Commercial "Militarization" Impact on Ballistic Tolerance

This paper addresses the evolution of starting with an S-92® helicopter and applying the necessary design processes within each flight critical design area to incorporate vulnerability reduction features resulting in a ballistically hardened H-92 platform. Not only does the vulnerability engineer have to focus on redesigning the components, sub-systems and systems to withstand the Customer specified threat and operational arena, but he or she aims to do so in a manner as not to hinder performance, weight or any of the multi-mission/operational capability. For example, Customer A states that they want armor on the floor; deciding what armor to use, how to integrate it and what threat to protect against are all part of the design process which the vulnerability engineer leads. Transforming the S-92® into a militarized platform creates a unique design challenge which will be highlighted in this paper.