The fixed-price contract will be carried out in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and is funded through the Foreign Military Sales program. The beneficiary of this contract is the Chilean Armed Forces. The Department of Defense (DoD) announced the award of the contract in its daily press release.
Chilean Marines in action. The sailors are wearing PASGT-type helmets / Photo: Ministry of Defense of Chile
The newly awarded contract obliges Galvion to produce and deliver ballistic helmets for the Chilean Army under the sales agreement. The work will be carried out at the company’s facility in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with an estimated completion date of August 24, 2026. The contract was awarded following an online tender procedure, during which only one offer was submitted to the contracting authority. As part of its portfolio of references, Galvion can boast the recent execution of two contracts for U.S. government agencies for the supply of ballistic helmets to DLA Troop Support – Clothing and Textiles [DoD – DLA], covering the period from September 24, 2021, to September 18, 2025. The signed agreement amounted to USD 19.9 million. Another agency that signed a contract with Galvion was the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) [DOE], specifically its Weapons Activities division, which purchased ballistic helmets for 1.0 million USD. The performance period of this contract ran from March 7, 2019, to April 30, 2025.
According to U.S. Armed Forces leadership, the contract supports the U.S. Army’s continued commitment to equipping allied forces with advanced personal protective equipment. The helmets are expected to meet the stringent safety and ballistic protection standards required by military personnel operating in diverse environments.
Although the detailed technical specifications of the helmet models were not disclosed in the contract award announcement, it is known that Galvion is recognized worldwide for the development and production of ballistic and impact-protection helmets for both the military and law enforcement. The company’s products typically use lightweight materials and modular designs to enhance comfort and operational effectiveness.
This contract is part of the broader U.S. Foreign Military Sales program, which facilitates the trade of defense equipment abroad and strengthens security cooperation with partner nations such as Chile. The program aims to ensure interoperability and provide allies with equipment that meets U.S. military specifications. Oversight of this contract, designated W91CRB-25-C-A012, is carried out by the Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
The contract, awarded under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales framework, is the first Chilean contract of this scale intended to modernize the Chilean Armed Forces with advanced personal ballistic protection equipment from a predetermined supplier, Galvion, selected by the contracting authority outside of Chile. Until now, procurement procedures for military equipment in Chile had been conducted domestically without intermediaries, based on strict and detailed conditions defined by a precisely established analytical and purchasing procedure.
So far, five major procurement procedures for the supply of individual ballistic protection equipment (including ballistic helmets) have been conducted in Chile, with budgets exceeding 100,000 USD. For context, it is worth noting that the Chilean Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas de Chile) consist of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. Meanwhile, the Carabineros of Chile, together with the Investigative Police, constitute the Public Order and Security Forces. This distinction is important from the perspective of the ministry responsible for procuring ballistic protective equipment.
The review of tenders begins with the first procurement procedure, in which the Chilean Marine Corps, comprising approximately 2,000 sailors, participates. Formally part of the Navy (Armada de Chile), on January 18, 2017, conducted a tender for the purchase of 114 PASGT-type ballistic helmets in sizes M and L (78 and 36 units respectively), and 457 ACH-type ballistic helmets in sizes M, L, and XL (230, 204, and 23 units respectively), with ballistic resistance level IIIA. It should be noted that a local company based in Padre Hurtado, central Chile, manufactures PASGT-type helmets, marked as OCT, with a ballistic resistance class of II and a weight of 1.5 kg, primarily for the needs of public order forces and crowd control. The value of that contract was 421,001 USD.
Galvion’s booth from Gdańsk with currently produced helmets / Photo: Dariusz Borkowski, MILMAG
The second procurement procedure took place on February 26, 2021, and was launched by the Chilean Carabineros for the purchase of 11,700 ballistic helmets. The contract value amounted to 7.2 million USD. The winner of this tender was the Indian company MKU Limited, which, under the agreement, delivered KAVRO line ballistic helmets in the Full Cut version with ballistic resistance level IIIA.
The next purchase of combat helmets took place on August 23, 2022. The transaction was carried out by the Chilean Investigative Police (PDI) through a procurement procedure, which selected Point Blank Enterprises, the owner of helmet manufacturers such as Paraclete and United Shield International, as the supplier. The contract included, among other things, the delivery of Paraclete MICH (Full Cut) ballistic helmets with ballistic resistance level IIIA. The contracting authority, PDI, purchased 5,490 helmets for 2,366,190 USD. A five-year warranty covered the helmets.
On September 13, 2022, three weeks later, the General Directorate of the Chilean Gendarmerie announced a tender for the purchase of 200 ballistic helmets. It should be noted that, for security reasons, Chilean security forces, such as the gendarmerie and police, do not always publicly disclose information about purchases, allocated amounts, or the number of units planned for acquisition under a contract. Hence, in some cases, quantitative and financial data are missing.
Last year, on January 11, the Chilean Navy announced a tender for the purchase of, among other items, 428 ballistic helmets intended for the Maritime Police Department as well as the Intelligence and Investigative Department of the Maritime Police. The contracting authority and primary beneficiary on whose behalf the Navy initiated this procedure was the General Directorate of Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine of Chile (Directemar). Of the 428 units ordered, 397 were Type A helmets (PASGT), 19 were Type B helmets (MICH/ACH) in size L, and 12 were Type C helmets (FAST O-C). All units were to meet ballistic resistance class IIIA. The weight of size L helmets was specified at 1.6 kg (+/- 0.2 kg). The helmets were to be fitted with front mounting brackets and side accessory rails. All additional helmet equipment had to comply with Picatinny MIL-STD-1913 or STANAG 2324 standards. A 10-year warranty covered the helmets.
In general, all helmets ordered in SWZ/SIWZ procurement documents by the Chilean armed and security forces specified the dominant helmet color as black. The shells were to be made of aramid, with the interior outfitted with nine cushioning pads of at least 1 cm in thickness, made of sweat- and moisture-absorbing materials. A BOA-type adjustable headband and a four-point chinstrap with a chin cup and quick-release buckle were also included. The chinstrap tapes were to be made of cotton and polyester, and in the temple sections, they were to be covered with foam.
With this information on procurement procedures conducted by the army and security forces over the past eight years, the question arises: how many helmets could Chile, the beneficiary of the Galvion contract, expect to receive once the production agreement is fulfilled? Based on current retail prices, the recipient may obtain between 4,973 and 6,100 Caiman helmets. With effective price reductions, the user could receive more than this amount (depending on discounts). Why the Caiman model? Because it is currently the most popular (in the European market). Recently, the Kingdom of Sweden ordered an additional 60,000 Stridshjälm 24 helmets (the Swedish military designation for Caiman helmets), while the first order of 60,000 helmets is still being completed. The helmets for the Swedish customer are manufactured in Gdańsk, at Galvion’s Polish branch.
However, considering the types of ballistic head protection the Chileans have consistently purchased over the past eight years for their armed formations, it is highly probable that the emphasis will once again be placed on acquiring Full Cut helmets. Thus, they may be models from the Viper A5 Tactical Performance Helmet line, the Viper P2 Performance Combat Helmet line, or PDxT (Hellbender) models. Speculation about the details of the order and contract execution, such as the number and type of helmets (Full Cut/High Cut), likely in proportions matching the needs and nature of the requesting formations, will most likely be resolved by the government’s formal contract announcement within about 90 days, in accordance with document W91CRB25CA012.
See also:
- Galvion celebrates significant head system sales with over 1.25 million helmets ordered by NATO and allied customers
- Galvion wins U.S. Marine Corps Integrated Helmet System contract
- 5000 more Galvion’s Batlskin Caiman helmets for the Canadian DICE programme
- Galvion awarded FBI contract for their Hellbender FE helmet