JHMCS: Fighter Pilots’ “Look & Shoot” Helmets Changing Aerial Warfare
Mar 04, 2012 17:28 EST
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In the 1970s, fighter aircraft began to appear with Head-Up Displays (HUD) that projected key information, targeting crosshairs etc. onto a seemingly clear piece of glass. HUDs allowed pilots to keep their eyes in the sky, instead of looking down at their instruments. In the 1990s, another innovation appeared: helmet-mounted displays (HMDs) put the HUD inside the pilot’s helmet, providing this information even when the pilot wasn’t looking straight ahead. The Israelis were already pioneering a system called DASH (Display And Sight Helmet) when a set of former East German MiG-29s, equipped with Soviet HMDs, slaughtered USAF F-16s in NATO exercises. Suddenly, helmet-mounted displays became must-haves for modern fighters – and a key partnership positioned Elbit to take DASH to the next level.
This DID Spotlight article offers insights into the rocky past, successful present, and competitive future of a program that has experienced its share of snags and controversy – but went on to become the #1 helmet-mounted sight in the world. It also details the game-changing effects of Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems on air combat, its production sets and known customers, and all contracts since full-rate production began:
- JHMCS: A Combat Multiplier [updated]
- The HMD Revolution
- JHMCS
- JHMCS Improvements & Upgrades
- JHMCS: The Program to Date [updated]
- JHMCS: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
- Additional Readings & Sources [updated]
- Appendix A: JHMCS History & Challenges
Get inside the advanced technology of the JHMCS fighter pilot helmet, when you subscribe to DII. Our cross-linked article network and reference materials include:
- Discussion of how the helmet sight changes air to air combat
- Over 10 photos, and links to supplemental reading materials
- Aircraft that use the JHMCS
- Events chronology, including the early challenges to the program, and milestones such as the first test of Night Vision Cueing and Display (NVCD)
- Related DII coverage including “Boeing Wins $39M for Phase 2 Upgrade of 80 CF-18 Fighters,” “Greek F-16 & Weapons Sale Taking Off,” “$1.1B to Upgrade Turkish F-16 fleet,” and “Boeing Wins $39M for Phase 2 Upgrade of 80 CF-18 Fighters”
- International customer activity, including South Korea, Greece, Pakistan, The Netherlands, Turkey, Poland, Chile, Australia, Canada and Switzerland
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