F-35 RAAF pilots are facing a minimum weight restriction as it emerges the high tech helmet designed for use with the joint strike fighter is too heavy and could break a lighter pilot's neck if they ejected in an emergency.
F-35 Program director US Air Force (USAF) Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan told a House Armed Services Committee the $500,000 helmet would have to be redesigned after August testing confirmed the problem which was first discovered last year.
The General said the 2.4 kilogram helmets will have to be redesigned to reduce weight by 170 grams, reducing the potential for neck injuries for lightweight pilots during ejection.
The USAF earlier this month announced it would restrict pilots weighing under 62 kilograms from flying F-35s until a solution is found.
"Pilots who weigh less than [62 kilograms] cannot safely wear a helmet heavier than [2.2 kilograms].
"He or she has a 1 in 50,000 chance of hurting their neck from an ejection," said LTGEN Bogdan. Pilots weighing 62-75 kilograms have a lower risk, of about 1 in 200,000, according to the General.
The helmet is a marvel of modern technology, and in August Rockwell delivered the first Gen III F-35 Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS).
This allowed pilots an unprecedented level of situational awareness, enabling them to "look through" the airframe. It features a night vision camera, improved liquid crystal displays, and automated alignment.
SMH reported a spokesperson for the Australian Defence Department said the US program for the JSF – or Lockheed Martin F-35 – had "identified an increased risk of neck injury during ejection for pilots of low weight".
"As a precaution, pilots weighing less than 62 kilograms have been restricted from flying the F-35 until a solution is reached."
The two pilots currently flying the first two Australian aircraft in the US are not affected, but there are evident concerns for future F-35 pilots of a lighter stature, and particularly women fighter pilots looking to fly the JSF.