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RECORD OF AMENDMENTS

N° Reference/date of Date entered Signature

Amendment

EXPLANATORY NOTES

AGREEMENT

1. This NATO Standardization Agreement (STANAG) is promulgated by the Director

NATO Standardization Agency under the authority vested in him by the NATO
Standardization Organisation Charter.

2. No departure may be made from the agreement without informing the tasking
authority in the form of a reservation. Nations may propose changes at any time to the
tasking authority where they will be processed in the same manner as the original
agreement.

3. Ratifying nations have agreed that national orders, manuals and instructions
implementing this STANAG will include a reference to the STANAG number for purposes
of identification.

RATIFICATION, IMPLEMENTATION AND RESERVATIONS

4. Ratification, implementation and reservation details are available on request or

through the NSA websites (internet http://nsa.nato.int; NATO Secure WAN
http://nsa.hq.nato.int).

FEEDBACK

5. Any comments concerning this publication should be directed to NATO/NSA –

Bvd Leopold III - 1110 Brussels - BE.

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Agreed English/French Texts STANAG 2902

(Edition 2)

NATO STANDARDIZATION AGREEMENT

(STANAG)

CRITERIA FOR A NATO COMBAT HELMET

Related document: STANAG 2333 - Performance and Protective Properties of

Combat Clothing

AIM

1. The aim of this agreement is to establish guide lines for the design of a combat
helmet that will be comfortable and effective under all combat conditions.

AGREEMENT

2. The NATO Forces concerned agree to apply the principles contained herein to the
design of a ballistic protective helmet for the combat soldier.

GENERAL

3. The provisions of this agreement presuppose an adequate anthropometric head

measuring data base including data on head shapes or contours.

4. Ballistic Protection

a. Provide maximum ballistic protection against fragmentation munitions. Small

arms protection should also be maximized provided that this does not result
in degradation of fragmentation protection or in unacceptable helmet weight.

b. Edge of helmet contoured to maximize head coverage consistent with the

combat soldier’s tasks, clothing, individual equipment including radio voice
kit, individual and crew served weapons.

c. Helmet stand-off from the head to be consistent with the transient

deformation of the selected material.

d. Presented area of helmet shall be minimized.

5. Impact Protection. Design of the shell and suspension system should either afford
or be capable of being modified to afford impact protection.

6. Human Factors

a. Minimum weight consistent with 4.a.

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b. Helmet centre of gravity as close as possible to the head centre of gravity for
maximum dynamic stability.

c. Sizing of shell(s) to maximize proper fit for the largest number of soldiers (At
least 1st to 99th percentile).

d. Not to interfere with vision.

e. Not to interfere with hearing or the effectiveness of hearing protection.

f. Not to interfere with performance of combat tasks.

g. The suspension is to be comfortable and readily adjustable. As far as

possible:

(1) It must be replaceable.

(2) The necessary ventilation between head and helmet must be ensured
under varying climatic conditions.

(3) The chin strap attachment point must be located to minimize rotational
movement about helmet centre of gravity.

h. Permit free head movement.

i. Promote by design and styling, comfort, acceptance and confidence for the
wearer in the combat environment.

j. The helmet must provide good damping of its self resonance.

7. Camouflage

a. Camouflage shall be (as far as possible) in accordance with the rest of the
individual protection ensemble, i.e. to the requirements of STANAG 2333.

b. The helmet must permit the use of a helmet net or cover to aid in
camouflage.

8. Reliability and Maintainability

a. Water-resistant and resistant to rot and fungus.

b. Be compatible with NBC protective clothing and equipment including anti-

flash devices as well as standard and special goggles and eye pieces. It
must not adversely affect NBC defence drills and procedures. It must be
easily decontaminated from chemicals, radioactive fall-out, chemical and
biological agents.

c. Easy to maintain and repair.

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d. Helmets should be able to be transported, last one (1) year under normal
usage and ten (10) years in storage in any climate that Forces might be
required to operate in without degradation of mechanical properties.

e. Materials should be:

(1) Fire resistant and self extinguishing.

(2) Resistant to POL.

(3) Should not emit excessive noise when struck.

f. The shell should afford protection from high intensity thermal radiation.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT

9. This STANAG is considered to be implemented when participating nations have

issued instructions to its forces that any future combat helmet will be designed according
to the principle described in this STANAG.

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