Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops

Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops
A PASGT vest and helmet in woodland camouflage.
TypeCombat helmet and bulletproof vest
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1983–2003 (U.S. Army & Marines) 1983–present (U.S. military reserve & Navy)[1]
1985–present (other countries)
Used byUnited States Navy
U.S. Army Reserve
U.S. Army (historical)
U.S. Marine Corps (historical)
U.S. Air Force (historical)
See Users for other foreign military/law enforcement users
WarsInvasion of Grenada (first usage)[2]
Invasion of Panama
Persian Gulf War
Operation Gothic Serpent
Yugoslav Wars[3][4]

Global War on Terrorism

Russo-Ukrainian War[5]
Production history
DesignerU.S. Army Soldier Systems Center
Designed1975 (vest), 1977 (helmet)
Manufacturer
  • Gibraltar Industries (first known helmet/vest manufacturer)[1]
  • Made by numerous manufacturers, such as Isratex, Inc.[6]
VariantsU.S. Navy Flak Jacket (Mk 1, Mod 0)
Specifications
Weight
  • Helmet: 1.41 kg (3.1 lb) to 1.91 kg (4.2 lb) depending on size[7]
  • Vest: 3.2 kg (7.1 lb) to 4.9 kg (11 lb) depending on size[8]

Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT, pronounced /ˈpæzɡət/ PAZ-gət) is a combat helmet and ballistic vest that was used by the United States military from the early 1980s until the early or mid-2000s, when the helmet and vest were succeeded by the Lightweight Helmet (LWH), Modular Integrated Communications Helmet (MICH), and Interceptor body armor (IBA) respectively.

Designed in the mid-1970s as a replacement for the M1 helmet and previous fragmentation vests, prototypes of the PASGT were tested in the late 1970s before being fielded in the early 1980s. Around the early or mid-2000s, the PASGT vest began being replaced by the IBA and the PASGT helmet was replaced soon thereafter with the LWH and MICH. As of 2018, the only remaining U.S. military users of PASGT in any capacity are the U.S. Army Reserve and the U.S. Navy, the latter of which retains the PASGT helmet for use by sailors aboard its warships, in addition to a PASGT-derived vest known as the "U.S. Navy Flak Jacket".

  1. ^ a b "New Helmets By 1988: Army Replaces 'Steel Pot'", Tyrone Daily Herald (May 6, 1983), p. 1
  2. ^ "The "Fritz" Helmet - Soldier Systems Daily". soldiersystems.net. 17 June 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-09-08. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
  3. ^ "Photos". Archived from the original on 2014-12-19. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
  4. ^ "Bosnia - Serbs attack returning Muslims". YouTube. 21 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-12-21. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
  5. ^ "Fountain Police and Pueblo County Sheriff's Office donate body armor and ballistic helmets to help Ukraine citizens defending their country". Mar 16, 2022. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved Oct 2, 2022.
  6. ^ "U.S. Military Body Armor PASGT". Archived from the original on 2017-09-17. Retrieved 2017-09-24.
  7. ^ Hard Head Veterans. "Ballistic Military Helmets and Which One is Right for You!". Hard Head Veterans. Archived from the original on 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2017-10-02.
  8. ^ Federation of American Scientists. "Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT) Vest". Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved 2021-03-04.