Polish FA-50 fighters to be equipped with Thales Scorpion HMD
The Polish Armaments Agency signed two procurement contracts for 48 FA-50 advanced trainers/light fighters with KAI in 2022. (Photo: ROKAF)
Thales Scorpion Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) will augment FA-50 pilots’ vision in real time through hybrid inertial optical tracking.
Thales has been awarded a contract by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to equip FA-50 fighters destined for Poland with its Scorpion Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) solution.
Under the terms of the contract, Thales will adapt, integrate and qualify the Scorpion onto KAI’s FA-50 Fighting Eagle, as well as install production systems to support the Republic of Korea’s FA-50 contract with Poland.
The Polish Armaments Agency signed two procurement contracts for 48 FA-50 advanced trainers/light fighters with KAI in 2022. The first US$705 million contract covered a dozen FA-50 Block 10 aircraft featuring the same configuration as used by the Republic of Korea Air Force.
The Scorpion has been designed to enhance the pilot's situational awareness, with Thales noting that its includes HMD features with full-colour symbology, zero-perceived latency and a single display module.
The FA-50 Fighting Eagle, a light multirole fighter, was originally developed to replace South Korea’s F-5 fighters. It currently has six foreign customers, including Poland, and has been designed with a digital cockpit, digital flight control system and range of precision-guided weapons.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Air Warfare
-
![RTX Raytheon wins $736 million contract to make AIM-9X missiles]()
RTX Raytheon wins $736 million contract to make AIM-9X missiles
Part of a US Navy and US Air Force joint programme, work under this contract will take place across the US up to 2029.
-
![General Atomics’ MQ-9B passes full-scale second lifetime fatigue test]()
General Atomics’ MQ-9B passes full-scale second lifetime fatigue test
The MQ-9B is General Atomics' most advanced remotely piloted aircraft. The fatigue test was the second of three lifetimes of testing for the aircraft, the equivalent of 80,000 hours.
-
![AUSA 2024: Leonardo unveils BriteStorm stand-in jammer payload]()
AUSA 2024: Leonardo unveils BriteStorm stand-in jammer payload
Leonardo’s BriteStorm payload has been designed to be flown forward of aircraft to deceive ground forces.
-
![‘Never done before’: tiltrotor technology and the future battlespace]()
‘Never done before’: tiltrotor technology and the future battlespace
In conversation... Bell's Frank Lazzara talks to Shephard's Gerrard Cowan about the potential of tiltrotor designs to revolutionize U.S. Army maneuver operations, and how the technology could transform other mission sets across DoD and international armed services.
-
![Italy looks to advance development of airborne electronic warfare initiatives]()
Italy looks to advance development of airborne electronic warfare initiatives
Italy’s ELT Group involvement in airborne electronic warfare initiatives, including developing systems for the Eurofighter Typhoon and future sixth-generation combat aircraft, has been focused on integrated sensing, non-kinetic effects and communications.
-
![Horizon Aircraft promotes military use case for Cavorite X7 eVTOL]()
Horizon Aircraft promotes military use case for Cavorite X7 eVTOL
The Cavorite X7 is being promoted to serve three key military operational use-cases: ISR, medical evacuation and insertion/extraction.
