Didrekshelm

The Didrekshelm, more properly the M2603 Grapheneisenhelm, is the Dunoran Imperial Army's current combat helmet. It was developed by the Imperial Commission of Military Artificers (Kaiserlichmlitärerfinderausschuß) to be the next generation of combat helmets for use by the Dunoran ground forces.

## History

Development of a modern combat helmet to replace the Army's current model began in 2599, under the leadership of Valdemar Olaus Didreksen, then Head-Artificer of the Imperial Commission. It took four years of failed prototypes and intensive experimentation to develop a successful design which met and exceeded all requirements. Mass production began in 2604 and the Didrekshelm became standard-issue for Dunoran troops by 2607, quickly becoming an icon, equal parts famous and notorious, of the Dunoran Imperial Army.

## Design

Designed to provide protection against both shrapnel and ballistics, the Didrekshelm completely enclosed the head when worn with a visor, and has a small brim at the back to shield the neck against shrapnel and bayonet thrusts. While the hard outer-shell is one-size-fits-all, the padded inner-lining has adjustable brow and chin-straps to ensure a comfortable fit. The helmet is made from tempered graphoferrous alloy, being amongst the first combat helmets to be composed of such a material. It is rated to stop a glancing shot from a 5.56 mm rifle round at 100 yards, and a glancing shot from a 7.62 mm rifle round at 300 yards. While the helmet is effective at stopping bullets, a direct hit to the head can still cause blunt cranial trauma, though the chance of death is significantly reduced.

The Didrekshelm has an integrated radio headset which links wirelessly with a soldier's personal radio. This headset, like the helmet's liner, can be removed for maintenance, but cannot be worn independently. The headset also serves as hearing-protection, and features advanced adaptive noise-cancellation technology which can reactively cancel noise proportional to its decibels, preventing disorientation and hear-loss from gunfire and artillery barrages without inhibiting a soldier's ability to hear subtler noises when the firing ceases.

Soldiers in the field almost invariably wear the Didrekshelm with a ballistic visor which provides ballistic projection for the face and features an integrated respirator located in the "snout" of the visor. The respirator can serve as either a gasmask via the use of microfilters or can be connected via hose to an external oxygen tank to function as a rebreather. The exhale valve and advanced speech diaphragm are located on the underside of the "snout", along with a drinking tube. The Didrekshelm's respirator is rated as amongst the best in active-service, providing effective protection against chemical, biological and nuclear toxins.

The visor has two bulbous, semispherical, photochromic goggle lenses. These advanced adaptive-polarity lenses have a polarisation response-time of 0.7 seconds, allowing the lenses to dark in response to excess light almost instantly, and lighten again immediately following a return to normal light-levels; all but nullifying the optical effects of a flash-bang, and allowing a soldier to operate with equal effectiveness in glare and low-light. Additionally, the goggles have integrated augmented-reality technology which uses micro laser-projection to provide the soldier with a heads-up-display (HUD) which displays all manner of useful information. It links with a soldier's wrist-computer to serve as a pedometer, oximeter and cardiometer, allowing a soldier to accurately monitor his vital signs; links with the soldier's firearm to display the amount of ammunition left in a magazine; and uses sensors integrated into the visor to display barometric and air-quality data.