Calibre interview: Todd Stirtzinger, CEO of Galvion

Equipment for dismounted soldiers is growing in importance, alongside increased demands for power and functionality in extreme climates. Calibre Defence met with Todd Stirtzinger, CEO of Galvion, to gain an understanding of the company’s approach to product development and user engagement. 

It seems that soldiers around the world share similar traits. They are, in some cases, demanding and particular customers. There are many accounts of soldiers simply refusing to use equipment if it is too heavy, too cumbersome. In other cases, failure to properly consider the soldier in the design of body armour or headgear could risk lives, and may also lead them to refuse to wear it. When British troops were issued new body armour in 2006, for instance, there were complaints that the protective plates were “immobilising.” Some soldiers said they would simply remove them during a firefight and take their chances, The Telegraph reported in 2009. 

So, considering the soldier and what they must carry is a critical component of designing equipment for them. The importance of soldier-led design has increased with the demand for frontline power. Soldiers may now carry a personal radio, a computer-aided rifle sight, and a situational awareness system on what is essentially a mobile phone. Some may also carry drones, drone detectors, and jammers, all of which add weight, not just in the systems themselves, but in the batteries required to run them. Perhaps more concerningly, those batteries and electronic systems add to the logistics burden. Troops at the forward edge of friendly forces must now find power on an almost daily basis to recharge all of their systems or risk being isolated and losing situational awareness. The constants of soldier-led design remain; worn equipment must be unintrusive and complementary to the way they fight. But the way that the soldier interacts with electronic devices must also be factored into equipment design. 

Galvion is a multinational company that specialises in soldier equipment with a soldier-led design approach, so Calibre Defence met with CEO Todd Stirtzinger during DSEI UK 2025 to learn more about the company’s approach to product development and recent successes. 

Galvion helmets, forget you’re wearing them

“Everything we do goes on the human, so the first thing our engineers think about is how our products interact with that human. If you wear a helmet for eight hours, we want them to forget they’re wearing it,” Todd explained, lifting one of the company’s Caiman helmets from the stand by way of demonstration. Made of lightweight, but very hard Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE), the helmets provide a level of protection that matches and – in some cases – exceeds the bulky composite helmets made of Kevlar that were preferred in the 1980s. 

The way that soldiers use their helmets has also changed since the early 1990s. “You have to think about how it interacts with the human and what gets installed on it,” Todd added. He showed me the high cut design of the helmets on the Galvion stand. That is designed to provide room for a radio system to the sides, as well as night vision goggles to the front. Once the preserve of special forces, these systems have now found their way into many infantry units. Todd emphasised the importance of soldier-led design in these products. 

“For large programmes you work early with the customer, if a tender drops and you aren’t aware of it, you’ve already lost it. You’ve got to be embedded with the customer and understand what their pain points are,” he said. As an example of this, Galvion was recently awarded a five-year contract for the USMC’s Integrated Helmet System, which has a maximum value in excess of $131 million. “We went through three-and-a-half years of development with the USMC, including reviews, user development, and feedback,” Todd explained. “We listened to everything, it could be the position of the chin strap, the tension of the bungee cords. We take all that information very seriously and iterate the design,” he said. 

“Some people say, ‘why do you need 45 flavours of vanilla?’” he motioned to one of the helmets and mused aloud, “but it’s a really personal piece of equipment, so if you don’t invest that time, you’re not giving the customer what they want.” The company’s approach has resulted in a great deal of success, it recently celebrated 1.25 million helmets being ordered in the past decade, including orders from Canada, the USMC, significant orders from NATO, and a large order from the Middle East in the last 12 months alone.  

“In every competition where the user is involved in the selection, we almost inevitably win. This has led to an extremely high retention rate with customers [helmets have around a 10 year service life]. Even if it’s a competition we win that repeat business, and that comes with trust,” Todd said. As further evidence of how seriously Galvion takes its customer feedback, he described the Warfighter Lab that the company has invested millions in developing. This facility enables live testing, as well as mixed reality, and virtual reality. It is run by a double-PhD, who puts users through various simulations and takes measurements of their Galvion equipment. “We can measure the movement of the goggles and the eyes behind them relative to the movement of the helmet, and see how we can refine our products,” Todd said. 

Power to the people 

A retired Lieutenant General from the British Army recently told me that the UK, and its allies, are battery driven militaries. They rely on batteries to communicate, and cannot shoot without batteries in some cases because of the reliance on battery-powered sensors. First of all, that equipment has to be carried, which is where Galvion’s new helmet system, Cortex, comes in. “It’s an appliqué kit that fits to the helmet with a computer at the back that can connect to ATAK [Android Tactical Awareness Kit] with a lead, 5G, Bluetooth, or some other form of datalink,” Todd explained, adding that, “It goes on our Caiman and Hellbender helmets, but we’ve also made it for competitor helmets because it’s about giving the customer what they want.” 

Cortex is a futuristic piece of kit that includes an eyepiece that displays information from the ATAK software. ATAK is typically presented on an Android handset that is carried on the soldier’s chest, causing them to look down for information. “So, the idea is to take information in the tactical network and display it on that eye piece, keeping their head up the whole time,” Todd said. I was allowed to test the helmet, modifying the display to show a compass and objective indicator. The eyepiece allows the user to receive information without impinging significantly on their field of view. “We have connected it to a smart watch, digital weapon sight, night vision goggles, small soldier launched drone, and GPS,” Todd explained. Galvion can also add a laser warning receiver and acoustic shot detection system to the Cortex system, so that it feeds that data to ATAK. “We are taking passive protection and adding smart solutions to it,” he said, in reference to the theme for DSEI, Preparing the Future Force. 

Keeping with that theme, is the subject of drones and the potential for conflict in the high North. Winters in the Arctic are long, and can last from October to April, bringing average temperatures down to -34°C. This is cold enough for humans, but it is also a problem for batteries. Most battery chemistries, from lithium-ion, to lead acid, and nickel-metal hydride, will lose from 20% to 70% of their charge as temperatures fall below zero. Charging also becomes a problem for different reasons. Attempting to charge a cold Li-ion battery, for example, can cause lithium plating, where metallic lithium forms on the anode instead of being absorbed. This is an irreversible process that permanently reduces capacity and can pose a safety risk.

Galvion’s Nerv Centr range of frontline power management systems include batteries, charging solutions and power management options. Its MAX-8 bulk charger, which can scavenge power from almost any source and charge up to eight batteries simultaneously, was recently adopted as a customised solution for drone charging by AeroVironment. Their SoloPack and SoloPack II lithium-ion batteries can support 12-24 hour missions and are similar in size to a rifle magazine, with a weight of around 0.45 kg. The design specifically aims to offer a familiar form factor so they can easily be integrated into existing soldier kit. Galvion is also working on an all-weather SoloPack capability, Todd explained, which will offer a wider operating temperature range – specifically to address some of the Arctic environment issues mentioned above.

Simultaneously, Galvion is working on wireless charging through its BATLCHRG products, including one version that is designed to recharge personal equipment when soldiers sit inside their vehicle without them plugging anything in. There is also BATLCHRG Ux, a wireless charging mat featuring a wireless charging system from Quaze Technologies for drones and UGVs. “It can have up to 2 inches of debris on it for cold weather applications,” Todd said, reminding me of the need for cold weather charging. 

“It’s no secret that power has been a problem for the military as technology increases. We’ve been addressing this issue for the soldier for over a decade, developing intelligent power delivery and management solutions to increase mission efficiency by minimising battery loads, and physical and logistical burden. The power problem increases exponentially when you start to add in unmanned systems,” he wrapped up by saying. 

Calibre comment

Most forces are shrinking despite the best efforts of governments, which means that the personnel are increasingly valuable and protecting them is key. This places a premium on developing solutions that work for soldiers and help them perform their missions successfully. This is being reflected across the defence ecosystem. Todd’s insights into the ways that Galvion works with its customers help illustrate the importance of a soldier-led approach to design. 

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on September 24, 2025. Credit for the lead image is Galvion and it shows Todd Stirtzinger, CEO of Galvion.