Navy Is Fixing a Serious Bug

The Navy Is Fixing a Serious, Six-Year-Old Bug in the F-35 Fighter Helmet

The bug prevents less experienced F-35 pilots from landing on carriers at night.

By Kyle Mizokami

(LHA 6)LT.J.G. MAIDELINE SANCHEZ

The Navy is fixing a bug with the F-35’s helmet that prevents less experienced pilots from landing the plane on a carrier at night. The helmet emits a green glow at night that pilots find distracting. The solution involves swapping out the current helmet mounted displays and replacing them with organic, light emitting diodes (OLEDs).


The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s pilot helmet is unlike any other. Made of kevlar and carbon fiber, the helmets are an extension of the aircraft sensors and control system and one of the first to employ augmented reality in military equipment. The helmet mounted display projects all of the information that used to be presented in cockpit-mounted heads-up displays (HUDs) including air speed, heading, altitude, and more. At the same time the pilot can see in all directions—including straight down—through a network of six infrared cameras facing outward in all directions. The helmet display can even overlay the aircraft flight path over the pilot’s field of vision, including ground targets and air defense threats detected by other friendly forces.

Getting all of that data in the F-35 pilot’s face is extremely useful: The pilot can look in all directions and still have critical information in his or her field of view. (Older HUDs were a step up from having to look down at gauges and dial on a control panel but are still fixed to front.) There is one enduring problem, though—the helmet mounted displays leak light. According to pilots, a green glow spills out of the helmet, preventing pilots from seeing the lights of an aircraft carrier at night. Military.com reports that the problem is serious enough the Navy restricts pilots with less than fifty landings in the F-35 from carrier night landings.


An F-35C assigned to the Rough Raiders of Strike Fighter Attack Squadron (VFA) 125 performs a touch and go on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln.
U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY CHIEF MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST MARK LOGICO

The bug was first noticed in 2012, and the Navy has tried to correct the problem with software fixes. The problem was not that serious at first, as the aircraft is still in the developmental stages and only a handful of pilots are flying the plane. The F-35C, the Navy’s version of the three service jet, only began flying from aircraft carriers in 2014.

The new fix involves using OLEDs, which present a crisper view while cutting down on the distracting light. The problem is that Navy is running out of time, as the service plans to declare the F-35 initial operations capable (IOC) in February 2019. IOC means that at least one Navy F-35 squadron is ready for combat. Being able to conduct night operations is naturally part of being initial operations capable.

Source: Military.com