RDAF flying over Libya on board video

An interesting video, just released by the RDAF, showing the Danish F-16s flying a mission over Libya during Operation Unified Protector that, among other things, gives us an idea of how the flat Libyan landscape appears from high altitude.

The Danish contingent is one of those that has been more intensively involved over Libya, performing 520 missions from Sigonella airbase in Sicily (518 in the air-to-ground role) and dropping 826 PGMs.

In February, the RDAF F-16 deployed to Grosseto airbase within Ex. Winter Hide 2011.

The RDAF video clearly shows the JHMCS (joint helmet-mounted cueing system) a multi-role system that enhances pilot situational awareness and provides head-out control of aircraft targeting systems and sensors. The helmet can be used in an air-to-air role,  combined with the AIM-9X missile, as High-Off-BoreSight (HOBS) system, that enables pilots to cue onboard weapons against enemy aircraft merely by pointing their heads at the targets to guide the weapons. In an air-to-ground role, the JHMCS can be used in conjunction with targeting sensors (radar, FLIR, etc.) and “smart weapons” to accurately and precisely attack surface targets.

Another recent video shows the JHMCS at work. It was taken by a RNlAF F-16 during a real interception of a Russian Bear. The footage recorded by the helmet shows also the typical HUD symbology projected on the visor’s lens by the JHMCS feed (and that’s why someone said the video was a fake) so the pilot can read the flight parameters regardless where he is looking.

 

About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.