The F-35 Gen III Helmet Mounted Display System is a vital element of the F-35 Lightning II’s unprecedented warfighter capability
The F-35 is full of cutting-edge technology.
As the video in this post explains one piece of that technology is the Generation III Helmet, which lets pilots see through the aircraft.
Actually the Rockwell Collins F-35 Generation III Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS), known as F-35 Gen III helmet, is a vital element of the F-35 Lightning II’s unprecedented warfighter capability.
The helmet’s ground-breaking technology equips the pilot with mission-critical information on the helmet’s visor; resolves well-documented fit, comfort, and convenience problems associated with helmets worn by pilots of legacy aircraft; and fuses together the Joint Strike Fighter’s cutting edge communications and sensor suite to form a clear picture of the operating environment — giving F-35 pilots unrivaled situational awareness and a decisive advantage over adversaries.
Built with its own Display Management Computer Hardware operating system the helmet enables pilots to toggle through different modes of data visualization. It also delivers a more efficient video feed than the F-35’s Gen II helmets — equipping pilots with symbology correlated inside the cockpit as well as outside the aircraft with the use of the Distributed Aperture System (DAS). Using multiple DAS cameras installed peripherally around the aircraft, the F-35 driver can display various modes of imagery such as thermal, night vision, and actual and achieve an unprecedented look-through-aircraft capability. All modes are beneficial to pilots as they deliver a clear 360-degree picture during daylight and lowlight settings. Thermal images portrayed through DAS enable pilots to view heat signatures emitted by various objects. For instance, a pilot can identify a ship running a hot engine against the vast darkness of the cold ocean. Night vision can also assist in magnifying low visibility objects against areas of very little to no light.
Photo credit: U.S. Marine Corps
Artwork courtesy of AircraftProfilePrints.com
