Conventional 'straightthrough ' nightvision goggles are now in widespread service with many armed forces throughout the world. Though originally designed for ground forces they have been successfully engineered into the airborne environment and are used on both rotary wing and fixed wing aircraft. However, a major disadvantage in the use of this type of NVG, particularly in fast jet applications, is that they obscure the pilots direct view of the Head Up Display. The combiner eyepiece NVGs solves this problem by giving the pilot a direct view of the HUD and cockpit instruments which is optically combined with the intensified image. The cockpit instruments and HUD are ofcourse compatible with the NVG and are invisible to the NVG. The development ofa Combiner eyepiece NVG from initial concept through to production isdiscussed including design considerations, trade offs and enhancements to the operation of the device. The further development of the combiner eyepiece NVG into a fully integrated ejection safe night vision helmet is also described.

Date Published: 1 October 1990
PDF: 14 pages
Proc. SPIE 1290, Helmet-Mounted Displays II, (1 October 1990);

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1290:
Helmet-Mounted Displays II
Ronald J. Lewandowski, Editor(s)