The military’s standard EMBH-105 helmet appeared to show signs of deformation and spalling from pistol fire in a test conducted by a Taiwanese-American YouTuber.
In a video uploaded on Sunday, the YouTube channel “Little Uncle Sam’s Gun and Fun” (山姆小叔Gun&Fun) compares the durability of Taiwanese, US, Chinese and Russian helmets by firing a pistol at each one to compare how well they hold up.
The channel last year uploaded a video that appeared to show that the military’s standard body armor offered insufficient protection against 5.56x45mm rifle cartridges, which sparked an online debate. The Armaments Bureau at the time said the channel had used an inappropriate testing method on the armor.
Photo: Still image taken from YouTube channel “Little Uncle Sam’s Gun and Fun”
Last month, the Military of National Defense indicated in a report to the legislature that a new ballistic plate insert for the body armors offering improved protection against modern rifle ammunition would enter mass production next year.
In the channel’s latest video, its crew tested a variety of helmets against 9x19mm Parabellum and 7.62x25mm Tokarev rounds fired at a distance of about 5m.
The 9mm is the world’s most ubiquitous pistol ammunition and the 7.62mm Tokarev is used in Chinese People’s Liberation Army submachine guns.
Some of the Taiwanese helmets were supplied by Democratic Progressive Party New Taipei City Councilor Lin Ping-yu (林秉宥), according to the video.
Although 9mm fire did not penetrate the EMBH-105 helmet, it did exhibit a 27.4mm deep deformation, one of the test’s worst against that caliber.
The Taiwanese helmet sustained severe deformation after being struck by the more powerful 7.62mm Tokarev cartridges, which formed a deep gouge at the point of impact and destroyed much of the helmet’s outer material.
The tests suggest that the Taiwanese helmet offers significantly less protection than the others utilized in the demonstration except the Russian 6B47, which possesses a superior impact-absorbing liner, the video narrator says.
The EMBH-105’s outer layer also produced a significant amount of small fragments that peppered the ballistic gelatin placed under the helmet for the demonstration, suggesting they could have caused small lacerations to the head, the video showed.
The Ministry of National Defense on Monday said that the helmet’s performance was within design parameters and that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s ballistic research laboratory had previously conducted tests.
An improved helmet is being developed to enhance protection against concussion and spinal injuries, the ministry said, adding that the project is expected to be completed before the end of this year.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and