anyone have any information on the JSF helmet mounted system and how this compares?

The Topsight-E (i think Topowl-F is its new name) is ready to go with some Mirage 2000 and integrated on indian MiG-29K.
But it would still need some integration work for the Rafale. (sorry, sometime i really wonder if my grammar is good or not 😀 😀 😀 )

I have no idea.
The only official fact is that the Rafale F3 won’t get its helmet mounted sight system as it was previously planned (for 2008). The helmet has been dropped, and hasn’t been ordered at all up to now. It should happen, but simply not yet.
And in a book published recently, the Topsight-E/Topowl-F was referred as being the Rafale’s HMS, instead of the Gerfaut. Maybe the author of this book wrote a mistake, and this is why i wrote “may replace”. 😉

I’m afraid we won’t hear about the HMS on Rafale until an export customer ask for it. :confused:

Pictures here :
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showpost.php?p=1130817&postcount=786
I think that the Topsight-E and the Topowl-F are actually the same :
Thales’ Topowl-F

Great. So Gerfaut is definitely dead then and the Rafale wont be getting a head mounted EO sight any time in the foreseeable future.

Has any funding been allocated to put Topsight-E on French Mirage 2000’s? Or is there a date suggested for the addition of Topsight-E on French Mirage 2000’s?

Well seeing as Gerfaut is not mounted on the Rafale it compares quite favorably in that department.:p

Are you sure sealordlawrence? Its just that the sagem website if full of information claiming that they do provide the Gerfaut for the Rafale? Plus here is an interview that went out in all the Paris air show dailys where Sagem were interviewed and claim, at length, they do infact provide the Gerfaut.

If I am wrong I would be really pleased for any information you might have as this is not an area that I am particularly strong on.

Thanks again
Mowers

http://www.parisairshow2005.com/en/i_1606_1.php

Thursday June 16
Gerfaut helmet-mounted display for Rafale: 3 questions for Jean-Christophe Mugler, from Sagem Défense Sécurité

Sagem Défense Sécurité’s Gerfaut helmet-mounted display was chosen for Rafale air force and navy fighters in 2003. The innovative technologies incorporated in the Gerfault will give Rafale pilots a real advantage in aerial combat. We talked to Jean-Christophe Mugler, deputy director of the military equipment department at Sagem Défense Sécurité.

What exactly does a helmet-mounted display do?

A helmet-mounted display, or HMD, considerably increases a fighter’s offensive capabilities, since it allows the pilot to designate a target by simply looking at it, thus directing the air-to-air missile’s sensors and seeker. It goes far beyond the field-of-view covered by a conventional head-up display, without any other limit than the pilot’s ability to turn his head under G loads. Of course, the helmet continues to provide physiological protection, and it can also be used to designate ground targets, by displaying geo-referenced points, or by pre-pointing the sensors. The visor is specially treated to display flight and fire control symbology.

What are some of the technical features of the Gerfaut HMD?

Sagem Défense Sécurité won this contract because it had the most innovative solutions, along with timely technology breakthroughs, especially in terms of miniature flat-panel displays and image processing. The Gerfaut uses optronic position detection, which is much easier than the electromagnetic detection devices used previously. The system determines which way the pilot is looking by a precise analysis of the helmet’s movements, using miniature cameras. The Gerfaut system’s electronics are calibrated once and for all during manufacture of the airplane. Each pilot has his own personalized helmet, and can subsequently use it without any restrictions, and without having to worry about the heavy electromagnetic environment inside the cockpit.

Where does the program stand today?

A total of 336 Gerfaut HMDs have been ordered for all French air force Rafale pilots, in the F3 version. This same standard is on offer in export markets. We signed the contract in 2004, and the helmet is now being integrated, for delivery to test pilots in early 2006. Production should start in 2007.