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SAN JOSE, Calif. (September 7, 2005) - The first dual seat flight of VSI’s Night Vision Cueing and Display (NVCD) was completed earlier this month in a demonstration at the Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake, Calif. The NVCD provides the daytime advantages of VSI’s highly successful Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) for night missions.
For this demonstration, an F/A-18F Super Hornet was equipped with JHMCS in both cockpits and the pilot’s and weapons systems officer’s independent lines of sight were integrated into the aircraft weapons and sensors. The JHMCS with the NVCD modules allowed both pilots an unprecedented wide field of view night visual scene and the ability to cue the Super Hornet’s weapons/sensors via the JHMCS interface.
“This successful demonstration is another step in turning night into day for tactical flight operations,” said Rich Scobee, Business Development Manager, VSI. “The benefit of JHMCS along with NVCD brings the full capability of the F/A-18 to the pilot’s forward view, a huge advantage in modern day warfare.”
The NVCD capability allows both crew members to independently and simultaneously survey the battlefield, designate ground or airborne targets of opportunity and exchange information during historically high work-load night operations. This is made possible through the automatic transfer of data to the aircraft’s forward-looking infrared (FLIR) pod.
JHMCS NVCD is based on the QuadEye™ panoramic night vision goggles system that delivers high resolution wide field of view night vision with embedded display and debrief camera modules. VSI integrated the QuadEye™ with JHMCS, providing the Navy war fighters the same capabilities at night as JHMCS provides during the day.
VSI, a joint venture between EFW Inc. a subsidiary of Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:ESLT) and Rockwell Collins (NYSE:COL), was formed in 1996 to pursue fixed wing helmet mounted display (HMD) opportunities worldwide. In addition to production of JHMCS and DASH (Display and Sight Helmet) Generation IV HMDs, VSI is in development of the advanced helmet mounted display for the F-35 (JSF) under contract to Lockheed Martin.
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