5 Amazing Facts About The F-35 Helmet Worn By Pilots Of The Lightning II (2024)

There is no doubt that the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a technological marvel, with the fighter jet being equipped with various technologies to enhance its superiority in the air. The fifth-generation fighter, which joined the Lockheed Martin F-22 as the most advanced fighter in the air, beat out the Boeing X-32 and entered service in July 2015.

The aircraft is also equipped with a state-of-the-art helmet, which helps its pilots navigate and monitor their surroundings while flying various missions since the aircraft has been delivered to various service branches in the US. As such, here are some cool features of the F-35’s helmet.

1 Helmet Mounted Display

Supplied by two companies

RCEVS joint venture partners:

• Elbit Systems
• Rockwell Collins

According to Elbit Systems, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II’s Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) is built and supplied to F-35 operators by RCEVS, a joint venture between Elbit Systems and Rockwell Collins. The display provides critical flight information to the pilot throughout their entire mission in the air.

Photo: Lockheed Martin

The HMD also enables extreme off-axis targeting and cueing, which was present in the predecessor systems, such as the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) or Display and Sight Helmet System (DASH). Lastly, the HMD delivers imagery, whether day or night, and combined with precision symbology, gives the pilot unprecedented situational awareness while flying the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. The HMD also has a virtual heads-up display (HUD), making the F-35 the first fighter to fly without a HUD.

2 Customization and Comfort

Customized fit completed in: two days

Additional inspections:

• Every 105 days
• 120-day fit check

In August 2021, the 419th Fighter Wing, based at the Hill Air Force Base (HIF) in Utah, United States, described how the helmets are fitted to each pilot. According to the fighter wing, each pilot goes through a two-day process to custom fit the helmet, with measurements of their head being taken before the helmet is assembled.

Photo: Senior Airman Erica Webster | USAF

After they are assembled, the distance between the pilot’s pupils is measured with a pupilometer, ensuring that pilots see a single image on the HMD, which displays mission-critical information and a 360-degree view of the environment around the aircraft.

According to William Vass, the technical Sergeant of the 419th Operations Support Squadron, a pilot can look down on a portion of their wing and what is below them. Vass added that wherever the pilots look, the cameras embedded in the aircraft's fuselage project an image onto the HMD.

3 360-Degree Visibility

Enabled by six external cameras

Distributed Aperture System (DAS) Provides:

• Missile detection and tracking
• Launch point detection
• Weapons support
• Day/night navigation

According to the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office (JPO), the pilots receive a 360-degree field of view using the Distributed Aperture System (DAS). The office also pointed out that it is the only 360-degree spherical situational awareness system.

Photo: Senior Airman Erica Webster | USAF

Examples include warning pilots of incoming aircraft and missiles, providing pilots with day/night vision, fire control capability, and precision tracking of wingmen or friendly aircraft for increased tactical maneuvering. Officially, the system is known as the AN/AAQ-37. Comprised of six sensors, the DAS is part of the Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System (EODAS), which enables pilots to see all around them while flying the F-35.

According to Raytheon, the HMD brings in data from the EODAS, which acts in real-time, sending high-resolution imagery to the helmet from the six cameras mounted around the aircraft.

4 Night Vision Capabilities

Enabled by the HMDS

Night vision features:

• Capability built into the helmet and the HMDS
• Digital night vision sensor
• Projected onto the visor

RCEVS stated that the F-35 Gen III HMDS provides pilots with a fully integrated day and night solution through advanced features. For night missions specifically, the HMDS projects an outside view directly onto the visor, which eliminates the need for separate night-vision goggles, simplifying the processes onboard the fighter.

Photo: Senior Airman Erica Webster | USAF

When Lockheed Martin selected BAE Systems to supply the Night Vision Goggle Helmet Mounted Display (NVG HMD) system for the F-35, the latter company said that the NVGs were detachable. Furthermore, the system would also integrate an optical Head Tracking System for precision weapons delivery, carrier, and land-based operations while flying the F-35.

5 Integrated Systems

The F-35 helmet has six key features

Main features:

• Binocular display
• Situational awareness
• Integrated digital night vision
• Lightweight custom fit
• Weapons targeting system
• Fit with the DAS

Speaking about the helmet itself, Raytheon outlined its six key features and benefits, including a binocular display, enhanced situational awareness, integrated digital night vision, lightweight custom fit with an optimized center of gravity to maximize comfort, weapons targeting by looking at and designating targets, and integration with DAS.

“In the fast paced fighter environment, every second counts. Pilots need the best available information to make decisions in an instant. Collins Aerospace F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) helmet-mounted display system (HMDS) provides the most capable situational awareness with intuitive access to tactical, flight and sensor information.”

Photo: Lockheed Martin

The company outlined that it will keep upgrading the helmets, including an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) feature available on helmets since 2022. Looking forward, Raytheon promised that with emerging technologies, the HMDS was primed to easily incorporate the latest innovations.