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The SPECTRA helmet or CGF Gallet Combat Helmet is the ballistic helmet in use as of 2016 in the French military, and the armies of several other countries. Built by CGF Gallet (producer of the F1 helmet for firemen), it weighs 1.4 kg (3.1 lb), is available in three sizes, and is made from ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene Spectra fibers, produced under license from Honeywell. The SPECTRA helmet can stop shell fragments of 1.1 g (0.039 oz) travelling at 680 m/s (2,200 ft/s), an 80% improvement over the Modèle 1978 helmet it replaced.
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History
The SPECTRA helmet is the result of 1990 studies intended to design the helmet for the French Army of the 2000s. In 1992, the conflict in the former Yugoslavia put large numbers of French blue helmets in contact with well-trained and well-equipped opponents, especially snipers during the Siege of Sarajevo, where heavier protection than the Modèle 1978 helmet proved necessary. The Army requested an emergency study for the new helmet, and tests were made, which selected the Dyneema fiber. Gallet drafted a model based on the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT or Fritz) helmet used by the United States Army, and produced a first series of 5,000 which was immediately made available to the blue helmets in the former Yugoslavia. These first models were mostly blue in color. Later models used the NATO green colour. They gradually equipped all French troops, with priority given to units on missions in foreign territories.
In 2014, due to lack of adequate protection, hundreds of SPECTRA helmets were bought and donated in France and Denmark and shipped to Ukraine, where they are widely used by soldiers of the Ukrainian Army Forces, fighting Russian aggression in Ukraine , along with other types of modern ballistic helmets. Canada also donated their CG634 combat helmets to Ukraine.
Description
The helmet is made of Spectra fibre. It is not bulletproof against rifle or carbine bullets. It is a fragmentation-resistant helmet with a maximum distortion (loss of shape) of 20 mm (0.79 in) from a 9mm full metal jacket bullet (FMJ) of 8 g (124 gr) travelling 390 to 420 m/s (1,300 to 1,400 ft/s) on impact. It has a resistance to fragments that meets NATO Standardised Regulation (STANAG) 2920, V50 mini, which is 640 m/s (2,100 ft/s). Resistance to shock-impact meets protection standard EN397 for industrial helmets.
The helmet can be worn with earmuffs and an individual radio system. Further equipment, like night vision, can be added. The new infantry combat equipment of the French army, the Félin system, is partly based on development of the SPECTRA helmet.
Models
Official designation of CGF Gallet is Série 8320 casque de combat TC "D" and they are made in three size;
The V is for French vert (Green). M, L, XL are sizes.
The helmet is also available with no visor, to facilitate easier use of night vision equipment, and with added protection for law enforcement.
Size
The official designations M, L and XL are usually called Small, Medium and Large in Denmark.
Head circumference is;
Danish use
In Denmark it is designated as Helmet, M/96, green.
In the early 1990s, the Danish army began looking for a replacement to the old US M1 helmet designated M/46 Steel helmet, which had been the standard helmet in Denmark since World War 2. The M/96 helmet may be fully phased out very soon in favour of a version of the Gentex Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH).
Helmet covers
The removable helmet cover allows to change the pattern of the camouflage. For instance, the Danish army uses three different covers:
Canadian variant
The Canadian Forces adopted the SPECTRA with a few modifications. The CG634 helmet was introduced in 1997 replacing the old M1 helmet. The CF trialled the US Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops in the 1990s before adopting the French version. The Canadian version is made by Barrday of Ontario (trial versions) and Gallet Sécurité Internationale (GSI) in Saint-Romuald, Quebec.