Air Force Research Lab biomedical engineers are working with the Air Force Human Systems Group and helmet-manufacturer Gentex to design and test a breakaway version of the Gentex chin-nape strap. The trick, say AFRL officials, is to develop a strap that ensures the helmet stays on long enough during high-speed ejection from an aircraft but not so long that it leads to neck injuries. The new strap’s metal buckle is designed to break away at a “predetermined force level to minimize stress on a pilot’s neck.”
Whether the F-35 fighter will get new engines from the Air Force’s cutting-edge Adaptive Engine Transition Program is a question that needs to be resolved at the Defense Department level, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told lawmakers May 17—and he anticipates an answer in the 2024 budget.