A ballistic face mask, also known as facial armor, is a type of personal armor designed to protect the wearer's

face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...

from ballistic threats. Ballistic face masks are usually made of

Kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s as ...

or other bullet resistant materials and the inside of the mask may be padded for shock absorption, depending on the design. Due to weight restrictions, protection levels range only up to NIJ Level IIIA, which offers protection from calibers up to .44 Magnum.

History

In its October 2010 issue, ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'' reported that while ballistic face masks were sometimes employed by law enforcement officers, they were not seen as worth using by combat soldiers. Brian Palmer further reported they were only capable of protecting the wearer's face from relatively small shrapnel fragments, and from the commonly used shot in

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

intended to be used against birds, or small game. He particularly noted the masks would be useless against a 7.62×39mm bullet from a

Kalashnikov rifle Kalashnikov rifles (), also known as the AK platform, AK rifles, or simply the AK, are a family of assault rifles based on Mikhail Kalashnikov's original design. They are officially known in Russian as ''avtomat Kalashnikova'' (), and informally ...

. Palmer also noted that the masks obscured a soldier's vision, were heavy, and didn't "breathe", meaning sweat wouldn't evaporate from the soldier's face, and would look unfriendly to the civilian population. A November 2010 study from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

led by associate professor Raul Radovitzky suggested that equipping combatants with ballistic face shields could reduce traumatic brain injuries from bomb blasts, deflecting the pressure wave of the explosion away from the wearer's head.

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

neurologist Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous system, which comprises the brain, the ...

Robert Vink claimed the study corroborated earlier testing on animals, which reached the same conclusions. In 2012, it was reported that the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

was researching and testing MTek FAST G3A ballistic face shields that could protect troops from 7.62×39mm rounds as well as from shrapnel. They were described as lighter and more compact versions of the face shields used by

explosive ordnance disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are disabled or otherwise rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated fu ...

personnel. By 2012, the successor model FAST G4 claims to stop a steel-core AK round from 25 feet away. By January 2023, however, the website simply claims to provide protection no less than the Army Advanced Combat Helmet and the Marine

Lightweight Helmet The Lightweight Helmet (LWH), also known as the Lightweight Marine Corps Helmet or Lightweight Marine Helmet, is an armored helmet that is used by the United States Marine Corps and U.S. Navy. It is the U.S. Marine Corps' replacement for the PAS ...

, with no reference to rifle rounds. A military parade in 2011 in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

showcased soldiers of the

Republic of China Armed Forces The Republic of China Armed Forces ( zh, t=中華民國國軍) are the national military forces of the Taiwan, Republic of China (ROC), which is now based primarily in the Taiwan Area but Republic of China (1912–1949), formerly governed Mai ...

special forces wearing ballistic masks as part of their uniform. Photographs of the soldiers taken and published by Japanese news website ''DDN Japan'' went viral in 2013.

References

Military masks Protective gear {{Armor-stub

History

See also

References