Los Angeles Times: A Weapon That Will Turn Heads
[url]http://www.latimes.com/business/la-000024451apr06.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dbusiness[/url]
A Weapon That Will Turn Heads
Defense: Helmets that allow pilots to aim their missiles simply by looking at
targets could revolutionize combat.
By PETER PAE
TIMES STAFF WRITER
April 6 2002
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE -- F-16 fighter jet pilots testing a futuristic weapon
system are discovering that looks can indeed kill.
Test pilots here are flying with sophisticated helmets, resembling a bug's eye,
that allow them to aim their weapons and sensors simply by looking at potential
targets on the ground or in the air.
The helmets, when coupled with a highly maneuverable new missile that is close
to deployment, would enable fighter pilots to look over their shoulders and fire
instantly at targets, a feat that until now has been matched only in science
fiction movies. "It's going to revolutionize close-in dogfights," said Lt. Col.
Troy Fontaine, operational officer for the 416th Flight Test Squadron, which
recently began flying the helmets on F-16 fighter jets. "It'll give us air
superiority because we'll be able to see first and shoot first."
Despite significant advances in combat aircraft, the way fighter pilots have
engaged their targets has changed little since the birth of air combat using
biplanes during World War I. Though missiles have replaced machine guns, the
basics of a dogfight have not changed: A pilot must find the enemy, turn the
plane toward it and fire before flying away.
With the new system, success in combat may no longer depend on how well pilots
can maneuver their aircraft but on how fast they can turn their heads.
The headgear, formally the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System, recently
completed initial tests on F-15 and F-18 fighters. More tests are planned for
the F-16 before deployment in about three years, Air Force officials said.
The Pentagon envisions buying as many as 2,000 helmets, and an advanced system
already is under development for the F-22 and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the
next generation of fighter jets.
Boeing Co.'s military aircraft and missiles unit in St. Louis is the prime
contractor for the helmet system, but much of the development was done by San
Jose-based Vision Systems International, a joint venture of defense electronics
maker Rockwell Collins Inc. and an Israeli firm, Elbit. The helmets will be
manufactured by Vision Systems International.
The Pentagon has spent about $100million to develop the helmets and expects to
spend about $672million to acquire 1,880 of them, along with accessories and
modification kits to integrate the headgear into the various fighter jets. The
helmet itself will cost about $190,000 when full production begins, Pentagon
officials said.
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