The modern air combat arena has changed considerably in recent years. Today, sophisticated radar and High-Off-Boresight (HOBS) missiles and being able to outmaneuver or “out-fly” your opponent are no longer guarantees for air combat superiority.
In addition, due to the fact that in most cases a large number of aircraft take part in air engagements, it is known that the longer you stay in the air, the less the chance of survival. Being able to lock the weapon system, fire, and egress the area as quickly as possible is therefore of paramount importance.
The pilot is deluged with vast amounts of spherical oriented information. In both air to air, air to ground, in the way to and from the mission core, the pilot’s situation awareness is a crucial factor in achieving the mission goals.
To achieve optimal situation awareness, the following are necessary:
Displaying the flight data and three dimensional-location based systems and sensors information to the pilot and, designating and exploiting the pilot’s LOS (Line Of Sight) for the purpose of slaving the aircraft sensors and systems and thus enabling the pilot to achieve lock-on of sensors, avionics systems and missiles, simply by looking at the target.
The very latest fighter aircraft are being equipped with helmet mounted systems (most of them Elbit Systems’ DASH and VSI’s JHMCS, HMDS). Existing fighter aircraft are being upgraded with the same helmet to enhance their performance capabilities in the modern combat arena.
