Posted on 04/03/2015 7:10:42 AM PDT by rickmichaels
WASHINGTON — The F-35 Lightning II is one of the most complicated weapons systems ever developed, a sleek and stealthy fighter jet years in the making that is often called a flying computer because of its more than 8 million lines of code. The Joint Strike Fighter comes in three versions, including one that is designed to take off and land on an aircraft carrier and another that lands vertically, as if it were a helicopter.
But to truly understand the most expensive weapons program in the history of the Pentagon, forget the plane for a minute. Consider the helmet.
It’s designed to protect the pilot’s head, of course. But compared to everything the helmet does, protection becomes something of an afterthought.
The helmet sees through the plane. Or rather it helps the pilot see through the plane. When the pilots look down, they don’t see the floor of the plane; they see the world below them. If the pilots look back, they see the sky behind them. Embedded in the skin of the aircraft are six cameras, and when the pilots move their heads to look in a particular direction, they are actually seeing through the corresponding camera, which sends an image to projectors inside the helmet that beam an image of the outside world on the helmet’s visor.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalpost.com ...
8 million lines of code. What could go wrong?
Just like the aircraft.. an over priced POS.
I seem to recall that in the very sophisticated F-22, there was a programming glitch that arose from the software not being prepared for the possibility of the planes crossing the international date line...sort of a mini, built in Y2K on board each plane.
http://www.dailytech.com/Lockheeds+F22+Raptor+Gets+Zapped+by+International+Date+Line/article6225.htm
Hadn’t considered praying for programmers or engineers, but pilot’s lives matter.
Sure sounds like a LOT of fun to fly, though.
Bet lots of congressional lobbyists linen their pockets with this one.
Great business jets can be had for $5 million. I’m just thinking if you beefed up some of that technology, throw on some ordinance, maybe you have a “good enough” plane that could whack goat herders just fine for less than $10 million. Then buy some more F22s for the difference. And some more A10s.
An upgraded version of the Apache Longbow fire control helmet.
I’d be worried about G-force snapping the neck of the pilot due to the weight.
Might have something to do with the cost.
Beryllium and Carbon Fiber?
And how was that oxygen deprivation problem that killed several USAF pilots resolved? That story seemed to go away after USAF blamed the pilots for passing out in flight.
And when will Washington DC listen to real fighter pilots and actual Infantry CO’s who have called in TAC Air and know which plane is best. Seems they all want the A10 back.
Can you say “vertigo”?
“Can you say “vertigo”?”
That’s OK, it has a wings-level button. :)
Let’s ask the Germans how overly complicated weapons systems worked in the field.
I got one of those in my car. It cost 15 bucks, its called a rear view mirror.
We can never have enough A-10s !
Nothing comes close to what they do exactly, and nothing that does what they do can do does it as cheaply.
if elected president, I will fire up those assembly lines. That is my promise to you, America.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.