MORRIS TOWNSHIP, N.J., Oct. 19 (UPI) -- South Korea's Dae Sung Tech Co. Ltd., a body armor manufacturer, will use Honeywell's Spectra Shield II materials in helmets designed to protect soldiers.
Spectra Shield II materials help the helmet achieve a 20 percent weight reduction when compared with Dae Sung's previous helmets.
The company will produce the helmets with the material under a three-year contract with Honeywell.
"Spectra Shield II ballistic material provides the right combination of light weight and ballistic performance that can help improve the protection, mobility and comfort of soldiers in the field," said James Thagard, global marketing manager for Honeywell's Advanced Fibers and Composites business.
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"We are pleased that Honeywell's lightweight Spectra Shield II materials will help protect military men and women in Asia."
The contract represents the latest application of Spectra materials in combat helmets. Honeywell announced in June that it was awarded a three-year contract from the U.S. Army to provide advanced ballistic materials that will improve the performance and reduce the weight of their helmets.
Honeywell made the announcement at Milipol, an international event in Paris that focuses on products and services for state security.
Spectra Shield II materials for helmet applications are designed to maintain a high level of performance in a curved shape, offering soldiers excellent head protection against multiple hits and angle shots. It is a high-strength, lightweight composite material made with Spectra fiber, an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene made using a patented gel-spinning process.
Honeywell said pound-for-pound Spectra is 15 times stronger than steel, yet light enough to float. The fiber features a high resistance to chemicals, water and ultraviolet light, and exhibits excellent vibration damping, flex fatigue and internal fiber-friction characteristics.
Dae Sung, which will use the Spectra Shield materials in its helmet design, is a South Korean manufacturer that has provided ballistic equipment and riot control gear to police and military organizations around the world since 1974.
