DID has covered the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS) before, from its revolutionary effect on air combat when used with 4th generation SRAAMs like the AIM-9X Sidewinder, AA-11 Archer et. al., to the program’s rocky but ultimately successful history. JHMCS helmets are now a common request from countries who are upgrading their US-made fighters (as DID noted, Canada is the latest as part of its Phase 2 CF-18 upgrade).
Boeing Co. in St Louis, MO has just received a $97 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract for “more than 400” JHMCS systems as Full Rate Production lot 3. They will equip the USAF’s F-15s and F-16s, the US Navy’s F/A-18 platforms, and foreign military sales including the Netherlands (F-16), Poland (F-16), Turkey (F-16C), the Royal Australian Air Force (F/A-18 C-D under HUG), Canada (F/A-18 A-B+), and Switzerland (F/A-18 C-D). Work will be complete by December 2008. The Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH issued the contract (F33657-01-D-0026).
Boeing has contracted for more than 2,000 JHMCS systems over the past six years. They are the prime contractor and integrator for JHMCS, which is produced by the Rockwell Collins/ Elbit joint venture Vision Systems International, LLC, based in San Jose, CA. See Boeing’s March 17, 2006 release.