Thought the F-35 Was Powerful? You Don't Know What Is Coming Next.
Military and Aerospace Electronics
Technology, Americas
More than just another weapon.
Key point: More than just a helmet.
PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md. – U.S. Navy avionics experts will acquire three production lots of the third-generation helmet-mounted displays for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter under terms of a $352.7 million order announced this week.
Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., are asking the Lockheed Martin Corp. Aeronautics segment in Fort Worth, Texas, for production lots 12, 13, and 14 of the F-35's third-generation helmet-mounted displays for the U.S. military services.
This advanced helmet-mounted display comes from a joint venture between Collins Aerospace in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and in and Elbit Systems of America in Fort Worth, Texas. It serves as the pilot’s primary display system.
It blends head-up display (HUD), helmet-mounted display, and visor-projected night vision to enable pilots to target their weapons and maintain advanced spatial orientation while continually monitoring critical flight information. The F-35 is the first tactical fighter jet in 50 years without a traditional HUD.
Related: F-35 air-to-air missiles can now hit two unmanned aircraft at once -- changing air combat
Virtual capabilities of the helmet enables the pilot virtually to see through the bottom of the F-35's fuselage or directly at a target to experience extreme spatial orientation, superior weapons targeting, and tactical superiority during the day and at night. At the same time, the pilot has an uninterrupted display of flight information and sensor data.
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