Avionics
F-35 Pilots Will Begin Flying Improved 'Gen 3' Helmet
F-35 test pilots will begin flying this year with a third-generation helmet mounted display system (HMDS).
F-35 pilots will fly an improved 'Gen 3' helmet-mounted display system incorporating fixes to the Gen 2 system shown here. (Photo: U.S. Air Force)
F-35 pilots will fly an improved 'Gen 3' helmet-mounted display system incorporating fixes to the Gen 2 system shown here. (Photo: U.S. Air Force)

F-35 test pilots will begin flying this year with a third-generation helmet mounted display system (HMDS) that incorporates modifications to the earlier-generation display system, which the Pentagon has identified as an F-35 program risk. The fixes the fighter program developed for the “Gen 3” helmet system persuaded the Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) to stop funding an alternate helmet-mounted display.

“I definitely have confidence that we are on the right track; we have the right plan for these fixes in place,” said Marine Lt. Col. Matthew Kelly, government flight test director at the F-35 integrated training center at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.