Air Force Special Operations Command’s AC-130W Stinger II gunships will be upgraded with Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System, contractor Elbit Systems announced. “The JHMCS II system features the most innovative head-tracking technologies available, giving pilots increased situational awareness no matter what direction he or she is looking,” company president and CEO Raanan Horowitz said in a May 19 release. JHMCS “gives pilots immediate and accurate recognition of friendly, threat, and unknown targets,” he added. Both the F-15 and F-16 fleets are equipped with JHMCS, but the Stinger II gunships will be the first large mobility-type aircraft equipped with the system, according to the company. Elbit Systems of America will upgrade AFSOC’s 12-strong AC-130W fleet as part of a joint effort with Rockwell Collins over the next two years, the release states. The precision strike package-equipped Stinger II variant is armed with ?guided munitions, including the Griffin missile and Small Diameter Bomb.
The Air Force has tapped sites in Oregon to build its first two new Over-the-Horizon Radars, capable of detecting inbound missile threats from up to 4,000 nautical miles away. The service is hoping to start construction by the end of 2028.