Fighter pilot using JHMCS II/h system. Photo: www.aviationnewsportal.com.

The Boeing Company has validated the integration of a new helmet system for pilots of the F-15 Silent Eagle aircraft, designed partly by Israel’s Elbit Systems, allowing the pilots to aim weapons and sensors at their targets, by looking at them.

Developed by Vision Systems International, a joint venture between Elbit and Rockwell Collins, the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System II/h (JHMCS II/h) is also a cost cutting measure for potential buyers, due to the helmet’s processing systems which eliminate the need for mounted equipment on the aircraft.

Greg Hardy, who runs the JHMCS II/h program at Boeing, said “Integrating this enhanced system onto the Silent Eagle took less than three months between ‘go-ahead’ and first flight.”  Hardy added that during recent test flights “Both pilots who flew with the JHMCS II/h system immediately noticed that the helmet was more balanced and the smaller, lighter interface cable was less restrictive.”

Boeing is marketing the F-15  Silent Eagle as a more affordable alternative to the F-22 and F-35 fighter jets.

“Technology advancements are reshaping the military helmet-mounted display market,” said Phil King of VSI. “The rapid validation of the maturity and effectiveness of several such technologies in this demonstration program has shown that we can meet and exceed the performance baselines established by the extremely successful legacy JHMCS design while also providing new capabilities and reducing cost to the customer.”