Aircraft
F-35 Program Stops Alternate Helmet Display Development
The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) halted the development of an alternate helmet-mounted display system (HMDS) for the Joint Strike Fighter.
The F-35 Joint Program Office will focus on maturing the fighter’s helmet-mounted display system to third-generation standard. (Photo: Rockwell Collins)
The F-35 Joint Program Office will focus on maturing the fighter’s helmet-mounted display system to third-generation standard. (Photo: Rockwell Collins)

The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) halted the development of an alternate helmet-mounted display system (HMDS) for the Joint Strike Fighter, signaling the resolution of a potentially serious technical complication the program faced. In September 2011, F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin awarded a contract to BAE Systems to develop an alternate HMDS after the Pentagon identified deficiencies with the original helmet system developed by Rockwell Collins and Elbit Systems of America. The HMDS is critical to flying the F-35, which was designed without a pilot’s head-up display.