US Air National Guard adopts Scorpion HMD for F-16 pilots
Scorpion will be worn USAF Reserve and Air National Guard F-16 pilots. (Photo: Thales)
The Scorpion HMD will ultimately become ‘the common HMD’ solution for Air National Guard and USAF Reserve F-16 pilots, Thales claims.
Thales is to supply US Air National Guard F-16 Block 40/50 pilots with Scorpion HMDs to replace the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), under a new contract issued via the NATO Support & Procurement Agency (NSPA).
Scorpion will eventually become ‘the common HMD solution’ for the Air National Guard and USAF Reserve’s fleet of F-16 Block 30/40/50 aircraft, Thales claimed in a 10 May announcement, noting that its HMD is already worn by USAF A-10 pilots.
The NSPA contract ‘will empower NATO customer nations to equip their pilots with Scorpion’s advanced HMD technology’, Thales added.
Claimed to be the world’s first full-colour helmet-mounted display, the Scorpion provides dynamic flight and mission data into line of sight, allowing the pilot to remain head-up and eyes-out with real-time situational awareness.
According to Shephard Defence Insight, full-colour symbology allows matching to colour multifunction display schemes for lower pilot workload and higher safety.
Scorpion also uses a Hybrid Optical-based Inertial Tracker for accuracy, zero latency and jitter-free symbology.
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