and technology into tactical aircraft. “This is the first major upgrade to the joint helmet system, which was first fielded 15 years ago,” said Greg Hardy, manager for Boeing Tactical Aircraft Advanced Display Systems in St. Louis. “The technology is revolutionizing air combat.” The digital system uses less power and has fewer parts in the helmet and cockpit, making it more reliable, Hardy said. Its mass also is better balanced to reduce pilot fatigue, critical during acceleration and high G-force maneuvering. In addition, the day visor can be swapped out quickly by hand, allowing the aircrew to easily move between day and night operations. “Couple this technology with a sharper image and improved day and night capabilities … and you have an advanced targeting solution that is more reliable and less fatiguing for pilots to wear,” Hardy said. The Digital Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System uses an organic-lightemitting diode display, which improves maintenance and reliability, Hardy added. Sensors it can integrate and control include infrared search and track, radar, and multi-spectral targeting pods. During the March evaluation test flight, Draeger and his weapons systems officer (WSO) closed in on two small targets in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast. Both were extremely hard to find with the naked eye, but not a challenge with the helmet’s ability to guide the operator’s eyes to the targets’ exact locations. “The helmet visor allowed us to lock-on the targets just by looking at them, and it provided us with information about those targets,” Draeger said. “Even through clouds, you get range and direction to target in seconds.” Before the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System, he added, it might have taken minutes to find the target, if at all. The new system not only helps both the pilot and the weapons officer track targets by simply moving their head, but the pilot can “see” where the weapons officer is looking. “If the WSO says he’s looking at the third building on a street, all I have to do is follow the symbol on my visor to see what he’s looking at,” Draeger said. “In the old days before JHMCS, that conversation might have taken over a minute, and I still might not have gotten my eyes on the right target. Today, it takes as long as it takes to turn my head.” The digital system also allows aircrews to quickly share the targeting workload and hand off attack duties to one another. And it has a high-resolution camera that records what the pilot and weapons officer sees, for post-mission debrief. “You can’t give the warfighter too many tools,” said Mike Gibbons, vice president, Boeing F-15 programs. “Our mantra here in the F-15 program is extending the life, extending the capability—to keep the jet not only relevant but dominant over threats for decades to come. n ra ndy.jacks on@boeing.com Photo: A Boeing Test & Evaluation test pilot fitted with a new Digital Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System readies for flight in an Advanced F-15 air superiority fighter. Ron Bookout | Boeing 44 Boeing Frontie rs
Frontiers June 2015 Issue
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