Flight Visions has won a contract from Lockheed Martin Skunk Works to supply its newly developed Night Hawk weapon delivery system/head-up display (HUD) for the company's X-32 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) concept demonstration aircraft.
Despite the fact that the HUD is only on order for a demonstrator and is unlikely to suit the more sophisticated demands of a production-standard JSF, the contract still represents a signiÌcant breakthrough for Flight Visions. The company has not previously supplied a HUD to any US-based combat-aircraft programme.
Other military aircraft which have been equipped with Flight Visions' HUD include the Aero Vodochody L-59, L-139 and L-159, the Pilatus PC-7 MkII, PC-9 and the PZL Turbo Orlik.
The company, which has a reputation for low-cost equipment, has had considerable success in the civil market with its FV-2000 HUD. The FV-2000 is closely related to the Sparrow Hawk, from which the Night Hawk is derived.
The Night Hawk provides a wide 30í total field of view and a 150mm aperture, which Flight Visions says increases the pilot's aiming envelope, thereby improving accuracy and pilot safety.
The unit incorporates stroke-on-raster capability, allowing symbology to be overlaid on outputs from raster-image sources such as forward-looking infra-red.
Source: Flight International
