The Austrian company ULBRICHTS Protection has signed a 6-year framework contract with the Bundeswehr. The details of the agreement are not publicly known — the German contracting authority has not disclosed the documentation or the order volume.
It is known that the contract includes helmets based on the “Polytanium” technology, belonging to the OPTIO protection series, made from a composite that is a hybrid of aramid fibers and titanium. Within ULBRICHTS GmbH, this material is marketed under the trade name Polytanium.
Photo: Ulbrichts GmbH
The version intended for the Bundeswehr was designed in the CURVED variant, featuring profiled cutouts for communication systems and hearing protection, in a layout similar to the design more widely known as MID-CUT. The helmet is equipped with side mounting rails and surfaces covered with Velcro panels, enabling the attachment of additional equipment.
An integral part of the system is a heavy ballistic visor meeting the German VPAM 3 standard, with a height of 150 mm. Additional frontal protection is provided by the modular FORTIS shield mounted with Velcro, weighing approximately 500 g. In combination with the helmet shell, the system is intended to be capable of stopping a 7.62×39 round with a steel core fired from an AK-type rifle, while reducing its energy from over 2000 J to below 25 J. The OPTIO helmet combined with the FORTIS shield provides frontal protection corresponding to VPAM 6 level in accordance with the VPAM HVN 2009 standard.
ULBRICHTS is also expanding the OPTIO line with new design variants, including the OPTIO Superlight High-Cut (2026) model. The new version focuses on reducing the overall helmet weight while maintaining the ballistic protection level characteristic of the OPTIO series. According to available information, the Superlight High-Cut variant is intended to be one of the lightest helmets in its class at the VPAM HVN 2009 protection level (level 3). The Polytanium-based construction in its lightest configuration is expected to achieve a weight of approximately 1000 g without additional accessories. It will be presented live from June 15 to 19 at the Eurostatory 2026 in Paris exhibition.
Photo: Ulbrichts GmbH
ULBRICHTS is currently one of the leaders in the ballistic helmet market in Germany. Available information indicates that the company’s helmets were previously (2014–2017) purchased by 12 out of 16 German federal states, mainly for police and counter-terrorism units. The exact number of helmets covered by the new contract for the Bundeswehr has not been publicly disclosed. However, considering the size of the German armed forces — approximately 180,000 soldiers — and the fact that this is a 6-year framework contract, it can be assumed that it will enable the introduction of tens to even hundreds of thousands of helmets into service in subsequent delivery phases. This is not the first contract of this scale — in 2020, the Bundeswehr ordered 20,000 helmets based on the “Batlskin Viper” from Galvion, with which Rheinmetall established a distribution partnership in Germany the same year. According to unconfirmed official information and defense-related “leaks,” the Bundeswehr was also expected to place an additional order for two batches of 88,000 units of the same helmets in 2022.
