The Eurofighter Typhoon consortium has awarded BAE Systems a 133-million-pound ($168 million) contract to advance its Striker II Helmet-Mounted Display (HMD).
The investment will fund the next stage of the helmet’s development with the aim of achieving production-ready standards. The contract also covers flight testing.
Striker II “will ensure that Typhoon pilots continue to fly a world-leading aircraft, wearing a world-leading all-digital helmet,” said Giancarlo Mezzanatto, Chief Executive of the Eurofighter consortium.
“The contract award is also great news for the program, as the international commitment to the development of the helmet will provide full synergies across our Air Forces,” he added.
The contract is expected to secure more than 200 highly-skilled jobs at BAE’s combat air facility in Warton and its Electronic Systems site in Rochester, which specializes in developing helmet-mounted displays.
Features
The Striker II combines an all-digital night vision system with a daylight-readable color display to provide pilots with real-time mission-critical information directly on their helmet visors.
The system uses color symbology indicators across a 40-degree binocular field of view, allowing for differentiation between various elements, such as friendlies in blue and hostiles in red.
The visor can also receive live video feeds from drones or ground-based support via a data link, offering additional operational awareness.
The HMD includes 3D audio technology and active noise reduction, which provides directional audio cues aligned with the pilot’s surroundings.
This function boosts spatial awareness, complementing the visual data displayed on the visor.
