NEW DELHI: The Indian Army is finally getting futuristic protective gear in the form of ballistic helmets for its soldiers. Within the next couple of months, the army will have 1,59,000 of these bulletproof helmets, which have been a decades-long requirement.The indigenous helmets will be procured from MKU, an Indian firm which supplies military equipments to the UN and NATO, according to Ministry of Defence (MOD) sources. These helmets are among many major equipment which the army is procuring through the Make in India route.“The new ballistic helmets are arriving after decades for the army. An initial quantity of 1,59,000 helmets will be coming and they will replace the older helmets being currently used,” said MOD sources. Close to 6000 of these helmets will be given to the Indian Navy.A crucial factor of these helmets is they are bulletproof. The older ones could only protect a soldier from splinters, rocks and a bullet that has ricocheted and grazed the helmet. “If a bullet directly hits one of these older helmets, it would not protect the soldier wearing it,” explained the sources.The army began using patkas, which is an improvisation to the older helmets. But a patka can only protect one’s forehead, not the rest of the head. Army personnel explained that these patkas which are being used in counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East, will not be best suited for war-time use, as it provides only limited protection.On the other hand, a ballistic helmet is being seen by the army as a protective gear for soldiers to be used during war and counter-terrorist operations.Some of the ballistic helmets will also have radio sets attached to them for better communication between soldiers during operations.Last week, army chief Gen Bipin Rawat had said there is a need for the Indian soldiers to be empowered with technology to give them added protection and lethality, such as with ballistic helmets. He also said the army wants to ensure technological revolution similar to what the other armies across the world are doing.The army released a report this month stating that unlike certain armies the present day Indian infantry soldier is not equipped with a situational awareness sub-system to keep him updated on the battlefield.“The existing helmet of an infantry soldier is being used only to cater for protection. There is no provision of a helmet assembly which acts as a hub for real time situational awareness. Communication is carried out by voice as the soldier is not equipped with radio set and there is no arrangement for real time feed of images or data. A soldier is not fully aware of the progress of the battle and his own,” explained an army officer.The US, however, has worked on enhancing the situational awareness of its soldiers with its ‘land warrior programme’. The programme has developed an assembly to provide communications (speaker and microphone) and a hands-free display (helmet mounted for viewing maps and messages) mounted on a standard helmet.