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

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.

A carrier that can’t land its planes at night fights at a serious disadvantage. It’s good to see this problem addressed just as the F-35C is finally becoming operational with Carrier Air Wing 7.