Advanced Helmet for Maintainer Head and Hearing Protection

Improved head and hearing protection is required for aircraft maintainers working on a carrier flight deck during launch and recovery operations. Legacy Flight Deck Cranials are inadequate in many aspects including hearing protection, impact protection, cleaning, comfort, and compatibility with night vision devices (NVDs) and with chemical, biological, and radiological (CBR) equipment. In this project, Creare has developed a Flight Deck Cranial (FDC) that offers unparalleled hearing protection and industrial standard head protection in a modular system that is compatible with their other equipment. The specific objective of the System Development and Demonstration (SD&D) Phase of the project being proposed here is to transition the FDC into a production system and to demonstrate that it meets all of the Navy’s requirements. The work will be accomplished in two design, development, and test cycles. Progress will be reported, monitored, and approved through the Navy Systems Engineering Technical Review (SETR) process. At the conclusion of this phase, the FDC will be ready for procurement.