ULBRICHTS Protection is an Austrian body armor manufacturer who specialises in manufacturing lightweight helmets that minimize back-face deformation and prevent trauma injuries in soldiers.
At the Eurosatory 2022 in Paris, BodyArmorNews.com had the opportunity to interview Mr. George Scharpenack, CEO and Owner of ULBRICHTS GmbH along with Mr. Thomas Poandl, who is responsible for Marketing and PR at the company.
Lightweight helmets
As a company, ULBRICHTS has a long-standing tradition of developing and producing special helmets that truly protect against bullets. For ULBRICHTS, ‘true protection’ means, firstly, to be able to stop the bullet. On top of this, they focus on preventing the severe back-face deformation that could eventually lead to lethal brain trauma and death of its wearer
The company has spent years innovating on and pursuing this mission. They have used titanium primarily, in combination with aramids and polyethylene. Through this combination, they can ensure that their helmets have very protective properties while also being extremely lightweight.
With their newest technology that combines titanium and polyethylene, ULBRICHTS has reached a new milestone. With a new level of protection against handgun ammunition that starts at 1.2 kilograms. This brings their helmets to a higher level of protection as ordinary NIJ IIIA helmets (due to the inbuilt trauma prevention – VPAM3 HVN2009), at a weight that no other competitors have reached on the market.
Lightweight helmets for soldiers
“This is a game changer,” Mr. Poandl said, “specifically for the military market. Common military helmets only stop the projectile. They have a big problem with back-face deformation, with hand-gun ammunition. When it comes to rifle ammunition, on the other hand, they have full penetration and the helmet cannot stop the bullet.
“There will be a hole in the helmet, but we can prevent this by ad the forehead shield. The front of the shield is a simple add-on attachment, which can be fitted to the helmet using Velcro.
“This can enable a common military infantry helmet that is designed to protect against handgun ammunition, to the level where it can give true protection against rifle ammunition. The forehead shield can give true (Stopping and trauma prevention) protection against the Kalashnikov AK 47, 7.62×39 MSC”.
Biggest clients
“We are a market leader,” Mr. Scharpenack said, “especially in Central Europe, for all the special forces of the police and also the police on patrol. We have won 85% of tenders in the recent years and we are focusing on expanding our clientele to include the military as well, starting with special forces.
“We already have contracts with many different countries but we are also in discussions with many other armies for providing protection to the general soldiers (lightweight VPAM3 HVN2009 helmet). We have special helmets for special forces (e.g. the stand-alone rifle helmet), but we also have many other solutions.”
New innovations
ULBRICHTS Protection also enables easy procurement of their ballistic helmets, since they have a one-size-fits-all policy regarding the helmets. This makes it easier for them to provide the soldiers with true protection, since one helmet fits every head.
The new generation also comes without any bolts and screws, which allows them to prevent secondary shrapnel. This innovation also fits with the company’s mission to provide the soldier with ‘true protection’ from every angle.
Wondering what the price is on the products mainly the new helmets