Variants

Israel

The OR-201 combat helmet made its operational début during the famous Entebbe raid in July 1976^[25][26] and was introduced the following year into Israeli forces, though its massive use by Israeli troops came only during the 1978 South Lebanon conflict^[27] and the subsequent June 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon.^[28]

Middle East

During the Lebanese Civil War, the pro-Israeli militias in Lebanon, the Christian Lebanese Forces (LF)^[29][30][31] and the South Lebanon Army (SLA)^[32] also began to receive the OR-201 Model 76 helmet in substantial quantities to equip their troops at the late 1970s, with captured examples eventually finding their way into the hands of militiamen from other Lebanese factions throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Photographic evidence taken at the time do show the Israeli combat helmet being used by fighters from the Christian Marada Brigade, the Shia Amal Movement and Hezbollah,^[33] the Druze People's Liberation Army (PLA),^[34] the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), and even the Lebanese Army.^[35] The latter inherited a large stock of OR-201 helmets left behind by the LF and SLA militias after 1990 and 2000, being subsequently re-issued to the Lebanese Commando Regiment, the Counter-sabotage Regiment, the Lebanese Airborne Regiment and the Republican Guard Brigade.

Asia

The Sri Lanka Army adopted in the 1980s-1990s the OR-201 helmet for its infantry, commando and special forces units fighting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) insurgency during the Sri Lankan Civil War (1983-2009). India acquired limited quantities of the OR-201 helmet for the Indian special forces' units.^[36][5]

Africa

The South African Defence Force (SADF) adopted in 1983 the OR-201 Model 76 combat helmet as the SA M83, which was employed in combat by the Paratroopers and Recce Commandos during the South African Border War.^[37][38][39] Besides South Africa, limited quantities of the OR-201 helmet were also provided to the militaries of Egypt and Ghana.^[40]

Latin America

The OR-201 helmet began to be marketed to foreign recipients of Israeli military aid in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the first Latin American country to receive it was Nicaragua in 1977-78.^[41][42] With the adoption of Israeli-made small-arms and equipment in 1976, the Somoza Regime ordered substantial quantities of the OR-201 Model 76 to equip the elite and infantry units of its Nicaraguan National Guard. Later during the 1978-79 Nicaraguan Revolution, captured OR-201 helmets were also worn by Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) guerrillas.

Guatemala also received the OR-201 Model 76 for the Guatemalan Army's Parachute Brigade and Kaibiles,^[43][44] while Ecuador adopted it for its Naval Infantry Corps troops and Peru acquired Rabintex RBH-103 helmets to equip its Army and Naval Infantry units.^[45] Due to the arms embargoes imposed by the United States in the 1970s and 1980s to several Latin American countries because of the repressive nature of their military regimes, Israel stepped in and supplied since the mid-1970s the OR-201 Model 76 and Model 76-85 combat helmets to Mexico,^[46] El Salvador,^[47] Honduras,^[48][49] Colombia, Venezuela,^[50] Ecuador, Chile,^[51][52][53] Paraguay^[54] and Uruguay.^[55]

Europe

The Irish Army adopted in the early 1980s the OR-201 Model 76-85 in ballistic nylon and issued it to infantry units in-country deployed on counter-insurgency operations along the border areas with Northern Ireland during The Troubles^[56] or those serving overseas with the Irish contingent of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) peace-keeping mission in southern Lebanon.^[57] They were sometimes used with either olive green or camouflage helmet covers.^[58] With the adoption of the Modern Irish Army camouflage uniform in the early 2000s, the Model 76-85 began to be phased out of service and in 2012 it was finally removed from issue, replaced by another Israeli model, the Rabintex RBH 303IE combat helmet in Kevlar plastic.

The Portuguese Marine Corps adopted the Rabintex RBH 103 model in the early 1990s, which remains in use.^[59]

The Romanian Land Forces also adopted the OR-201 combat helmet around the mid-1990s, replacing the older steel types dating back to the World War II and Cold War periods.

Non-state users

• Hezbollah: Used captured helmets from the SLA.^[76]
• Hamas (Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades): Used captured helmets from the IDF and PNSF.
•  Palestine (PLO armed factions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank): Used captured helmets from the IDF and PNSF.

Civilian users

•  Israel: Home Front Command
• Lebanese Red Cross

Former users

• Amal Movement: Used captured helmets from the Lebanese Forces, SLA, and IDF between 1983-1990.
•  Ireland: Used by the Irish Defense Forces^[77] – Removed from issue in 2012 and replaced by the Rabintex RBH 303IE combat helmet.
•  Chile: Rabintex RBH-103 helmets used by the Chilean Army, alongside Rabintex RBH-303 Golfo helmets.^[78][79][53]
• Marada Brigade: Used captured helmets from the Lebanese Forces between 1982-1990.
•  Nicaragua: Orlite OR-201 Model 76 helmets used by the National Guard between 1977-79.^[80][81][82]
• Lebanese Forces: Orlite OR-201 Model 76 helmets provided by Israel used between 1982-1990.
•  Paraguay: Used by the Paraguayan Army – Orlite Model 76-85 removed from issue and replaced since the 1990s by the PASGT.^[83]
• People's Liberation Army (Lebanon): Used captured helmets from the Lebanese Forces between 1983-1990.^[84]
• Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN): captured helmets from the Nicaraguan National Guard used by guerrillas between 1978–79.
• Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon: Used captured helmets from the Lebanese Forces, SLA, and IDF between 1983-1990.
• South Lebanon Army (SLA): Orlite OR-201 Model 76 and Model 76-85 helmets provided by Israel used between 1978-2000.