> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.adriadefense.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Who's Leading Next-Generation Body Armor and Soldier Kit - URL: https://www.adriadefense.com/whos-leading-next-generation-body-armor-and-soldier-kit/ - Published: 2026-08-18T07:00:10.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-18T07:00:09.000Z - Description: From Anduril's AI helmet to Poland's Tytan program and Croatia's Šestan-Busch, AD maps the companies building next-generation body armor and soldier systems across the US, Europe, and CEE/SEE. - Author: C.P. - Tags: Analysis, CEE, SEE, Body Armor, Anduril, MASKPOL, Soldier Systems, Croatia The soldier's kit is going through its biggest overhaul in a generation. Helmets are becoming sensor platforms, body armor is shedding weight without shedding protection, and exoskeletons are moving from lab prototypes to special operations units. The companies leading this shift span the globe, but a handful of names in Poland, Croatia, and the Czech Republic are proving the region is not just a customer for this technology. It is a producer. ### The Helmet Becomes a Computer Nothing captures the pace of change better than what is happening to the combat helmet. The US Army spent eight years and 22 billion dollars on Microsoft's Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), an augmented reality headset meant to fuse night vision, thermal imaging, and battlefield data into a single display. Nearly 10,000 units were delivered, but soldiers reported headaches and nausea, and the Government Accountability Office called it a case study in acquisition waste. Anduril Industries is now leading the successor effort, the Soldier Borne Mission Command (SBMC) program, after winning a 159 million dollar prototyping contract in 2025\. The company is also self-funding a parallel headset called EagleEye, built with Meta, Oakley, Qualcomm, and Gentex, and plans to deliver around 100 units to the Army by the second quarter of 2026\. EagleEye doubles as protective headgear, with a full-cut ballistic shell designed to deflect shrapnel while its display overlays blue-force tracking, drone feeds, and threat data directly onto the soldier's field of view. Founder Palmer Luckey has said the technology "is going to get cheaper and cheaper over time," a bet that smart helmets will follow the same cost curve as consumer electronics. ### Materials and the Weight Problem While helmets get smarter, the plates underneath them are getting lighter. D3O, known for its impact-absorbing foam, partnered with Australian manufacturer Craig International Ballistics (CIB) in April 2026 to test a new generation of standalone hard armor plates against NIJ 0101.07, the latest and most demanding US ballistic standard. The focus is on reducing back-face deformation, the blunt trauma that can occur even when a plate stops a round. Consolidation is reshaping the supplier base at the same time. German group Mehler Systems, which already supplies more than 150,000 ballistic vests to the German Bundeswehr, signed an agreement in April 2026 to acquire a majority stake in CIB, extending its reach into the Asia-Pacific market. Rheinmetall, meanwhile, unveiled a new modular body armor system at Enforce Tac 2026 in Nuremberg, offering soft ballistic protection as standard with hard inserts upgradeable to VPAM BSW levels 6 or 9, plus add-on stab and fragmentation protection for the neck, shoulders, and limbs. ### Exoskeletons Leave the Lab The global military exoskeleton market, valued at roughly 1.16 billion dollars in 2025, is projected to reach 4 billion dollars by 2034\. Lockheed Martin's ONYX lower-body exoskeleton has already been fielded to US Special Operations Command, and firms including Sarcos and Ekso Bionics continue to push load-carrying and endurance systems toward wider adoption. Turkish manufacturer Aselsan is also active in this space, a reminder that exoskeleton development is no longer confined to the United States. ### Poland's Tytan Program Moves to Production Nowhere in the CEE region is soldier modernization more advanced than in Poland. The Tytan Advanced Individual Combat System, under development since 2006 through the state-owned Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), is now delivering hardware at scale. On May 28, 2026, PGZ subsidiary MASKPOL signed a contract under the EU's SAFE funding initiative to supply several hundred thousand HBT-02 ballistic helmets and several dozen thousand sets of KKZ-01 integrated body armor to the Polish Armed Forces. The HBT-02 protects against K2-class bullets and fragments and features an attachable mandible and face guard for exposed roles such as door gunners, while remaining compatible with gas masks, night vision, and hearing protection. Poland's defense industrial base extends beyond MASKPOL. Lubawa SA, a Warsaw-listed manufacturer with roots dating to 1951, produces bulletproof vests and modular ballistic systems for the Polish military and police, including gender-specific designs given that women make up around 40 percent of Poland's police force. PGZ's ambitions are not limited to soldier kit either. In July 2026, the group signed a cooperative agreement with Anduril to produce the Barracuda-500M cruise missile in Bydgoszcz, a sign of how deeply Poland's defense sector is now integrating with the same companies reshaping soldier systems in the United States. ### Croatia's Šestan-Busch Goes International Croatia's Šestan-Busch is one of the CEE/SEE region's clearest export success stories in personal protection. The family-owned company, founded in Prelog in 1995, has delivered more than 2.5 million helmets to customers in over 70 countries and supplies the standard combat helmet, the BK-3, to the Croatian Armed Forces. On June 16, 2026, Croatia and Slovakia signed a cooperation agreement at Eurosatory enabling Slovakia to conduct joint procurement of Šestan-Busch helmets, paired with a reciprocal arrangement for Croatia to jointly procure ammunition from Slovak suppliers. It is a template other CEE governments may follow as they look to pool procurement and reduce unit costs. Croatia also hosts smaller specialist players. Croshield, founded in 2006, builds ballistic vests and mining protection gear, while Valkre Armor Systems, a Croatian-Serbian company established in 2011, focuses on special forces equipment built almost exclusively from Dyneema, manufacturing carriers in Serbia and ballistic products in Croatia for export across the EU. ### The Czech Republic's Slower but Steady Path The Czech Republic's Voják 21 (21st Century Soldier) program has moved more incrementally since its 2004 launch, but it continues to expand. Czech company Pramacom-HT is delivering surveillance, target acquisition, and night operations (STANO) equipment to the Czech Army, building on early adoption by the 601st Special Forces Group. The equipment, including Vector laser rangefinders and Raven and Wasp hand-launched UAVs, reflects a broader pattern across CEE forces: soldier modernization increasingly means integrating sensors and data links, not just upgrading armor plates. ### A Region No Longer Just Buying Taken together, these programs show CEE/SEE moving from consumer to producer in soldier systems, a shift that mirrors what AD has already tracked in Balkan drone manufacturing. Poland's SAFE-funded contracts, Croatia's Slovakia deal, and the steady expansion of Czech STANO equipment all point to a region building export capacity rather than simply modernizing its own forces. As NATO members increase individual soldier budgets to match investments in vehicles and munitions, the companies profiled here are positioned to compete well beyond their home markets.