers,” Maj. Matthew Nulk, the assistant program manager of the Program Executive Office Soldier’s Head Protection Team, said in the Tuesday press release.
Speaking to Army Times, Head…
