OREANDA-NEWS. January 11, 2016. The Rockwell Collins ESA Vision Systems' Helmet Mounted Display System for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft was recently featured on the cover of Popular Science magazine. 

The cover of the latest issue of Popular Science magazine showcases the Rockwell Collins ESA Vision Systems, LLC, F-35 Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS). The technology of the HMDS also is highlighted in the cover story “The Last Fighter Pilot,” in the January/February 2016 issue.

The sophisticated technology of the F-35 Lightning II fighter and the HMDS provide the context for the article which discusses the current and future role of the jet fighter pilot. It describes the millions of lines of software code that “fuses navigation, communication and targeting systems” information for pilots and displays it on the visors of their helmets — information that they previously had to collect and process manually.

“It’s like wearing a laptop on your head,” is how Lt. Colonel Rhett Hierlmeier describes the F-35 helmet in the cover story.

Lt. Colonel Hierlmeier directs the pilot training center at Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix, Arizona. The article describes the F-35 simulation training that features Rockwell Collins’ Griffin™ Rear-Projected Dome display system. The system uses our new ProSim™ ultra contrast projector and composes simulation scenes with our industry-leading EP-80 Image Generator using the EP2™ Real-Time software.