Formed nearly 40 years ago, MKU, originally M Kumar Udyog, is a high tech Indian company involved in ballistic protection and optronics. At Milipol Paris 2023 the company unveiled its new all round head protection from assault rifle rounds, the Kavro Doma 360

Protecting soldiers head has always been an issue, helmets dating back centuries if not millennia. The MKU portfolio hosts, under the Kavro brand, a series of solutions such as ACH combat helmets, Hi Cut combat helmets, Mid-Cut combat helmets and PASGT helmets. The last member of the family is the Kavro Doma 360, the number indicating that the new product is capable to provide full all-round protection.

“Its development started five years ago,” Manish Khandelwal, Research and Development Director at MKU told EDR On-Line at Milipol Paris 2023, “and involved several innovations. Our new product is now ready and we are launching it here in Paris, while in early January we will start distributing samples to potential customers.” In Paris a black helmet was exhibited, however the Kavro Doma 360 main audience will be the military, hence when production will start most  

Providing all-round protection against the most common rifle rounds, which means 7.62×39 mm mild steel core (MSC) rounds typical of the AK-47 rifle, 7.62×51 mm M80 NATO ball and 5.56×45 mm M193 rounds in use by the majority of western armies, while keeping the weight under control was not easy. EDR On-Line understood that MKU developed a technology allowing producing the shell with a composite structure made of layers of different materiel. Kavro’s Macromatrix helmet shell technology was at the base of the development, together with the adoption of new material.

Maximum protection is ensured in all five zones of the head, front, back, left, right and crown, no need to add further armour elements to the helmet. Tests were carried out firing five rounds against the helmet, one against each zone, with no penetration. Not only, when shot at with AK-47 MSC rounds at 710 +15m/s from 10 meters Back Face Signature was less than 20 mm in all hit areas, which means that blunt trauma is reduced to a minimum, also thanks to the adoption of the company-developed Reduced Helmet Trauma (RHT) technology. Another key issue is that the Kavro Doma 360 is fully boltless, which means the protection is guaranteed really in all the shell areas, as currently no rifle-rated bolts are available according to MKU. The company also states that the boltless shell provides 40% more protection area against even AK-47 assault rifles than standard helmets.

Another injury-reduction factor is how the helmet is fastened to the soldier head. For its Kavro Doma 360 MKU employs its Advanced Harness System with Dynamic Impact Technology. According to the company this, in combination with the aforementioned RHT, provides additional protection from not just straight impacts, but also rotational/angular impacts, which can cause concussions or brain injuries. The harness also allows a longitudinal top-to-chin and a lateral side-to-side adjustment functionality, which provides optimal stability and a snug fit.

The new MKU helmet is compatible with the Modular Accessory Connector System (MACS), an all-in-one, bolt-free multi-accessory mount used on all company combat helmets. It can host most head-mounted sensors and combat equipment such as night vision goggles, cameras, torches, communication systems, and features side-rails conforming to MIL-STD-1913 rail or STANAG 2324.

As said initially, MKU R&D engineers developed the Kavro Doma 360 with a close look at mass; in the high-cut helmet small version the mass is 1.45 kg,

“We will start production in our Indian facility, and then in our UAE facility,” Manish Khandelwal told EDR On-Line,” adding that at a later date the helmet might also be produced in the company German facility south-west of Hamburg, following a transfer of technology.

“The cost of the helmet will initially limit its use to Special Forces,” the company R&D director explained, as it will not be affordable for big number acquisitions, however EDR On-Line understood that the next step for the company will be working on industrialisation issues that might allow to lower the price in order to widen the customers audience.