Boeing Upgrades the Helmet to Give Fighter Pilots a Digital Edge

The Digital Joint Helmet Mounting Cueing System, updated from the current Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System, allows air crews to quickly acquire targets just by looking at them in any direction instead of having to turn the entire aircraft toward the target. The new digital system uses LED technology for greater reliability and visual acuity.

The Boeing Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) combines a magnetic head tracker with a display projected onto a pilot's visor, giving the pilot a targeting device that can be used to aim sensors and weapons wherever the pilot is looking. It does so by synchronizing aircraft sensors with the user's head movements so they automatically point where the pilot looks and displaying flight information on the inside of the helmet visor so data is always in view.

To aim and fire a missile, pilots point their heads at the targets and press a switch on the flight controls to direct and fire a weapon. To attack a ground target, pilots can acquire the target with a sensor and note its location on the helmet display. Alternatively, pilots can use the helmet display to cue sensors and weapons to a visually detected ground target.

In a dual-seat aircraft, each crewmember can wear a JHMCS helmet and perform independent operations with continuous awareness of where the other crewmember is looking.

The high off-boresight seeker (HOBS) system consists of the JHMCS and the AIM-9X high off-boresight air-to-air missile. The AIM-9X is an advanced short-range dogfight weapon that can intercept airborne targets located at high off-boresight lines of sight relative to the shooter. The combination of JHMCS and AIM-9X results in a weapon that can attack and destroy an airborne enemy seen by the pilot. This weapon can be employed without maneuvering the aircraft, minimizing the time spent in the threat environment.