Helmet-mounted displays

[castlebravo]

PIRATE is forward only. No reason they couldn't add six small cameras to feed the helmet imagery, but that is only one small part of what DAS does. No way does this system provide automatic real-time 360° detection,identification, and targeting for all objects, in the air or on the ground, surrounding the jet.

[neurotech]

PIRATE is forward only. No reason they couldn't add six small cameras to feed the helmet imagery, but that is only one small part of what DAS does. No way does this system provide automatic real-time 360° detection,identification, and targeting for all objects, in the air or on the ground, surrounding the jet.

Exactly. The EODAS is more than just 6 cameras connected to the helmet. It's the processing and detection/identification system, that makes the F-35 a unique aircraft for the foreseeable future. EADS would love to have a competitive system with that capability, but that is not going to happen anytime soon.

I'm not sure the camera count of the PIRATE system.

[spazsinbad]

I guess I should put the highlighted NVC pic here for HMDS II. Youse all know what NVC is? Night Vision Camera. ZOOM crop from: http://www.codeonemagazine.com/images/m ... 7_7842.jpg

[popcorn]

PIRATE is forward only. No reason they couldn't add six small cameras to feed the helmet imagery, but that is only one small part of what DAS does. No way does this system provide automatic real-time 360° detection,identification, and targeting for all objects, in the air or on the ground, surrounding the jet.

Exactly. The EODAS is more than just 6 cameras connected to the helmet. It's the processing and detection/identification system, that makes the F-35 a unique aircraft for the foreseeable future. EADS would love to have a competitive system with that capability, but that is not going to happen anytime soon.

I'm not sure the camera count of the PIRATE system.

IIRC the PIRATE sensor is located on the port side f the nose.
I came across the following article which seems to imply no cameras, either IR or optical, covering the rear hemisphere.,Conceivably, the RF-based MAWs alerts the pilot of an aircraft to the rear but he still has to try and identify it visually whereas F-35 DAS does this automatically.

http://gizmodo.com/this-helmet-gives-eu ... -924817689

[sprstdlyscottsmn]

there is no beating spherical autonomous detection and tracking at BVR ranges, air/surface/or space.

[popcorn]

there is no beating spherical autonomous detection and tracking at BVR ranges, air/surface/or space.

FWIW, it should be noted that Typhoon also claims 360-deg spherical SA. though they achieve it via a different sensors mix (RWR, Laser Warners, MAWS, Captor, Pirate, ESM pod, offboard data link) feeding into their fusion engine. Different strokes for different folks..

[hornetfinn]

there is no beating spherical autonomous detection and tracking at BVR ranges, air/surface/or space.

FWIW, it should be noted that Typhoon also claims 360-deg spherical SA. though they achieve it via a different sensors mix (RWR, Laser Warners, MAWS, Captor, Pirate, ESM pod, offboard data link) feeding into their fusion engine. Different strokes for different folks..

Well, F-35 has pretty much all those capabilities (although mostly with much improved capabilities) with some totally new capabilities with DAS and MADL that do not exist in any other fighter and probably won't for some time. Some sort of 360-deg spherical SA is not that difficult to achieve, but there are definitely great differences in how accurate and real-time the SA really is and how far it extends from the aircraft and what kinds of things it can detect and track.

I think that Typhoon pilots have a very good SA compared to pilots in almost all other fighter aircraft. It has limitations though as the sensor systems that are not pointing forward can't produce very accurate or real-time data and require enemy either emitting (RWR, ESM) or that some other sensor is tracking the enemy. This is definitely not guaranteed and either way takes quite a lot of time before the information reaches the Typhoon pilot and tracking data through regular data links is rather slowly updated. F-35 has the ability to create much higher quality data with systems (DAS all-around, EOTS too) that do not require that enemy is emitting RF signals. With MADL a group of F-35s can exchange data between each other with less delays than with Link 16 type systems.

Other thing is that the computing and networking systems of F-35 can handle a lot more data than in any other fighter aircraft excluding F-22. This gives much more options for data fusion and how to present the data to the pilot. Of course there are limitations as DAS is not a very long ranged system and like all IR-based systems doesn't work well if there are enough visibility affecting elements in the air (clouds, rain, snow).

[spazsinbad]

Another zoomed look at HMDS II NVC / DVC? situation.... (WHITE Helmet)

http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/ ... 59-003.jpg

“PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (Feb. 21, 2012) Royal Air Force test pilot Squadron Leader Jim Schofield sits in the cockpit of an F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter test aircraft after his first flight in the carrier variant. Schofield is the first pilot from the United Kingdom to fly the F-35C. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin by Andy Wolfe/Released)”

http://www.navy.mil/view_image.asp?id=116057

[popcorn]

...This is definitely not guaranteed and either way takes quite a lot of time before the information reaches the Typhoon pilot and tracking data through regular data links is rather slowly updated. F-35 has the ability to create much higher quality data

I think that's the crux of the matter, which system shortens the OODA loop for it's pilot.

[popcorn]

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... ay-389953/

F-35 team makes headway with helmet-mounted display

Lockheed Martin, Vision Systems International and the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) are making progress with solving night vision acuity problems on the F-35's helmet-mounted display, says a senior test pilot assigned to the programme.

Test pilots recently tested a modified second-generation helmet fitted with a new 1600x1200 resolution ISIE-11 night vision camera coupled with a new display management computer/helmet, says Lt Col Matt Kelly, an F-35 test pilot assigned to the JPO.

Kelly says the ISIE-11 immensely improves the helmet's night vision capabilities.

"The ISIE-11 has great potential for tactical operations," Kelly says of the new system. However, there is still a lot of work to do before the helmet is ready for fleet release - the system will have to be demonstrated in the air before test pilots give it a green light.

Meanwhile, the F-35 JPO is still funding parallel development work on a BAE Systems-developed helmet into the third quarter of 2014.

F-35B test pilots on the USS Wasp are using the existing helmet with the current ISIE-10 camera, which has been judged to have deficient night-vision performance.

The ISIE-10 has inferior night vision capability compared with the ANVIS-9 night vision goggles (NVGs) used in the Boeing AV-8B and F/A-18. However, pilots say it is easier to land the F-35B unaided by the night vision camera on a ship than a AV-8B with NVGs.

[spazsinbad]

Other report bits here: http://www.f-16.net/index.php?name=PNph ... 762#259762

F-35 costs drop as technical challenges lessen, officials say 18 Sep 2013

"...One long-term concern has been the capability of the F-35 pilot’s helmet, required for interfacing with the fighter’s high-tech electronics. Lockheed’s helmet is suitable for initial operating capability (IOC), Martin said, but the company is installing an enhanced night-vision camera that would be put in place by the time LRIP-7 models enter production...."

http://www.militarytimes.com/article/20 ... /309180026

[popcorn]

Other report bits here: http://www.f-16.net/index.php?name=PNph ... 762#259762

F-35 costs drop as technical challenges lessen, officials say 18 Sep 2013

"...One long-term concern has been the capability of the F-35 pilot’s helmet, required for interfacing with the fighter’s high-tech electronics. Lockheed’s helmet is suitable for initial operating capability (IOC), Martin said, but the company is installing an enhanced night-vision camera that would be put in place by the time LRIP-7 models enter production...."

http://www.militarytimes.com/article/20 ... /309180026

Ahh, but if one were to listen to the recently disclosed mumblings and gnashing of teeth emanating from Charlie's shadowy world, pilots have to shut off the data and video feeds because they impair the pilot's ability to fly the aircraft.

[popcorn]

Deleted

[spazsinbad]

VIDEO: AFA: A Close Look at the F-35 Helmet

"Six infrared displays, a 360-degree spherical view, composite materials, night as clear as day - meet the F-35 helmet system."

http://www.military.com/video/forces/ai ... 037917001/

[spazsinbad]

F-35: New fighter creates new culture for 21st Century and beyond 26 Sep 2013 (by Rich Lamance) Courtesy of Air Force News Service [dated 24 Sep 2013]

"..."Most pilots come from the F-16, F-15 and A-10 legacy aircraft. Sensors on the front of the F-35 allow us to have that 360-degree awareness. That was the big leap forward. Computer technology that is 30 years or more advanced than the legacy aircraft is what makes the F-35 so advanced."

Lt. Col. Anthony Pelkington is the 33rd FW chief of safety and was one of the first of the legacy pilots selected for the F-35 program. He said that for pilots transitioning from those legacy systems, the F-35 is a huge deal.

"For 10 years in the F-16, I dealt with essentially monochrome cathode ray displays - approximately 6 inch square - and I've got two of them. Now I move up to a contiguous 8 x 20- inch color display that is a huge step forward for the pilot's situational awareness. Plus, there's a lot more capability in the display itself.

"In the F-16, I had a radar display with a selectable, like turning pages in a book, something that would show my ordnances like I had a stick figure map with monochrome lines on a black background. It would try to give us a semblance of where we were to maybe a weapons system. But I had to choose. Every one of those displays was limited to the confines of that small 6-inch to 8-inch screen.

"In the F-35, we now have this massive amount of screen real estate. I can now see multiple sensors at once, which is great because I don't have to pick and choose. I don't have to take away my situational awareness with what the radar is telling me in terms of traffic to bring up situational awareness and what the target pod looks like. It's all there available for me."

Pelkington added that one of the best aspects of the fifth generation fighter is its ability to communicate with all aspects of the aircraft, as well as customize information to fit each pilot's needs. "The displays talk to each other, the sensors talk to each other, and a lot of information is displayed in sensible formats with other sensors in one combined picture. Now I can bring up large formats on displays so I can see things easier - I can even bring up many formats if I want with a different orientation on how the displays will look. Whatever I want to do to aid my situational awareness I can do and the reality, as a pilot, is that I can customize that setup quite easily to a format that best suits how a pilot understands."...

..."One of the biggest differences the F-35 helmet has over the others is that the new helmet encompasses multiple gadgets such as night vision goggles, and for that function you would have to modify the pilot's flying helmet and add the components on there," said Baskin. "With the F-35, it's all encompassed in the helmet. The cameras on the jet work in sync with the helmet and whatever the jet picks up visually will be displayed on the visor in the helmet."

From a pilot's point of view, Renbarger agrees that the nicest part of the new helmet is that everything is self-contained. "The best thing about the F-35 helmet is that it has a big visor with a big display, and we can display a night vision camera visual on the visor and then a distributor aperture system that is basically a set of cameras that are all over the airplane and work in the infrared spectrum. That can be displayed on our visor as well.

"When we get our helmet fit, there is actually a complicated scan process that takes an image of our heads and provides a laser cut-out foam insert for the helmet that is molded to our heads. Then there's ear cups that close the helmet around our head and a custom nape strap in the back that basically locks the helmet down on our heads. There's very little, if any, motion in the helmet when we move our head around. Very well balanced, a very well fit and it feels great wearing the helmet. It's very specific to each individual pilot."...

...He said that for pilots, training in the F-35 simulator is by far, the best there is. "I've flown in F-16 simulators and F-22 simulators and the F-35 simulator is truly state-of-the-art. They've got the best visuals, full dome coverage, 360-degree views, target set build-up, they have runways and very much replicates flying the airplane. I haven't heard one pilot say it wasn't the best simulator they've ever been in short of flying the airplane."

Renbarger added that because the F-35 is a single-seat plane, the first time a pilot flies the F-35, he's by himself, making the simulator even more critical. "The operational flight software that runs the airplane - that same software is in the simulator," said Renbarger. "In other aircraft I have flown, there have been differences between the simulator and the airplane. This is as close as I've ever seen between the simulator and airplane. Exact same cockpit. The cockpit sits on a rail and you sit in the cockpit and it drives forward and raises up inside the dome and the screens you see are the exact same screens you see on the jet."..."

http://www.f-16.net/news_article4789.html
OR
http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/t ... eyond.aspx