The Gen III Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS) developed for the U.S. F-35 Lightning II fifth generation stealth fighter lets American combat pilots see more of the sky than ever before.

Its technology can even allow a fighter pilot to see an enemy aircraft flying below his jet or hidden from his view by the fuselage or wall of his supersonic fighter.

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The HMDS projects vital combat data similar to that of a traditional Heads-Up Display (HUD) onto the inside of the pilot's visor. This allows the pilot to obtain situational awareness (SA) and aim his missiles in the direction his head is pointing.

The HMDS combines infrared, night-vision, augmented and virtual reality to let a pilot see more of the sky and enemy aircraft in the sky around him.

It keeps a pilot's vision and his jet's targeting computer perfectly in sync, allowing the pilot to acquire, lock-on and shoot down an enemy aircraft simply by pointing his head in its direction.

It draws its video from the jet's Distributed Aperture System. This consists of six high definition and infrared cameras located on the jet's fuselage that give the pilot a full 360 degree view around and through his aircraft.

Navigation and targeting are also integrated into the HMDS.

The helmet is being manufactured by Rockwell Collins ESA Vision Systems International. Each helmet costs $600,000, not including the cost of linking the helmet the jet's software system.

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, fifth-generation stealth multirole fighters capable of air-to-air, ground attack and reconnaissance missions.

The F-35 has three main models: one is is a conventional takeoff and landing aircraft; another is a short take-off and vertical-landing model while the third is a carrier-based model for the US Navy.

The F-35 is intended to provide most of the tactical airpower for the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy over the coming decades. Deliveries of the F-35 are scheduled to be completed in 2037.