As a heatwave soared through Europe last week, Eurosatory 2026 was soaked in the Parisian summer sun. Despite attendees broiling in their professional suits and dresses, over 2,600 exhibitors from 68 countries showcased their newest developments in defence technologies, ranging from next-generation body armor to AI-powered defence systems. Amongst the stream of crowds at the exhibition, the booth at ULBRICHTS GmbH was busy, with the exhibitors showcasing their new range of TRUE PROTECTION ballistic helmets.
ULBRICHTS GmbH is a ballistics manufacturing company based in Austria, specializing in ballistic head protection and emblems for the automotive industry. Their helmets are made of polytaneum, a combination of titanium and polyethylene, and are produced according to the VPAM 3 HVN 2009, the rigorous European testing directive for police and military ballistic helmets. The helmets reduce residual kinetic energy that transfers to the head below 25 Joules, making a handgun bullet hit survivable. As ULBRICHTS equips the Austrian, German, and Swiss police, as well as first responders and German military forces, they believe in ensuring that their helmets ensure the highest-level protection to those wearing them.
Thomas Poandl, VP Marketing and Communications at ULBRICHTS GmbH believes that a good helmet has a combination of strong protection, light weight and the possibility of future upgrades. ULBRICHTS has developed additional shields that can be attached on a Velcro, providing rifle protection that doesn’t need to be worn continually, as 500-700 grams of extra weight is tiring for a soldier or police officer to wear all day. This ensures higher endurance for the soldiers and officers, maintaining operational mobility and reducing the risk of injuries and chronic pain.
Smart heads, smarter helmets?
ULBRICHTS’ new vision is the ‘smartification’ of their helmets. At Eurosatory, they premiered their integrated helmet sensor solution together with CurveSYS™. The new sensor system provides shot detection, allowing the soldiers to know what direction the shots are coming from. The sensor also displays additional information, such as what caliber the bullet is, and a warning signal that sends GPS coordinate data.
The helmet sensor system is also capable of including human centered sensors. The sensors collect information on the soldier’s vital organs and send it through information channels, such as encrypted LTE and GSM satellite channels, in real time. According to Poandl, the ULBRICHTS smart helmet systems are continuously developing. “We can integrate whatever (technology) is on the market. We are ballistics specialists, not electronics specialists, but we know exactly how to integrate them. Whatever is required, we have business partners for that.”
The ULBRICHTS helmets provide a uni-size solution, with one helmet fitting from head sizes 48 to 64. The helmets are built with a titanium skeleton, instead of screws or bolts through the ballistic shell.
If you shoot the helmet with a bullet and accelerate the screw, the screw might go through your head. So, the helmet might stop the bullet. But at the end of the day, what happens if a screw bolts through your head? You don’t have to guess the outcome.
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How to protect soldiers from threats from above
Drone warfare in Ukraine has influenced ULBRICHTS’ approach to ballistic head protection, particularly in the development of smart sensor systems. “I think with drones, you have a multidimensional threat. The head will always be the center of attention, because it’s the so-called ‘sweet spot.’ You can definitely get confronted with shrapnels and fragments”, Poandl states. The ULBRICHTS smart sensor system is capable of detecting drone threats while keeping the soldier’s hands free. Infrared recognition systems can be integrated into the helmet, which are capable of detecting infrared visibility when someone is using a laser rangefinder.
As reported before on BodyArmorNews.com, ULBRICHTS’s developments are made with urban warfare in mind. Urban warfare requires a high level of situational awareness and flexibility, which reflects in what helmet suits such missions the best. Helmets used for urban warfare missions require a combination of protection, protection surface and appropriate weight. “We have already sold specialized helmets to the German armed forces that have the highest protection surface, full protection for the head with additional ballistic rifle protection. However, the weight is heavier than a lightweight helmet. We have a brand new helmet which has VPAM3 HVN 2009 level protection, and weighs 1.25 kilograms fully equipped. With an additional 500 gram shield, you can upgrade this helmet to rifle protection. With this helmet, you have the ability to adapt to all situations, depending on your mission.”
Poandl stresses that in urban warfare, flexibility is key. At times, the soldier must spend his energy running, while maintaining constant situational awareness regarding the threat. “In an urban warfare situation, the counterpart may have a rifle. Then the soldier should enter the building wearing full protection.” After assessing the situation, the soldier can decide to remove the additional protection if the situation allows it.
What happens when an urban war ends?
In our previous article, Poandl discussed the threat of ballistic helmets ending up in the hands of the wrong people after a conflict ends. At Eurosatory 2026, he explained what measures ULBRICHTS takes to prevent this. “We, as an Austrian company, are controlled by Austrian export regulations. We require an end-user certificate from any customer at all times, and we only sell to governmental units. ULBRICHTS GmbH takes full responsibility for every shipment we have with an end-user certificate, fulfilling Austrian and European export regulations.”
With a mission of keeping soldiers protected, Poandl stresses the importance of reliable, high-quality helmets. “What’s the first thing to appear out of hiding? It’s the head. You’re putting a lot of effort and money into the education and training of people, but then you don’t protect the first thing that appears. The body, everybody is aware. Having rifle protection up to the helmet, nobody is talking about that.”
