Helmet for Britain's new F-35 fighter has 'significant technical deficiencies'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10069680/Helmet-for-Britains-new-F-35-fighter-has-significant-technical-deficiencies.html



An “augmented reality” flight helmet for Britain’s new F-35 fighter allowing the pilot to see 360 degrees has “significant technical deficiencies” which have forced designers back to the drawing board.

Helmet for Britain's new F-35 fighter has 'significant technical deficiencies'
By Ben Farmer
9:33AM BST 21 May 2013

Designers have been begun work on a second, less advanced version after testing showed the helmet-mounted display “did not meet warfighter requirements”.

The display remained a “critical technical risk” which could “substantially degrade” the performance of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter according to a United States congressional watchdog.

“The program is pursuing a dual path by developing a second, less capable helmet while working to fix the first helmet design,” the US Government Accountability Office reported.

Britain is buying dozens of F-35s from Lockheed Martin at around £71 million each. The F-35, which will be known as the Lightning II, is the world’s most expensive and technologically advanced combat aircraft, but has been beset by spiralling costs and equipment setbacks.



unhappycamper comment: IIRC, that's the same not-ready-for-prime-time $250,000 brain bucket made by a US contractor. I went looking in my journal archives for the thread on this brain bucket and could not find it. I wonder how much this is going to cost after it's 'fixed'.