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.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIA7hXhMiSg&sns=fb]
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.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLYfaHkbe7U]
