Striker II fighter pilot helmet: Transforming aerial combat

Hailed as the world’s most advanced fighter pilot helmet, Striker II has an all-digital display with an integrated night vision system geared towards transforming aerial combat, writes Stuart Nathan

The cockpit of a fighter aircraft is one of the most high-tech environments in the world. Pilots have to cope with an avalanche of information, from the view outside the canopy, to the instrument displays in front of them, feedback through the manual controls, and the various noises – including alarms – inside the cockpit. In future, however, some pilots will have an important aid to help them make sense of all this and avoid total sensory overload: the Striker II helmet.

Developed by BAE Systems’ electronic systems base at Rochester in Kent, Striker II is, as the name implies, a development of the Striker system which was originally designed for pilots of the Typhoon aircraft. “Obviously, products change to reflect the introduction of new technology,” explained project manager Richard Orridge. “It wasn’t that Striker was doing a bad job, it’s more that with the advent of digital technologies we could make it a lot better.”