No, the headgear in the photo above wasn't some unused prototype created for
The Terminator; rather, it's a snazzy new helmet designed to give fighter pilots a better look at their surroundings. Within the tinted faceplate are two projectors which sync up with plane-mounted cameras and display images from the outside for the pilot to view. Essentially, this enables the operator to view high-resolution images (yes, even at night) of areas previously imperceptible without a warplane constructed entirely of plexiglass, and onboard sensors make sure that the imagery reflects exactly where the pilot is looking at any given moment. Furthermore, computerized systems can even feed in "essential flight and combat data on to the display," as well as target symbols of friendlies / enemies. The new visual system is apparently just one amenity on the oh-so-sophisticated Joint Strike Fighter, which the British are planning to pay £66 million ($139 million) apiece for after it hits the production line.
[Via
Switched]
posted November 10th 2007 12:13PM
Looks like Catwoman's boyfriend.
Fallout live!
So you're telling me the UK is planning on Darth Maul joining up?
anyone else think of Peter Cris (KISS) when they saw this picture?
i think landing an aircraft wearing these would be a lot more scary ordeal now, since the pilot can now see the ground/runway coming at him/her at 100+ mph, in high resolution...
on a side note, with this helmet they can finally do away with the canopy all together, that outta improve aerodynamics by a good deal?
They cant do away with the canopy because what if the helmet breaks? They are screwed then.
Similarly, what if the canopy breaks? Even with the helmet on?
Cool.As.Fuck.
Not only do you get an HD HUD to kick ass, you get to look badass and strike the fear into your enemies while doing so.
Unfortunately, the enemy won't get a chance to be afraid because they will get shot down before they realize they should be afraid. Ideally, the enemy will never see it coming.
Darth Maul dressed for Halloween.
Looks like Darth Maul had a bastard child with one of the sand people.
£66 million a pop to protect the UK & the US from men in robes converting kids, women and other men into killing themselves for the cause. Crazy!
Luke... I am your father.
You, sir, are my hero.
So everyone flying the joint Strike fighter is going to have green eyes?
This is the coolest shit I've ever seen! Too bad Al-Qaeda and Osama are in caves and they use smoke signals. As much as I love technology, I think our battles are not gonna be won with fancy planes but with boots on the ground.
But will it plug into my iPod Touch?
Todays stocks:
WAR+3 SFTY-5 ENVRNMNT-10
I don't get why the eyes are green. Is the projector flashing the image right onto the guy's eyeballs?
That's f'ed up man. I'm gonna have nightmares now.
Particularly interesting is that this visioning technology is being used on a jet with stealth technology to allow pilots to be able to see "as if the plane was not there". In other words, the plane is invisible to both the folks on the ground and the pilot!
One wonders at what point we'll even need to have pilots in the plane, and this really does become a video game.
welcome to 2001!
Oh no! We are working with the Dominion aren't we? (No clue what I am talking about? Watch Star Trek Deep Space 9 ;) )
This system is ALMOST as good as the IR feature on Sony camcorders that can see through women's clothing.
SICK!
This looks cool but since I know how the government works, this is just a pipe dream. That and the JSF is a bit behind schedule... What else is new with government? I do like the F-22s they are awesome flying around Langley.
-Gaming News
http://www.clan.net
Damn. I thought they would be *actually* seeing through it, with x-ray vision or something. Interesting way to work around the whole flying-in-a-solid thing, but a little less cool than the whole seeing-through-solids thing.
Ah, like Superman? What don't the just lease Wonder Woman's plane?
[quote]yes, and this piece of kit was created by the British... whats your point??
Anyway, yes the JSF program was started by the yanks, but the Brits are seen as an equal partner as they're putting so much money into it. they're not just paying for the licence to build the aircraft, they're actually helping build it!/quote]
Looks like you didn't read the article
Dear Engadget,
its is Plexiglas(R) not plexiglass. The invention was made by Germans and was stolen by the US gouvernment during the second wolrd war.
Respect the world, start small by doing this
Regards
Magggus
will it blend?
iPhone ripoff......
It's definitly no Plexiglass. It is PC (polycarbonate).
Plexiglass, by the way has to be written Plexiglas(R)
The German invention is a reg. trademark!
They're taking over my brain.
I'd still rather have the big brother, the F-22 Raptor...
Seems to me if you could wrangle the bandwidth this could make armed UAVs much more flexible. Sit a pilot in a 'simulator' wearing this and he would virtually be flying the aircraft.
You could be that would put serious lag as the signal would have to bounce from several satellites
also an enemy could jam the link.