JHMCS: Fighter Pilot “Look & Shoot” Helmets’ Upgrade, Ups & Downs
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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. Ever since, we’ve been wondering when we’d see them in our automobiles. 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 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 offered insights into the rocky past, overall state, and 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 today. It also details the JHMCS’ game-changing effects on air combat, its production sets and known customers, and all contracts since full-rate production began.
The latest item is a some aditional gear for the US Navy…
- JHMCS: A Combat Multiplier [updated] (i.e. Continue reading…)
- JHMCS: The Program to Date
- JHMCS: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
- Appendix A: JHMCS History & Challenges
- Appendix B: Additional Readings & Sources
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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