F-35 JPO Drops Development of BAE Alternative Helmet
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“The F-35 Joint Program Office has decided to stop the development of an alternate helmet and focus solely on bringing the ‘Gen 2’ helmet – now being used in testing and training – up to a fully compliant ‘Gen 3’ standard,” the programme office says.
Lorraine Martin, Lockheed’s executive vice president for the F-35 programme, says that the JPO decision is a sign of confidence in the original helmet design. “The government's decision to proceed exclusively with the principle helmet is indicative of their confidence in the helmet's performance and the successful resolution of previously identified technical challenges,” she says.
The JPO says that over the past two years the programme and Lockheed have used a “disciplined systems engineering approach” and dedicated helmet flight testing to address problems with the existing Vision Systems International HMDS, which was developed as a collaboration between Rockwell Collins and Elbit Systems. Improvements to the existing Gen 2 helmet are being incorporated into the production line.
The JPO asserts that running the alternative helmet programme, which was started in 2011, has yielded financial savings for the US government. “The cost guarantee made by the Lockheed Martin/Rockwell Collins/Elbit team resulted in a reduction of 12% from the previous cost for the helmet system,” the JPO says. “Additionally, deciding to down select to the Gen 2/3 helmet now will avoid future cost of $45 million required to completely mature the BAE helmet.”
BAE Systems officials expressed their disappointment."We are disappointed at today’s decision by Lockheed Martin and the Joint Strike Fighter Joint Program Office to discontinue the pursuit of a second helmet for the F-35 aircraft," the company says.
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