A helmet-mounted display (HMD) is a headworn device that uses displays and optics to project imagery and/or symbology to the eyes. It provides visual information to the user where head protection is required – most notably in military aircraft. The display-optics assembly can be attached to a helmet or integrated into the design of the helmet. An HMD provides the pilot with

situation awareness Situational awareness or situation awareness, often abbreviated as SA is the understanding of an environment, its elements, and how it changes with respect to time or other factors. It is also defined as the perception of the elements in the envi ...

, an enhanced image of the scene, and in military applications cue weapons systems, to the direction their head is pointing. Applications which allow cuing of weapon systems are referred to as helmet-mounted sight and display (HMSD) or helmet-mounted sights (HMS).

Requirement

Aviation HMD designs serve these purposes: * using the head angle as a pointer to direct air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons seekers or other sensors (e.g.,

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

, FLIR) to a target by the pilot merely turning the helmet towards the target and operating a switch via

HOTAS HOTAS, an acronym of hands on throttle-and-stick, is the concept of placing buttons and switches on the throttle lever and flight control stick in an aircraft cockpit. By adopting such an arrangement, pilots are capable of performing all vital ...

. In

close combat Close-quarters battle (CQB), also called close-quarters combat (CQC), is a close combat situation between multiple combatants involving ranged (typically firearm-based) or melee combat. It can occur between military units, law enforcement and cr ...

, without HMDs, pilots have to align the aircraft to shoot at a target. HMDs allow pilots to simply point their heads at a target, designate a weapon and shoot. * displaying targeting and aircraft performance information (such as

airspeed In aviation, airspeed is the speed of an aircraft relative to the air it is flying through (which itself is usually moving relative to the ground due to wind). In contrast, the ground speed is the speed of an aircraft with respect to the sur ...

altitude Altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum (geodesy), datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context (e.g., aviation, geometr ...

, target range, weapon seeker status, "g", etc.) to the pilot while "heads-up", eliminating the need to look inside the cockpit. * displaying sensor video for the purpose of: ** verification that the chosen sensor has been cued to the right target or location without requiring the pilot to look inside the cockpit ** viewing outside terrain using sensor video in degraded visual conditions. HMD systems, combined with High Off- Boresight (HOBS) weapons, allow aircrew to attack and destroy nearly any target seen by the pilot. These systems allow targets to be designated with minimal aircraft maneuvering, minimizing the time spent in the threat environment, and allowing greater lethality, survivability, and pilot

situational awareness Situational awareness or situation awareness, often abbreviated as SA is the understanding of an environment, its elements, and how it changes with respect to time or other factors. It is also defined as the perception of the elements in the envi ...

History

In 1962,

Hughes Aircraft Company The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of the Hughes Tool Company. The company produced the Hughes H-4 Hercules air ...

revealed the Electrocular, a compact CRT, head-mounted monocular display that reflected a TV signal onto a transparent eyepiece. One of the first aircraft with simple HMD devices appeared for experimental purpose in the mid-1960s to aid in targeting heat seeking missiles. The

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

's Visual Target Acquisition System (VTAS), made by

Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building automation, industrial automa ...

Corporation that was flown in early 1970s in F-4J and 1974–78 ACEVAL/AIMVAL on U.S.

F-14 The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for t ...

and F-15 fighters. VTAS received praise for its effectiveness in targeting off-boresight missiles, but the U.S. did not pursue fielding it except for integration into late-model Navy F-4 Phantoms equipped with the

AIM-9 Sidewinder The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range air-to-air missile. Entering service with the United States Navy in 1956 and the Air Force in 1964, the AIM-9 is one of the oldest, cheapest, and most successful air-to-air missiles. Its latest variants rema ...

from 1969. HMDs were also introduced in

helicopters A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...

during this time – examples include the

Boeing AH-64 Apache The Hughes/McDonnell Douglas/Boeing AH-64 Apache ( ) is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. Nose-mounted sensors help target acquisition, acquire targets an ...

with the Integrated Helmet and Display Sighting System (IHADSiSy) demonstrated in 1985. At the same time (1975) the Mirage 3CZ and Mirage F1AZ of the South African Air Force (SAAF) used a locally developed helmet-mounted sight integrated with the Armscor V3A heat-seeking missile. This enables the pilot to make off-bore attacks, without having to maneuver to the optimum firing position. After the South African system had been proven in combat, playing a role in downing Soviet aircraft over Angola, it is popularly claimed the Soviets embarked on a crash program to counter the technology. As a result, the

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twinjet, twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the large ...

was fielded in 1985 with an HMD and a high off-boresight weapon ( R-73), giving them an advantage in close maneuvering engagements. Several nations responded with programs to counter the MiG-29/HMD/R-73 (and later Su-27) combination once its effectiveness was known, principally through access to former East German MiG-29s that were operated by the unified German Air Force. One successful HMD was the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

Elbit DASH series, fielded in conjunction with the Python 4, in the early 1990s. The U.S., UK, and Germany pursued a HMD combined with

ASRAAM The Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM), also known by its United States designation AIM-132, is an imaging infrared homing air-to-air missile, produced by MBDA UK, that is designed for close-range combat. It is in service in the ...

systems. Technical difficulties led to the U.S. abandoning ASRAAM, instead funding development of the AIM-9X and the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System in 1990. American and European fighter HMDs became widely used in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The first civilian use of HMD on aircraft was the Elbit SkyLens HMD on ATR 72/42 airplane.

Technology

While conceptually simple, implementation of aircraft HMDs is quite complex. There are many variables: * precision – the angular error between the line-of-sight and the derived cue. The position of the ''helmet'' is what is used to point the missile; it thus must be calibrated and fit securely on the pilot's head. The line between the pilot's eye and the

reticle A reticle or reticule, also known as a graticule or crosshair, is a pattern of fine lines or markings built into the eyepiece of an optical device such as a telescopic sight, spotting scope, theodolite, optical microscope or the electronic v ...

on the visor is known as the

line of sight The line of sight, also known as visual axis or sightline (also sight line), is an imaginary line between a viewer/ observer/ spectator's eye(s) and a subject of interest, or their relative direction. The subject may be any definable object taken ...

(LOS) between the aircraft and the intended target. The user's eye must stay aligned with the sight; in other words, current HMDs cannot sense where the eye is looking, but can place a predicted impact point marker between the eye and the target. * latency or slew rate – how much lag there is between the helmet and the cue. * field of regard – the angular range over which the sight can still produce a suitably accurate measurement. * weight and balance – total helmet weight and its

center of gravity In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the barycenter or balance point) is the unique point at any given time where the weighted relative position of the distributed mass sums to zero. For ...

, which are particularly important under high "''g''" maneuvers. Weight is the largest problem faced by fighter aircraft HMD designers. This is much less a concern for helicopter applications, making elaborate helicopter HMDs common. * safety and flightdeck compatibility, including

ejection seat In aircraft, an ejection seat or ejector seat is a system designed to rescue the aircraft pilot, pilot or other aircrew, crew of an aircraft (usually military) in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an exp ...

compatibility. * optical characteristics – calibration, sharpness, distant focus (or

collimation A collimated beam of light or other electromagnetic radiation has parallel rays, and therefore will spread minimally as it propagates. A laser beam is an archetypical example. A perfectly collimated light beam, with no divergence, would not disp ...

, a technique used to present the images at a distant focus, which improves the readability of images),

monocular A monocular is a compact refracting telescope used to magnify images of distant objects, typically using an optical prism to ensure an erect image, instead of using relay lenses like most telescopic sights. The volume and weight of a monocula ...

vs. binocular imagery, eye dominance, and binocular rivalry. * durability and ability to handle day-to-day wear and tear. * cost, including integration and training. * fit and interfacing the aviator's head to the aircraft – head

anthropometry Anthropometry (, ) refers to the measurement of the human individual. An early tool of biological anthropology, physical anthropology, it has been used for identification, for the purposes of understanding human physical variation, in paleoanthr ...

and facial

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

make helmet-fitting a crucial factor in the aviator's ability to interface with the aircraft systems. Misalignment or helmet shift can cause an inaccurate picture.

Head tracking

HMD designs must sense the orientation (elevation, azimuth and roll) and in some cases the position (x, y, and z) of the pilot's head relative to the airframe with sufficient precision even under high "''g''", vibration, and during rapid head movement. Five basic methods are used in current HMD technology – inertial, optical, electromagnetic, sonic, and hybrid. Hybrid trackers use a combination of sensors such as inertial and optical to improve tracking accuracy, update rate, and latency.

Hybrid inertial optical

Hybrid inertial tracking systems employ a sensitive

Inertial Measurement Unit An inertial measurement unit (IMU) is an electronic device that measures and reports a body's specific force, angular rate, and sometimes the Orientation (geometry), orientation of the body, using a combination of accelerometers, gyroscopes, an ...

(IMU) and an optical sensor to provide reference to the aircraft. MEMS based IMUs benefit from high update rates such as 1,000 Hz but suffer from precession and drift over time, so they cannot be used alone. In this class of tracker, the optical sensor is used to constrain IMU drift. As a result, hybrid inertial/optical trackers feature low latency and high accuracy. The

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...

Scorpion® HMCS and HMIT HMDs utilize a tracker made by InterSense called the Hybrid Optical-based Inertial Tracker (HObIT).

Optical

Optical Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultravio ...

systems employ

infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

emitters on the helmet (or flightdeck) infrared detectors in the flightdeck (or helmet), to measure the pilot's head position. The main limitations are restricted fields of regard and sensitivity to sunlight or other heat sources. The MiG-29/AA-11 Archer system uses this technology. The Cobra HMD as used on both the Eurofighter Typhoon and the JAS39 Gripen both employ the optical helmet tracker developed by Denel Optronics (now part of Zeiss Optronics).

Electromagnetic

Electromagnetic In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge via electromagnetic fields. The electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces of nature. It is the dominant force in the interacti ...

sensing designs use coils (in the helmet) placed in an alternating field (generated in the flightdeck) to produce alternating electrical

voltage Voltage, also known as (electrical) potential difference, electric pressure, or electric tension, is the difference in electric potential between two points. In a Electrostatics, static electric field, it corresponds to the Work (electrical), ...

s based on the movement of the helmet in multiple axes. This technique requires precise magnetic mapping of the flightdeck to account for

ferrous In chemistry, iron(II) refers to the chemical element, element iron in its +2 oxidation number, oxidation state. The adjective ''ferrous'' or the prefix ''ferro-'' is often used to specify such compounds, as in ''ferrous chloride'' for iron(II ...

and

conductive In physics and electrical engineering, a conductor is an object or type of material that allows the flow of Electric charge, charge (electric current) in one or more directions. Materials made of metal are common electrical conductors. The flow ...

materials in the seat, flightdeck sills and canopy to reduce angular errors in the measurement.

Sonic

Acoustic sensing designs use ultrasonic sensors to monitor the pilot's head position while being updated by computer software in multiple axes. Typical operating frequencies are in the 50 to 100 kHz range and can be made to carry audio sound information directly to the pilot's ears via subcarrier modulation of the ultrasonic sensing signals.

Optics

Older HMDs typically employ a compact

CRT CRT or Crt most commonly refers to: * Cathode-ray tube, a display * Critical race theory, an academic framework of analysis CRT may also refer to: Law * Charitable remainder trust, United States * Civil Resolution Tribunal, Canada * Columbia ...

embedded in the helmet, and suitable

optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...

to display

symbology A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise different concepts ...

on to the pilot's visor or reticle, focused at

infinity Infinity is something which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is denoted by \infty, called the infinity symbol. From the time of the Ancient Greek mathematics, ancient Greeks, the Infinity (philosophy), philosophic ...

. Modern HMDs have dispensed with the CRT in favor of micro-displays such as liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) or liquid crystal display (LCD) along with an LED illuminator to generate the displayed image. Advanced HMDs can also project FLIR or

night vision Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night v ...

imagery. A recent improvement is the capability to display color symbols and video.

Major systems

Systems are presented in rough chronological order of initial operating capability.

Integrated Helmet And Display Sight System (IHADSS)

In 1985, the U.S. Army fielded the AH-64 Apache and with it the Integrated Helmet and Display Sighting System (IHADSS), a new helmet concept in which the role of the helmet was expanded to provide a visually coupled interface between the aviator and the aircraft. The

M142 IHADSS is fitted with a 40°-by-30° field of view, video-with-symbology monocular display. IR emitters allow a slewable

thermographic camera Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video or thermal imaging, is a process where a Thermographic camera, thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are exa ...

sensor, mounted on the nose of the aircraft, to be slaved to the aviator's head movements. The display also enables Nap-of-the-earth night navigation. IHADSS is also used on the Italian Agusta A129 Mangusta. :

ZSh-5 / Shchel-3UM

The Russian designed Shchel-3UM HMD design from 1981, has been fitted to the ZSh-5 series helmet (and later ZSh-7 helmets), and has been used on the

and Su-27 in conjunction with the R-73 missile (

NATO reporting name NATO uses a system of code names, called reporting names, to denote military aircraft and other equipment used by post-Soviet states, former Warsaw Pact countries, China, and other countries. The system assists military communications by providi ...

: AA-11 Archer). The HMD/Archer combination gave the MiG-29 and Su-27 a significantly improved close combat capability.

Display and sight helmet (DASH)

The

Elbit Systems Elbit Systems Ltd. is an Israel-based international military technology company and defense contractor. Founded in 1966 by Elron, Elbit Systems is the primary provider of the Israeli military's land-based equipment and unmanned aerial v ...

DASH III was the first modern Western HMD to achieve operational service. Development of the DASH began during the mid-1980s, when the IAF issued a requirement for F-15 and F-16 aircraft. The first design entered production around 1986, and the current GEN III helmet entered production during the early to mid-1990s. The current production variant is deployed on IDF F-15, and

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...

aircraft. Additionally, it has been certified on the F/A-18 and F-5. The DASH III has been exported and integrated into various legacy aircraft, including the

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...

. It also forms the baseline technology for the US JHMCS. The DASH GEN III is a wholly embedded design, where the complete optical and position sensing coil package is built within the helmet (either USAF standard HGU-55/P or the Israeli standard HGU-22/P) using a spherical visor to provide a collimated image to the pilot. A quick-disconnect wire powers the display and carries video drive signals to the helmet's

cathode-ray tube A cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, which emit electron beams that are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen. The images may represent electrical waveforms on an oscilloscope, a ...

(CRT). DASH is closely integrated with the aircraft's weapon system, via a MIL-STD-1553B bus. Latest model DASH IV is currently integrated on India's

HAL Tejas The HAL Tejas () is an Indian single-engine, delta wing, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole Military aircraft, combat aircraft designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for t ...

Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS)

After the U.S. withdrawal from

, the U.S. pursued and fielded JHMCS in conjunction with the

Raytheon Raytheon is a business unit of RTX Corporation and is a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. Founded in 1922, it merged in 2020 with Unite ...

AIM-9X, in November 2003 with the 12th and 19th Fighter Squadrons at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. The Navy conducted RDT&E on the F/A-18C as lead platform for JHMCS, but fielded it first on the F/A-18 Super Hornet E and F aircraft in 2003. The USAF is also integrating JHMCS into its F-15E, F-15C, and F-16C aircraft. JHMCS is a derivative of the DASH III and the Kaiser Agile Eye HMDs, and was developed by Vision Systems International (VSI), a joint venture company formed by

Rockwell Collins Rockwell Collins, Inc. was a multinational corporation headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, providing avionics and information technology systems and services to government agencies and aircraft manufacturers. It was formed when the Collins Radi ...

and

Elbit Elbit Systems Ltd. is an Israel-based international military technology company and defense contractor. Founded in 1966 by Elron Electronic Industries, Elron, Elbit Systems is the primary provider of the Israeli military's land-based equipme ...

(Kaiser Electronics is now owned by Rockwell Collins).

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

integrated the system into the F/A-18 and began low-rate initial production delivery in fiscal year 2002. JHMCS is employed in the F/A-18A++/C/D/E/F, F-15C/D/E/S/K/SG/SA/QA/EX, and

Block 40/50/50+/60/70 with a design that is 95% common to all platforms. Unlike the DASH, which is integrated into the helmet itself, JHMCS assemblies attach to modified HGU-55/P, HGU-56/P or HGU-68/P helmets. JHMCS employs a newer, faster digital processing package, but retains the same type of electromagnetic position sensing as the DASH. The CRT package is more capable, but remains limited to monochrome presentation of cursive symbology. JHMCS provides support for raster scanned imagery to display FLIR/ IRST pictures for night operations and provides collimated symbology and imagery to the pilot. The integration of the night-vision goggles with the JHMCS was a key requirement of the program. When combined with the AIM-9X, an advanced short-range dogfight weapon that employs a Focal Plane Array seeker and a thrust vectoring tail control package, JHMCS allows effective target designation up to 80 degrees either side of the aircraft's nose. In March 2009, a successful 'Lock on After Launch' firing of an ASRAAM at a target located behind the wing-line of the ‘shooter' aircraft, was demonstrated by a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18 using JHMCS. The U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard would later replace the JHMCS with the more modern Scorpion Helmet Mounted Integrated Targeting (HMIT) on its F-16C fleet.

TARGO II

designed system is used by Qatar and India on Rafale F3R

Helmet Mounted Integrated Targeting (HMIT)/Scorpion

Gentex/

introduced the Scorpion® Head/Helmet-Mounted Display System to the military aviation market in 2008. In 2010, Scorpion was the winner of the USAF/ANG/AFRes Helmet Mounted Integrated Targeting (HMIT) program. The Gentex helmet mounted display and motion tracking division was subsequently acquired by

in 2012. The HMIT system was qualified and deployed on both A-10 and F-16 platforms in 2012. Starting in 2018, the installed base of HMIT systems went through a helmet tracker upgrade. The original AC magnetic tracking sensor was replaced by an inertial-optical hybrid tracker called Hybrid Optical based Inertial Tracker (HObIT). The HObIT was developed by InterSense and tested by Thales in 2014. Scorpion has the distinction of being the first HMD introduced and deployed that can display full-color conformal symbology. It is used along with the aircraft mission system to cue the aircraft targeting pods, gimbaled sensors, and high off-boresight missiles. Scorpion provides an "eyes out" capability: even when objects may be obscured from view, Scorpion can provide visual graphic cues to the near-field display. Unlike most HMDs which require custom helmets, Scorpion was designed to be installed on a standard issue HGU-55/P and HGU-68/P helmets and is fully compatible with standard issue U.S. Pilot Flight Equipment without special fitting. It is also fully compatible with standard unmodified AN/AVS-9

Night Vision Goggles A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD) or night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The ...

(NVG) and Panoramic Night Vision Goggles (PNVG). Pilots, using Scorpion, can view both the night vision image and the symbols on the display. Scorpion uses a novel optical system featuring a light-guide optical element (LOE) which provides a compact color collimated image to the pilot. The display can be positioned by each pilot, thereby eliminating the need for precise helmet position on the user's head or special helmet fitting. Software correction accommodates the display position, providing an accurate image to the pilot and allowing the Scorpion HMCS to be installed onto a pilot's existing helmet. A visor can be deployed in front of the display providing protection during ejection. The visor can be clear, glare, high contrast, gradient, or laser protective. For night operations, an NVG mount can be installed in place of the visor during flight. Once installed, NVGs can be placed in front of the display, thus allowing the pilot to view both the display symbols as well as the NVG image simultaneously. Scorpion is also used by Tactical Air Support Inc. on F-5AT, by French Air Force for Rafale F4, by the Spanish Air Force on EF-18s, the AC-130W Stinger II Gunship, the

F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American twin-engine, jet-powered, all-weather, supersonic stealth fighter aircraft. As a product of the United States Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was de ...

, and Belgian Air Force F-16AM/BM and U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard F-16C (replacing the JHMCS).

Aselsan AVCI

Aselsan of Turkey is working to develop a similar system to the French TopOwl Helmet, called the AVCI Helmet Integrated Cueing System. The system will also be utilized into the T-129 Turkish Attack Helicopter.

TopOwl-F(Topsight/TopNight)

The French thrust vectoring

Matra Matra (an acronym for Mécanique Aviation Traction) was a major French industrial Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. Its business activities covered a wide range of industries, notably aerospace manufacturer, aerospace, defence industry, def ...

MICA (missile) for its

Dassault Rafale The Dassault Rafale (, literally meaning "gust of wind", or "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French Twinjet, twin-engine, Canard (aeronautics), canard delta wing, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft designed and ...

and late-model Mirage 2000 fighters was accompanied by the Topsight HMD by Sextant Avionique. TopSight provides a 20 degree FoV for the pilot's right eye, and cursive symbology generated from target and aircraft parameters. Electromagnetic position sensing is employed. The Topsight helmet uses an integral embedded design, and its contoured shape is designed to provide the pilot with a wholly unobstructed field of view. TopNight, a Topsight derivative, is designed specifically for adverse weather and night air to ground operations, employing more complex optics to project infrared imagery overlaid with symbology. The most recent version the Topsight has been designated TopOwl-F, and is qualified on the Mirage-2000-5 Mk2 and Mig-29K.

Eurofighter Helmet-Mounted Symbology System

The

Eurofighter Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, supersonic, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Syste ...

utilizes the Helmet-Mounted Symbology System (HMSS) developed by

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

and Pilkington Optronics. Named the Striker and later version Striker II, it is capable of displaying both raster imagery and cursive symbology, with provisions for embedded NVGs. As with the DASH helmet, the system employs integrated position sensing to ensure that symbols representing outside-world entities move in line with the pilot's head movements.

Helmet-Mounted Display System

Vision Systems International (VSI; the

joint venture) along with Helmet Integrated Systems, Ltd. developed the Helmet-Mounted Display System (HMDS) for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. In addition to standard HMD capabilities offered by other systems, HMDS fully utilizes the advanced avionics architecture of the F-35 and provides the pilot video with imagery in day or night conditions. Consequently, the F-35 is the first tactical fighter jet in 50 years to fly without a HUD. A BAE Systems helmet was considered when HMDS development was experiencing significant problems, but these issues were eventually worked out. The Helmet-Mounted Display System was fully operational and ready for delivery in July 2014.

Jedeye

Jedeye is a new system recently introduced by Elbit Systems especially to meet Apache and other rotary wing platform requirements. The system is designed for day, night and brownout flight environments. Jedeye has a 70 x 40 degree FOV and 2250x1200 pixels resolution.

Cobra

Sweden's JAS 39C/D Gripen fighter utilizes the Cobra HMD. The helmet is a further development and refinement of the Striker helmet developed for the Eurofighter by BAE Systems. The refinement is done by BAE in partnership with Denel Cumulus.

Future technology

* Rockwell Collins ESA Vision Systems (RCEVS) is developing a standard view Night Vision Cueing & Display (NVCD) for the U.S. Navy. *

eye tracking Eye tracking is the process of measuring either the point of gaze (where one is looking) or the motion of an eye relative to the head. An eye tracker is a device for measuring eye positions and eye movement. Eye trackers are used in research ...

– eye trackers measure the point of gaze relative to the direction of the head, allowing the system to compute where the user is looking. These systems are not currently used in aircraft. * direct retinal projection – systems that project information directly onto the wearer's

retina The retina (; or retinas) is the innermost, photosensitivity, light-sensitive layer of tissue (biology), tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some Mollusca, molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focus (optics), focused two-dimensional ...

with a low-powered

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

( virtual retinal display) are also in experimentation.

References

Bibliography

External links

USAARL Helmet Mounted Displays- Sensation, Perception and Cognitive Issues

Thales Visionix

Vision Systems International

User survey of HMD requirements

{{Mixed reality Display technology Head-mounted displays Military electronics Avionics Equipment of the United States Air Force Wearable computers