Military equipment and weapons are extremely high-tech and some of the most advanced human inventions of every time period. In this post, we’re going to look at futuristic military helmets, both real ones, and some concept art of futuristic military helmet ideas that we may see in the future.
Related: Futuristic/Sci-fi Soldier Concept Art Inspiration
It’s natural that the military in almost every country aims to have the most advanced and up-to-date equipment and weapons. It’s a matter of life and death when the equipment is in use, and it’s also a way for countries to flex arms and power. If there is one highly motivating purpose to developing high-tech inventions, then it would be for the purpose of survival.
I am not one for war though, rather the opposite. I am against violence and the killing of human life, but I find fascination in new mechanical and technological inventions. Mostly though, I’m interested in protective gear such as futuristic face masks & visors, gloves, and durable cars. And of course, also futuristic military helmet and other headgear. Because even if you are not the one to attack, you may be the one being attacked. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking protective measures as best one can.
Note! These designs and creations are not my own, and credits are given under each image.
Elements of military helmets
The main purpose of military helmets is to protect the wearer from traumatic head injuries. So, one very central aspect of futuristic military helmets would be their ability to protect the entire head (neck, jaw, face, brain) from injury and particles.
One would also imagine future protective helmets also aims to protect the wearer from dangerous gas and chemicals, as chemical warfare may be more common (with drones dropping gas and etc). And of course, to also include advanced and smart technology that could aid the wearer in different ways.
Another very possible feature of futuristic military helmets would be to incorporate AR (Augmented Reality)-functionalities, such as displaying maps, directives, messages, and pinpoints directly on the visors or holograms of helmets.
Here’s what some other writers say about this topic:
As soldiers fight in more urban environments, the Army expects they’ll need a stream of information. Consider soldiers who need to enter a building and get to a rooftop; the Army envisions soldiers could instantly receive a map of the building and a route to get to the top while at the same time use a device to see through doors providing indicators of danger.
Mark Pomerleau for C4ISRNET
In 2017, Army researchers announced plans to incorporate augmented reality (A.R.) heads-up displays in smart helmets as part of a program to use intuitive technology. The research falls under a new development strategy called asymmetric vision/decide faster (AVDF), which aims to enable quicker, more-informed decision-making in the field by integrating various technologies.
hardheadveterans.com
Current ones
Currently, such advanced helmets haven’t been made yet, or they have but isn’t openly talked about or shown to the public. Examples of helmets used today is for example Ops-Core Future Assault Shell Technology (FAST) Helmet. I’ve included examples of them below.
Visually, I think these FAST helmets already look pretty futuristic compared to other ones, especially with the flashlight/cameras that can be placed on the side of the head and the sleek black design.
Concept art of futuristic military helmets
But, we are here to explore futuristic military helmet concepts.
Credits to each concept artist is given at least below every image. If you like them, don’t hesitate to send them some love and support!
Stefan Celic
Everytime I look for cool sci-fi concept art of futuristic soldiers, military helmets, gadgets and more, I always seem to land on the work by Stefan Celic. So, according to me at least, he is without a doubt one of the best concept artists that work in this niche. Here’e a few of his amazing creations.
It seems like these designs include some of the futuristic helmet ideas I talked about:
- Air-tight and protective agains gases and toxins in the air
- Full-face visor or screens where information could possible get displayed to the soldier (augmented reality functionalities)
- Having technology incorporated in the hardware
Neo JAPAN project by johnsonting
Another great series of concept art of futuristic solderies and their gear is by johnsonting. His work is very clearly cyberpunk inspired, and very, very well made. Here is his cool description of the idea behind the Neo Japan project:
“In the year 2200, corruption in the world has reached its peak, even police officers are involved in terrorist attacks. In Japan, Neorai Industries has successfully launched its Neo Keisatsu joint project with the government, and replaced all existing human officers into A.I powered mechas. Mass riots appeared throughout Japan by ex-officers and worried citizens, but the riots were contained efficiently and almost immediately with the merciless Neo Keisatsus. They soon proved that mechas are indeed better in handling tasks and duties than human beings, as crime rate lowers and corruption seems to fade out from Japan, they reannounced “Japan” to “Neo Japan” in the year 2202. Many still doubts the Neo Keisatsu project till this day, as machines are still machines, it can still be controlled and if fallen into the wrong hands, the outcome would be unimaginable. “
These as well, are examples of full-face/head covering. There’s also a clear theme of the soldiers identity being hidden, perhaps to invoke fear or to make individuals more anonymous.
And here’s another of his artwork but from a project called Defcon Zero, where the face isn’t entirely covered, but all other areas of the head and neck are extremely protected.
In this design by Alex, he’s thoguht a lot about what functionalities would actually be good to have in a futuristic military helmet. For example, battery pack, digital nightvision optics, battle-cam system, and focial point distance-determination laser.
And here’s the first example of using holograms to display information. Although I do wonder how that would work in regards to distrubing eye-sight.
Thanks for reading! I hope you could find some nice inspiration here.