Get Ready, Russia and China: The U.S. Navy's Aircraft Carriers Are Getting Stealth Fighters

Kris Osborn

Security,

The F-35C take a big step forward. 

Sensors in the pilot’s Generation “3 HMD” have been improved with new firmware to better enable pilots to target enemies and perform missions at night.

The Navy has been training with and testing high-tech adjustments to the stealthy carrier-launched F-35C’s Helmet Mounted Display to better enable targeting, sensor data viewing and pilot awareness of flight information such as airspeed, heading and altitude, service and industry developers explained.  

Development and operational pilot training of the aircraft is underway after four F-35C Lightning II aircraft arrived last month at Naval Air Station Lemoore in Southern Calif.

The F-35C aircraft joined the recently reactivated Strike Fighter Squadron 125, known as the "Rough Raiders," a Navy statement said.

“They are going to be the initial training squadron for our fleet for pilots flying the F-35C the future. This is the Navy’s first West Coast squadron. They will be flying the F-35C out of Naval Air Station Lemoore for years to come,” said Steve Fielding, deputy public affairs officer for Naval Air Forces.

Much of the ongoing technology development of the F-35C is taking place with the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD. Technology development, testing and training for combat are all deeply intertwined when it comes to the F-35C program, officials said. 

Sensors in the pilot’s Generation “3 HMD” have been improved with new firmware to better enable pilots to target enemies and perform missions at night, Navy developers explained.

The new display is engineered to add more image fidelity in lower ranges of brightness and low-light conditions; this allows for better targeting and carrier-landing ability in the darkest conditions when there is no moonlight, Navy officials explained.

At the same time, ongoing training pilots on the subsystems to prepare for operational missions also includes ongoing evaluations of the aircraft’s next-generation technology. Pilots will be training with the aircraft’s 3 HMD, among other systems, at Air Station Lemoore. 

All the information pilots need– is projected on the helmet’s visor, rather than on a traditional Heads-up Display, a Lockheed statement said.  The helmet also provides pilots night vision through the use of an integrated camera, the statement continued.