Altyn

The Altyn helmet is a titanium crash helmet used by Russian special troops in the FSB TsSN (CSN). Altyn refers to a gold coin pieced used in Imperial times which had a value of 3 copecks; altyn may refer to anything which is of special value. Notably the Altyn helmet has been used by teams A (Alfa) and B (Vympel) since it's introduction in the 1980's. It has seen service in Afghanistan, Budyonnovsk, Nord-Ost, Beslan, and many other operations. Although today it is being slowly replaced by NII Stali's Rys-T helmet, it has long been one of the most iconic pieces of equipment in the arsenal of Russian special forces.

In the 1980's, only two firms possessed the means to produce titanium helmets: TIG of Switzerland and Ulbrechts of Austria. The models produced by TIG for use by such units as SEK and GSG 9 in German can be seen as the design basis for the Altyn. One identified TIG Design, the PSH-77, incorporated many of the features that were to be later replicated in the Altyn design such as shell shape, visor design, and integrated radio communications equipment. For its counter-terror team, the KGB desired a ballistic crash helmet of its own and so purchased a number of TIG helmets for evaluation. The TIG helmets purchased by the KGB were issued to Alfa for field use and some were later converted to USSR communications standards by the removal of the original liner and installation of new radio equipment.

Seeing the value of the TIG helmets, examples were handed over to NII Stali for replication. NII Stali then developed the capacity to produce stamped titanium helmet shells, which as mentioned before was previously only available to Switzerland and Austria.

NII Stali then created what was to become the K6-3 helmet from the basic form of the TIG. The principle differences between the TIG and the K6-3 were the profile of the visor and the design of the liner. The TIG utilized a liner system somewhat similar to the German 1931 liner system, but substituting plastic components for metal ones. The liner system created for the K6-3 shell however utilized a polyurethane cap, molded to fit the shell.

NII Stali also produced blank shells with thickness 4mm, which were given to KGB technicians for improvements and modernization. The helmets were equipped with a radio system similar to that of the TIG helmet but with a different interface for attachment of the radio. On the back of the helmet was placed the male connector for the cable to the radio. Inside was placed a speaker on one side along with the mount for the flexible boom microphone on the right side of the helmet. On the left exterior was placed a push control to turn the microphone on/off. Similar modifications were done to some TIG models to increase their service life with the military; these upgraded examples can still be seen in pictures from 1991 and onwards.

In the 1990's, the installation of aramid backing on the interior of the helmets allowed for a decrease in the thickness of the shell and so the total weight was decreased as well. The method of edging the helmet also changed with time and two forms exist: rubber like on the visor, and aramid. Both forms also exist for the modified TIG helmets.

According to the engineers of NII Stali, the Altyn helmet succeeded the TIG helmet in reliability and strength. Comparisons between the two by some professionals indicate preference for the TIG helmet because of it's lighter weight and slightly smaller dimensions; whether this preference is for the original or unmodified version is unknown so no firm conclusions may be drawn.