Current Air Force aircraft, such as the F-15 and F-16, and future aircraft, have a need to leverage improving technologies such as helmet-mounted trackers and displays (HMT/Ds) to maintain superior air combat capability in future conflicts. HMT/Ds can allow the pilot to point weapons and to quickly slew sensors at short visual range targets in either an air-to-air or air-to-ground environment. Flight and weapons parameters commonly displayed on ahead-up display can be provided on HMT/Ds, allowing the pilot to remain 'head out' of the cockpit for longer time periods while maintaining better situational awareness. If the hMT/D systems are designed and then tested early, the result can then be used to transfer technology, and reduce risk, for follow-on programs such as the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System.
The use of Helmet-Mounted Trackers and Displays (HMT/Ds) is becoming widespread for air-to-air, within visual range target acquisition; however these systems have physiological limitations. The Air Force Research Laboratory Helmet- Mounted Sensory Technologies (HMST) program is currently studying the use of eye trackers to cue High Off Boresight Angle missiles. The development and implementation of an eye tracker can eliminate the problems of limited head motion under high gravitational forces. This paper will discuss some of the HMST requirements needed to perform eye tracking for air-to-air targeting to complement HMT/Ds performance. This paper will also include a review of the different approaches being studied to meet those requirements.
The magnitude of requirements, specifications, testing, and liability associated with producing an item for military use has, no doubt, caused many potential helmet vendors to stay away from the military customer. This is a dilemma for the military as well as the vendors. This paper is an attempt to educate people on the requirements for one aspect of advanced helmet development. That aspect is the Safety-of-Flight requirement. Safety-of-Flight encompasses every aspect of flight to include preflight and post flight. Emergency egress, high-voltage containment, helmet fit, donning and doffing, windblast protection and other aspects of protection during ejection, comfort, aural protection, and compatibility with life support equipment are a few of the items that must be evaluated prior to flying in a multi-million dollar fighter. This paper will highlight the types of testing required with a short explanation of why this testing is necessary as well as what must be accomplished in order to pass the stated requirement.
The old saying, `Safety is paramount.' was never more true than it is in the area of ejection safety for high-speed fighter aircraft. The fighter aircraft of today has been designed to endure tremendous structural loading during dogfight or evasive maneuvers. It can fly faster, turn quicker, stay in the air longer (with in-flight refuel) and carry more bombs than its predecessor. Because of human physiological limits, the human has become the weak link in today's fighter aircraft. The fighter pilot must endure and function with peak performance in conditions that are much worse than anything the majority of us will ever encounter. When these conditions reach a point that human endurance is exceeded, devices such as anti-g suits and positive pressure breathing apparatus help the fighter pilot squeeze out that extra percentage of strength necessary to outperform the opponent. As fighter aircraft become more sophisticated, helmet trackers, helmet displays and noise cancellation devices are being added to the helmet. Yet the fighter pilot's helmet must remain lightweight and be aesthetically appealing, while still offering ballistic protection. It must function with existing life support equipment such as the Combined Advanced Technology Enhanced Design g-Ensemble (COMBAT-EDGE). It must not impede the pilot's ability to perform any action necessary to accomplish the planned mission. The helmet must protect the pilot during the harsh environment of ejection. When the pilot's only resort is to pull the handle and initiate the ejection sequence, the helmet becomes his salvation or instant death. This paper discusses the safety concerns relative to the catapult phase of ejecting from a high-speed fighter while wearing an advanced fighter helmet.
The mission of the Helmet-Mounted Systems Technology (HMST) Advanced Development Program Office (ADPO) is to demonstrate advanced helmet systems to the using community. Months, sometimes years, of coordination with engineers, logisticians, air framers, safety personnel, pilots, and others, pass by before the first day of system integration into the aircraft can begin. One such integration and demonstration occurred during January and February 1993. With HMST acting as the Integration Engineer, the Air Force Special Mission Operational Test and Evaluation Center (SMOTEC) conducted an Operational Feasibility Test and Evaluation (OFT&E) of a Helmet-Mounted Tracker and Display (HMT/D) system on a MH-53J PAVE LOW. The addition of the helmet display, helmet tracker, and wider field-of-view of the Forward-Looking InfraRed (FLIR) sensor were only a few of the integration issues that had to be resolved prior to the first flight. This paper will focus on the coordination, integration, demonstration, and evaluation of the HMT/D in the PAVE LOW.
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