The U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management wants to determine industry capacity to supply mounts for the GENTEX Corp. [GNTX] HGU-55/P helmet to support night and nuclear missions.
Using additive manufacturing, AFLCMC and the University of Daytona Research Institute developed a Lead Lanthanum Zirconate Titanate (PLZT) nuclear flash blindness protection system mount for the HGU-55/P. Center Product Support Engineering Division. In the mid-to late 1970s, Sandia National Laboratories designed PLZT anti-flash goggles to protect aircrew in B-52s and other planes from burns and blindness from nuclear explosions.
“Currently, aircrew are required to utilize separate helmets for Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) and PLZT Goggles, not allowing them to support night and nuclear missions with a single helmet,” AFLCMC said in a July 6 statement of work. “Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) issued a requirement for an HGU-55/P mount that integrates with and stabilizes (without modification) the PLZT goggles. The capability of having a Helmet Mounting Solution (PLZT Mount) supported by an identical NVG assembly will allow aircrew to fly dual purpose missions with one helmet. This course of action will provide the USAF cost savings and decrease logistical strain via minimizing the amount of equipment needed to support these missions.”
AFLCMC said that companies should be able to provide PLZT mounts that are “built to print” using injection molding. The contractor would build the mounts using the government furnished property mold.
The AFLCMC sources sought notice for the HGU-55/P helmet mount comes as the Air Force embarks upon a Next Generation Fixed Wing Helmet.
The Air Force said last month that it had picked California-based LIFT Airborne Technologies‘ AV 2.2 helmet to serve as the Next Generation Fixed Wing helmet (Defense Daily, June 28).
LIFT Technologies’ offering was competing in the prototype phase against two designs by Michigan-based aircraft helmet heavyweight, GENTEX Corp. [GNTX], and Idaho-based Aviation Specialties Unlimited, which teamed with Tennessee-based Paraclete Aviation Life Support.
The AV 2.2, after testing, is to field first for F-15E pilots, and then for pilots of all other service fixed wing aircraft except for the F-35. An AV 2.2 production contract may come in 2024, the Air Force said.
The AV 2.2 is to replace the 1980s-era HGU-55/P. The carbon fiber AV2.2 helmet is to be lighter, cooler, and to provide easy accommodation for helmet mounted cueing systems and night vision goggles. The AV 2.2 also features a jawbone-activated light for pilots to view needed information at night when landing or during other maneuvers.
Any helmet weight savings can significantly reduce physical stress, as 200-pound pilots must withstand 135 pounds of pressure on their necks in high, 9G maneuvers.
The $20 million Next Generation Fixed Wing Helmet prototype effort stemmed from an AFWERX Helmet Challenge in 2019 and was one of the first AFWERX initiatives, per Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC). Overall, the cost of the new helmet program could be $400 million to meet an AFLCMC requirement.
Air Combat Command (ACC) wanted “a next-generation helmet to address issues with long-term neck and back injuries, optimize aircraft technology, improve pilot longevity, and provide better fitment to diverse aircrews,” AFMC has said.
“The implementation of helmet-mounted devices has added weight and changed the center of gravity, leading to discomfort for operators,” per AFMC. “In addition, a 2020 Air Force anthropometric study identified the need to add a size small helmet that better optimizes the fit for affected female aviators,” Cota said.