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Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
I'm not saying you can, to me the ability to move your cone of fire without changing direction is a big advantage, which is something like the Cobra or a vector engined fighter has the ability to do.
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Soviets were the first to come up with the system where the pilot had to simply look towards a target with their helmet to aquire a missile lock.
I think the SU-27 was the first to have this feature, I think it was limited to a certain range of degrees off the nose however (you couldn't check your six and get a missile lock for example).
Edit: Found some info on Wikipedia
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The first operational jet fighters with HMD (Su-27 and Mig-29) were fielded by the Soviet Union[says who?]. After observing the ACEVAL/AIMVAL, they embarked on a crash program to counter the technology. As a result, the MiG-29 was fielded in 1985 with an HMD and a high off-boresight weapon (AA-11 Archer/R-73), giving them an advantage in close in maneuvering engagements.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmet_mounted_display