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Pilots flying the next generation of jet fighters will use futuristic, Star Wars-style helmets, the Ministry of Defence has revealed. The headgear being developed for the new, American-built F35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) will display navigation and targeting information on the inside of the pilot’s visor. Precision head tracking software will allow pilots to "see through" the cockpit floor, with infra-red images of the ground below, during day or night time, being beamed in front of their eyes. The advanced helmet mounted display is reminiscent of systems used by Luke Skywalker and pilots of enemy imperial TIE fighters in the first Star Wars film Episode IV: A New Hope, released in 1977. Ministry of Defence scientists have been putting prototypes through tests at RAF Boscombe Down in Wiltshire. A spokesman for the MoD said: "Unlike other jet aircraft, the JSF, which is planned to replace the Harrier, does not have a traditional head-up display. "Instead the computerised symbology will be displayed directly on to the pilot’s visors, providing the pilot with cues for flying, navigating and fighting the aircraft. "It even will superimpose infra-red imagery on to the visor to allow the pilot to look through the cockpit floor at night and see the world below. "This is absolutely the cutting edge of technology. No other helmet will be able to do this." This summer the Government announced plans to build two new 65,000-ton aircraft carriers, the Queen Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales, at a cost of around £4 billion. The ships will each carry 40 of the F35 fighters or 25 Chinook helicopters. The helmet mounted display system is being developed by California-based Vision Systems International and British company Helmet Integrated Systems Limited. |
