This is the new helmet-mounted display system for the F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter. The helmet is designed to provide pilots with binocular-wide field-of-view, give night vision abilities and scare enemy pilots at first sight. It was used for the first time last April, making the F-35 the first combat plane without a cockpit-mounted heads-up display in a very long time.

Beyond making the pilot look like a spooky insect (comic book nerd moment: the Morpheus helmet from Neil Gaiman's Sandman comes to mind), the F-35 HDMS is loaded with all kinds of amazing goodies, like extreme off-axis targeting and head tracking "providing the pilot with unprecedented situational awareness and tactical capability." The helmet was developed by Vision Systems International, a company that has other quite weird designs that are already operational, like the DASH and the JHMCS. Technical specs and another image of the F-35 HMDS after the jump.

F-35 HMDS Specs

- Binocular Wide Field-of-View
- Integrated day/night capability with sensor fusion
- Highly accurate head tracking hardware and software
- Digital image source for helmet vision displayed symbology
- Custom helmet shell, liner and suspension system for lightest weight, optimal C.G. and maximum pilot - comfort.

Unfortunately, no price yet for those who have in mind buying an F-35. – Jesus Diaz

Product page [Vision Systems International]

Tags: aircraft | helmets | military | screens | sight