protection, has a lighter weight than the preceding Mk7, can be fitted with face and mandible guards for certain roles, is specially shaped to allow effective weapon usage while in a prone position and wearing body armour, and features a permanent universal night vision mount and a scalable counterweight attached to the helmet's rear in order to ease strain on the user's neck while a night vision device is equipped. Prior to this, the standard helmet in service was the Mk7 which replaced the older Mk6 and Mk6A helmets on operations. The Mk7 helmet offered the same protection as the Mk6A but had a lower weight and was equipped with a new harness that kept the helmet more stable on the head when night vision equipment was fitted. The shape of the helmet was better integrated with new weapon sights compared to the Mk6A, making it easier to use in a variety of fighting positions. All helmets allow the soldier to wear a respirator, hearing protection, goggles and/or a radio headset as necessary. 84,000 Mk 7 helmets were donated to the Ukrainian military in 2014. Combat body armour The British Army utilises three combat body armour systems. Enhanced Combat Body Armour, a soft body armour vest that was first introduced in the 1980s and can be augmented with hard armour plates, was used on operations until the introduction of the Osprey body armour series in 2006 and was then relegated to training activities for which it remains in use; additionally, the hard armour plates were repurposed for use as Osprey body armour's side protection component. Osprey body armour, constituting a MOLLE vest that can carry both soft body armour inserts and front, rear, and side hard body armour plates with the option of adding neck and deltoid protection, went through several iterations with the last of these being the Mk 4 and Mk 4A 'Osprey Assault' vests; these provide the same level of ballistic protection as older models while improving the comfort of the wearer by being closer fitting, less bulky, and easier to move in, with the Mk 4A version achieving a further weight reduction by switching from a cummerbund to a smaller side plate pouch. The hard armour plates, which were made thinner to further increase mobility and comfort, are carried in internal pockets as opposed to the external pockets of Enhanced Combat Body Armour and earlier Osprey