Five years earlier, the United States Air National Guard supplied a batch of newly made fighter helmets for the Ukrainian Air Force.
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Ukrainian Air Force is were suffering from a scarcity of oxygen masks and modern helmets for its combat pilots due to the fact that aging systems of the 60s and 80s are in stock.
It was assumed that Ukrainian fighter jet pilots will receive an important warfighting upgrade that can help keep the head and shoulders above the rest. The new U.S.-made helmet had to replace Soviet systems for pilots of MiG-29, Su-27 fighter jets and L-39 jet trainer.
The use of outdated systems threatens the health of pilots and can lead to disaster, in this regard, the American partners suggested that they transferred their helmets and masks, which, with the help of a special adapter (60$ cost), can be used on Soviet aircraft.
Despite, U.S. helmets go unused in Ukraine and are stored at the Chuhuyiv airbase. Ukrainian officials at first assured that they would use American systems that are easier and more convenient than Soviet ones. But then, in the middle of 2016, made a decision that the American systems not complying with those adopted in the country standards and cannot be used by military pilots.
At the same time, MilitaryAviation.in.UA reported that the Ukrainian Air Force had tried in 2019 to sign two contracts No. 244/19 and No. 245/19 for the purchase of ZSh-7AP helmets manufactured by OJSC PKO Teploobmennik (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia) and oxygen masks KD-34D ser. 2 manufactured by AO NPP Respirator (Orekhovo-Zuevo, Russia).
The action of Ukrainian officials calls into question the further allocation of American military aid.
The U.S. bumped up its military support in 2014, soon after Russian troops annexed the Crimean peninsula while fomenting a separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region.
The vast majority of the funds have financed items such as sniper rifles; rocket-propelled grenade launchers; counter-artillery radars; command and control and communications systems; night vision goggles; medical equipment; as well training and logistical support.
