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Home Innovation Defence Helicopter assessing helmet-mounted technology

Defence Helicopter assessing helmet-mounted technology

Oct 01. 2012 

The September/October 2012 issue of Defence Helicopter includes a lengthy feature that focuses on the latest trends in helmet-mounted technology. The Thales TopOwl solution is widely highlighted in the piece, entitled "Don't Look Down".

Writer Tony Skinner notes that “piloting a fast-moving, low-flying helicopter on combat operations, in a potentially rapidly changing operational environment, requires quick reactions and intense concentration. Under such pressures, pilots do not always have the luxury to glance down at one or more displays to find flight or mission data. Helmet-mounted display (HMD) systems allow such critical information to be centralised within the pilot’s line of sight, avoiding the need to repeatedly look down to scan instrument arrays”. Skinner relates that “The selection of the Thales TopOwl HMD by the USMC [United States Marine Corps], meanwhile, will give the European company optimism that it will be able to compete on an equal footing for the CHMD [Common Helmet Mounted Display] requirement. “Featuring a lightweight helmet and binocular display with 40° field of view, TopOwl is in service with USMC AH-1Z and UH-1Y crews as well as on the Tiger, NH90 and Rooivalk helicopters. Company representatives at the Farnborough International Airshow in July revealed that 1,600 TopOwl systems had been ordered to date.”  

Tags:

#HMD #HMSD #TopOwl

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