SYNTHETIC AND ENHANCED VISION INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR MILITARY ROTORCRAFT

A rotorcraft pilot often operates in highly constrained and demanding meteorological and geographic environments. Current display systems can contribute to high workload environments, such as during terrain following and terrain avoidance flight operations, while ineffectively or not communicating situational awareness information. To ensure that the pilot’s workload is acceptable and that their situational awareness is sufficient for their mission, rotorcraft pilots can and should utilize synthetic and enhanced vision systems. These systems combine database information, active and passive sensor information, decision aids and image processing into a cohesive and functional human-machine interface using any of a head-up, head-down or helmet-mounted display. The resulting system can be used to increase operational effectiveness and situational awareness. Additionally, synthetic and enhanced vision systems can serve as the building blocks for tactical situation awareness and network-centric operational displays, further increasing mission effectiveness and situational awareness.