The ominous lethality of the modern battlefield necessitates the maximum exploitation of the cover afforded by darkness, making the ability to operate effectively at night a key factor in winning any major conflict. Unfortunately, the majority of the operational helicopter fleet was designed years ago with mainly daylight operations in mind. Converting these existing cockpits to an appropriate standard of night vision goggle (NVG) compatibility is no simple task. Quick fit, inexpensive fixes are rare and offer only limited value. The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense (UK MOD) has learned this lesson well in recent years, having made large investments in both money and manpower to achieve an acceptable NVG standard of cockpit compatibility in the Sea King, Wessex, Lynx, Puma, Chinook, Gazelle, Scout and A109 helicopters. This paper will present an overview of helicopter NVG compatibility testing in the UK. A synopsis of the principles of image intensification will justify the logic behind various NVG modifications. An historic overview will then set the stage for the NVG cockpit developments, followed by a general discussion of some important compatibility issues. A review of the NVG operational assessments conducted in several different flight environments will conclude this discussion by presenting results peculiar to each environment. These wide-ranging assessments have provided the experience to develop a practical scientific approach to NVG cockpit compatibility testing which is offered in a summary of test methods.
Helicopter Night Vision Goggle Testing in the United Kingdom
1992
12 pages
Report
No indication
English
The night vision goggle compatible helicopter cockpit
TIBKAT | 1984
|NTIS | 1979
|Night Vision Goggle Simulation
NTIS | 1991
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