Advanced Combat Helmet Technical Assessment

Abstract

Our objective was to assess the methods and technical rationale in developing the Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH) testing protocols issued by the Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) to determine whether the test protocols are appropriate for the ACH. Specifically, our assessment focused on the First Article Testing (FAT) Resistance to Penetration (RTP) requirement of at least 90 percent Probability of no Penetration (P(nP)) with 90 percent Confidence Level, commonly termed the "90/90 standard," and the Lot Acceptance Testing (LAT) RTP requirement of 4 percent Acceptable Quality Level (AQL). Lastly, we assessed the participation of various stakeholders and industry experts such as active ACH manufacturers and test facilities. After reviewing the methods and technical rationale in developing the helmet RTP requirements, we found that the DOT&E test protocol for the ACH adopts a statistically principled approach and represents an improvement from the legacy test protocol with regard to increased sample size. However, future protocol revisions necessitate further refinement by anchoring the RTP requirements to helmet specific empirical data such as manufacturing capabilities and test performance. The DOT&E LAT protocol is an improvement from the legacy LAT and adopts a widely established and industrially accepted American National Standards Institute (ANSI Z1.4-2008, Sampling Procedures and Tables for Inspection by Attributes). In selecting the LAT RTP requirement of 4 percent AQL, DOT&E considered the government risk of accepting underperforming helmets, manufacturer risk of failing LAT with acceptable helmets, and historical LAT data. However, DOT&E did not consider selecting an AQL that was based on the safety criticality of the helmet.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 29, 2013
Accession Number
ADA580062

Entities

People

  • Randolph Stone

Organizations

  • Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acceptance Tests
  • Acquisition
  • Air Force
  • Body Armor
  • Contracts
  • Department Of Defense
  • Governments
  • Manufacturing
  • Materials
  • Procurement
  • Projectiles
  • Protective Equipment
  • Standards
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Test Equipment
  • Test Facilities
  • Test Methods

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Software Engineering
  • Systems Analysis and Design