CH-53 HELICOPTER NIGHT VISION SYSTEM SIMULATION EXPERIMENTS

The U.S. Marine Corps is currently developing a helicopter night vision system to improve low altitude night assault capabilities in its transport helicopters. A forward looking infrared system has been chosen to fulfill this requirement. Martin Marietta Aerospace, under contract to Naval Air Development Center, has performed a number of man-in-the-loop simulation experiments in its Simulation and Test Laboratory in order to assist the Marine Corps in defining the design configurations of the helicopter night vision system. The studies addressed alternative sensor design concepts, controls and displays, cokpit layout, and symbology. Based on pilot performance and opinion data, a number of design recommendations were made.