Helmet-mounted displays

On the subject of night vision, what are the relative advantages/drawbacks of
using an IR-based system vs. one based on image intensification e.g EF Typhoon?

The nicht vision enhancement cameras originally envisaged as a bolt on option for the Typhoon were based on light intensification like the vast majority of night vision devices. They have been dropped from the requirements. An IR based system typically offers crisper images and does not require a light source at all. A NVE system is of course more simple and cheaper and it is bolted onto the helmet. The IR solution does require multiple distributed sensors which is a more comlex and thus expensive, but also more capable solution with significantly greater growth potential and wider applicabilities. Another advantage of the IR solution is that it adds no weight to the helmet. IR imagery can be projected on the HEA visor as well. On the Typhoon the PIRATE features a dedicated FLIR mode dubbed Steerable Infrared Picture on Helmet (SIRPH) which projects the FLIR image on the helmet's visor and slews the FLIR to the pilot's line of sight as determined by the helmet's optical head tracking system.

As such it should be possible to project DAS imagery on that helmet pending on proper integration as the concepts of PIRATE and DAS are different.

Thanks.. per Spaz' previous post above..

"Night vision for Typhoon pilots 22 April 2013
Night vision goggles are being tested by Typhoon pilots to enhance and improve their flying performance at night. Developed through the Army Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier Enhanced Night Vision Goggle advanced technology development program, BAE Systems digitally fused enhanced night vision goggle, or ENVG(D), will allow soldiers to view, via a monocular eyepiece, imagery that exploits features from visible, low-light-level, and infrared sensors.

On page 15 of this thread is an item for Doc, My Neck Hurts by Lt. Mark Jacoby and Tina Avelar in USN Flying Safety Magazine APPROACH March/April 2007 pages 16-19

http://www.public.navy.mil/navsafecen/D ... pril07.pdf (2Mb)

That PDF is no longer available at the URL above so go here:

SpazSinbad's "Documents & Videos Various" Folder:

https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=cbcd63d6 ... 07E6%21116

"DOC My Neck Hurts G issues.pdf" (1Mb)
__________________

DUH. The PDF can just be uploaded here also....

This info already posted here today 11 Jun 2013 but this section of long article reposted here because....

New F-35 IOC Goals Rely On Helmet, Software Work 10 Jun 2013 Amy Butler | Source: Aviation Week & Space Technology

"...Another unknown is the outcome of a risk-mitigation plan put in place two years ago to address mounting concerns about the F-35's revolutionary helmet-display system. If the system falls short of its requirements, key tasks such as nighttime aerial refueling and shipboard vertical landing will be severely hampered.

The Pentagon-led F-35 Joint Program Office prompted Lockheed Martin to select a second helmet contractor in 2011 as a backstop in the event the primary system, designed by Vision Systems International (VSI), failed to overcome persistent problems with night-vision acuity and jitter in its Gen 2 helmet. The parallel developments are ongoing (see page 18]. But, risk still remains as officials at VSI, a joint venture of Rockwell Collins and Elbit, are planning to install a new night-time camera into the helmet and incrementally introduce equipment to address the near-field, night-vision acuity issue and other problems. The result, a so-called Gen 3 helmet, is expected to fly in the F-35 in January...."

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 25.xml&p=1

Youse'll have to join up to see the entire article but... never mind...

Strike rate 11 Jun 2013 Dave Majumdar

"After an often troubled development phase, Lockheed Martin says the $397 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme is close to delivering operational capability"
...TEST MILESTONES
An important milestone is that initial signature testing - radar and infrared - is complete for all three variants. The current mission systems fleet test includes developmental testing and integration of the F-35's Lockheed-built electro-optical targeting system, Northrop Grumman-developed distributed aperture system of six infrared cameras, and the troublesome Vision Systems International helmet-mounted display system (HMDS). O'Byran says near-field visual acuity problems with HMDS should be solved once the ISIE-10 night-vision cameras are replaced with the new ISIE-11 camera in the seventh production lot of F-35s.

Radar, threat countermeasures, and data-links with other aircraft systems are also being tested, Lockheed says: "We are completing the first phase of testing to allow fleet pilots to train at night and in instrument meteorological conditions." Other mission systems testing include capability upgrades for the fourth lot of production aircraft to be used by the military services for training, and for the delivery of lot-five fighters.

...The F-35B has completed its first night aided vertical landing, night vision camera aided vertical landing, and the first vertical landing using an expeditionary airfield. Also, on 10 May, the STOVL variant flew its first vertical take-off. Later this year, the Marine version will start high AoA testing, and is expected to the return to the USS Wasp to conduct a second set of sea trials....

...Work also continues on future software blocks, with Block 3i, which is a rehosted version of Block 2B on new computer hardware, expected to enter flight testing later in 2013...."

https://www.flightglobal.com/fg-club/in ... gclubpromo

Work also continues on future software blocks, with Block 3i, which is a rehosted version of Block 2B on new computer hardware, expected to enter flight testing later in 2013...."

Looking forward to see what improvements TR-2 brings.

[quote="spazsinbad"]......
...... and the first vertical landing using an expeditionary airfield. ........quote].

What?? Where, When, what type of expeditionary airfield (Yuma??). Was this a grass and dirt landing??

Work also continues on future software blocks, with Block 3i, which is a rehosted version of Block 2B on new computer hardware, expected to enter flight testing later in 2013...."

Looking forward to see what improvements TR-2 brings.

Should also be interesting to see what bugs occur when moving from the old to the new hardware for 2B/3I. I hope it goes well, with minimal issues. A good opportunity for the program to get a silver star on the forehead!

'neptune' asked: "...Was this a grass and dirt landing??..." I would say that the F-35B will land only on AM-2 matting laid on a suitable surface. I do not believe the F-35B has been built to land on grass or dirt. Hard packed dry dirt might be OK in an emergency but not for regular ops. Grass will be too soft to support such a heavy aircraft with thin high pressure tyres while both dirt/grass will generate lots of potential FOD for a hungry engine.

Perhaps it is best to start a 'non-Avionics' thread for this question? Which I reckon has been discussed a few times on this forum over the years. Did the Harrier operate from such field conditions?

DR. J. MICHAEL GILMORE, DIRECTOR, OPERATIONAL TEST AND EVALUATION, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE; BEFORE THE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEFENSE 19 Jun 2013

"...The program has also dedicated 42 flights to investigating deficiencies in the helmet mounted display system. Seven aircraft from all three variants flew test missions from October 2012 through May 2013 to investigate jitter in the helmet mounted display system, night vision camera acuity, latency in the Distributed Aperture System projection, and light leakage onto the helmet display under low-light conditions. Although some progress has been achieved, results of these tests have been mixed according to comments from the test pilots. Testing could not be completed within the full operational flight envelope evaluating mission-related tasks, as the full combat flight envelope has not been released. Filters for reducing the effects of jitter have been helpful, but have introduced instability, or “swimming,” of the projected symbology. Night vision acuity was assessed as not acceptable with the current night vision camera, but may be improved with the ISIE-11 camera under consideration by the program. Latency with the Distributed Aperture System projection has improved from earlier versions of software, but has not yet been tested in operationally representative scenarios. Light leakage onto the helmet display may be addressed with fine-tuning adjustments of the symbology brightness - a process pilots will have to accomplish as ambient and background levels of light change. Although not an objective of the dedicated testing, alignment and “double vision” problems have also been identified by pilots and were noted in my report earlier this year on the F-35A Ready for Training Operational Utility Evaluation (OUE). Whether the progress achieved in resolving the problems discussed immediately above has been adequate will likely not be known with confidence until the Block 2B operational evaluation is conducted in 2015...."

http://elpdefensenews.blogspot.com.au/2 ... needs.html PDF download 107Kb

WRITTEN TESTIMONY FOR THE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEFENSE U.S. SENATE
SUBJECT: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter | COMBINED STATEMENT OF: Mr. Frank Kendall Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics & Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan Program Executive Officer F-35
June 19, 2013

"...Development Status
While software development and integration is the highest risk the program faces as we complete development, there are other risks we are tracking that warrant management attention. Among these are the Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS), the Arresting Hook System (AHS) for the F-35C (carrier variant), and the Autonomic Logistic Information System (ALIS). The HMDS is a major technological advance for pilot situational awareness but it has presented design challenges. HMDS issues faced by the program over the past year were “green glow,” or insufficient helmet display contrast; latency of the displayed information;, “jitter,” or lack of stability of the displayed symbology as the aircraft maneuvers; night vision acuity; and alignment of the displayed symbology. Last year the program made significant progress against these challenges using dedicated HMDS flight testing to identify and analyze acceptable HMDS performance. As a result of testing, the program has successfully mitigated the effects of four of these HDMS issues. More work is planned this summer to ensure that the night vision camera is effective for Marine Corps operations. All of these systems still pose moderate risk, but the program has well-planned and resourced mitigation plans in place for each. I would categorize these as typical of challenges associated with a complex weapon system development program, but design and production concurrency have rendered them more acute in the F-35’s case...."

http://elpdefensenews.blogspot.com.au/2 ... needs.html (PDF 0.2Mb)

Small F-35 equipment group receives big award from Air Force By LAUREN SAGE REINLIE / Daily News 24 June 2013

" EGLIN AFB — A small group of airmen has won a national award from the Air Force for its work maintaining the brand new state-of-the-art equipment for F-35 Joint Strike Fighter pilots.

Earlier this month, the 10-person 33rd Operations Support Squadron’s Aircrew Flight Equipment group received the Air Force’s Outstanding Aircrew Flight Small Equipment Program award for their work in 2012.

“I really couldn’t be any more proud,” said Capt. Ryan Seymour, commander of the flight equipment group. “The group of guys and gals we have are really what’s made it happen.

“Everybody goes above and beyond and because of the cohesion of the group, it’s awesome that the entire shop is getting the benefit of being recognized and not just one or two people.”

The crew maintains the helmet, flight jacket and g-suit for instructor pilots and students learning to fly the Air Force’s variant of the F-35 at the training school at Eglin, the first of its kind for all branches of the military.

In 2012, an F-35 took its first flight at Eglin and students began going through the program.

The flight equipment crew had to make sure all the equipment was ready for use and that the pilots knew how to operate it properly for regular flights and in case of emergencies, even as the software for the equipment was continually evolving.

“It was all brand new,” said Staff Sgt. Lemuel Velazquez. “The helmet had never been worn before by the Air Force, nobody had worked on it. The jackets and the g-suits were brand new, and nothing was like what we used to work on.”

All of the equipment is capable of communicating with the aircraft, which makes it state-of-the-art. For example, the helmet has a display system that is designed to show the pilot a 360-degree view of what is going on around the aircraft as well as display instrumentation and other information.

With other flight programs, guidelines for operating and maintaining the equipment would be handed down from a higher level, but this team was tasked with developing their own.

They were so successful that many of their guidelines will now be implemented at other bases across the country as the F-35 program continues to grow, Seymour said.

Before the first F-35s took off and until the base received more of the jets, the group was also responsible for maintaining equipment for F-16s that were used to keep pilots current and as chaser planes during training missions in the single-seat F-35.

At the same time, they were also deploying to support troops in the Middle East.

The airmen on the team come from varied backgrounds, which provided a knowledge base that helped them establish the new program.

“It’s a very unique shop to say the least,” said Staff Sgt. Edwin Portan. “We all have different experiences from different bases, different aircraft, so we all bring something different to the table.”

Seymour said everyone in the group was especially dedicated to keeping the F-35 program moving forward, even as the equipment was still in development and changing.

He said they were able to be innovative and overcome struggles that could have resulted in delays in the training program but did not.

“It was not just you do your job and go home,” he said. “You do as much as required, thinking outside the lines to try to improve the process and eliminate any possible delays. That is the kind of mindset of everyone in the shop, and it’s contagious. Whenever one person is working hard, everyone else is going to go along with that.”"

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/military/to ... e-1.163304

Farnborough HMDS II Display photo by David Cenciotti: http://theaviationist.com/wp-content/up ... g_0085.jpg

Farnborough 2012: This is the most advanced flight helmet, ever. The F-35's Helmet Mounted Display System 10 July 2012

"...single [composite carbon fiber] helmet that weights less than 5 lb. including all compontents...."

http://theaviationist.com/2012/07/10/fia12-hmds-genii/

Feast of Fixes
Pentagon to weigh readiness of tailhook, helmet improvements in advance of F-35 production review
Amy Butler Washington and Huntsville, Ala., and Graham Warwick Los Angeles
AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY/AUGUST 19, 2013 | p 28 & p 33

"...The F-35 Joint Program Office is planning at the end of this month to brief Kendall on the status of work to overcome technical issues with the F-35 helmet-mounted display system. A downselect between the original advanced helmet design, built by Vision Systems International (VSI, a joint venture between Rockwell Collins and Elbit), and a more rudimentary backup made by BAE Systems was slated for 2014. "If we can get the baseline to where we need to be, then we can downselect," he said. "If not, then we are going to delay downselect for a while."

The VSI helmet now in use - the Gen 2 helmet - incorporates an ICIE-10 night-vision camera, which was creating problems with the acuity of imagery projected onto the helmet at night. Flight-testing of the solution, the so-called ICIE-11 camera, and improved image-processing software in the helmet, took place in a Cessna last month. "The testing proved successful, with pilots reporting a substantial improvement in camera capability over the existing ISIE-10 night camera in the Gen 2 helmet," said Kyra Hawn, a spokeswoman for the F-35 Joint Program Office.

The ISIE-11 camera is not being used for the DT trials on the Wasp; the "Gen 3" helmet (which will include the ISIE-11 and other improvements) is not slated to be ready until the second quarter of next year, Hawn says. All three F-35 variants will be used for the Gen 3 helmet-testing for two months. For the Wasp trials, pilots will use the ISIE-10 camera in the Gen 2 helmet and the digital night-vision capability provided by the Distributed Aperture System, a series of six sensors outside the aircraft designed to give the pilot a 360-deg. view of the surrounding airspace.

Finally, a fix for jitter that occurred for symbology displayed on the helmet visor during stressing scenarios, such as high-buffet flight, is being flown on an F-35A at Edwards AFB, Calif. The fix is the use of a software "filter" for the inertial measurement unit embedded in the helmet. Flight-testing is underway this month to validate this fix and determine whether additional work is needed.

This fix will have to be tracked as the flight envelope continues to open for the F-35 and as more taxing tasks, such as gun tracking, are undertaken in flight-testing...."

Sounds similar to F-35 DAS. Anyone know how many external cameras adorn the Typhoon and is this a reference to PIRATE? If so, my understanding is that PIRATE is limited to scanning the forward hemisphere only. Some clarification will be welcome.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19372299

BAE's Striker helmet gives fighter pilots 'X-ray vision'

When a pilot in a Eurofighter Typhoon jet glances down, he doesn't see a steel-grey floor. Instead he sees clouds, and maybe sheep and cows in green fields below.

If he were to spot an enemy down there, or anywhere near the aircraft, he would not need to point the plane towards the target.

He would simply look at it - through the solid hull of the plane -make sure that a tiny symbol displayed on his helmet's visor was aligned with the object, press a button and fire.

The pilot is wearing BAE Systems' Striker HMSS helmet, the UK defence company's latest development. Putting augmented reality technology - as used in video games - to military use is the latest goal for helmet makers around the world.

Cameras all around the aircraft are wirelessly linked to BAE's helmet; the system checks in which direction the pilot is looking, and then displays the exact view on the visor, in real time.

MORE AT THE LINK..

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