The Crew Systems Group at QinetiQ Farnborough, formerly part of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA), have recently conducted development and flight evaluations of two monocular display systems that provided dynamic symbology for the pilot. The systems were the Pilkington Optronics (now Thales) Guardian monocular Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) used for daytime operations and the QinetiQ Display Night Vision Goggles (DNVGs) used at night. Test flights of the two systems were performed in a modified Jaguar T2B combat aircraft, that was based at the QinetiQ Boscombe Down research facility. Good performance was obtained from each system with both producing clear, legible symbology. During day and night Air to Ground (A-G) sorties both the Guardian and the DNVGs were used for simulated attacks and reconnaissance tasks on a variety of operationally realistic targets. In addition the Guardian HMD was used with an ASRAAM in the day Air to Air (A-A) environment to provide high off-boresight capability. The results from the test program have validated a range of significant capability enhancements offered by either a HMD or a DNVG, and have provided a significant increase in the technical and operational understanding of fast-jet helmet display systems.

Date Published: 5 August 2002
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 4711, Helmet- and Head-Mounted Displays VII, (5 August 2002); doi: 10.1117/12.478894

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4711:
Helmet- and Head-Mounted Displays VII
Clarence E. Rash; Colin E. Reese, Editor(s)